17 Dec 2025 · 4 min
Brian Johnson argues that hard times forge heroic character, quoting Abigail Adams on why genius would want to live through them. He urges deeper commitment to your growth protocols: renewed discipline, love, and courage when things get difficult.
January 19, 1780 (as stated in the episode).
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Heroic One. In the last couple ones we reviewed the formula for how to forge antifragile confidence and cultivate our emotional stamina. I repeat, for the third day in a row the algorithm goes like this. The worse we feel, the more committed we are to our protocol. The parallel wisdom goes like this. The greater the challenges we face individually and collectively, the greater command commitment we need to have to dominating our protocols individually and collectively. And I ask yet again, have you quadrupled down and or at least stepped up your game rather than let it all slip as we take that honest inventory and recommit to doing everything we can to show up as our best when the world needs it the most? I think now is an especially good time to remember the wisdom from one of our nation's founding mothers during the challenging times when she and other heroically wise, disciplined, loving and courageous human beings were forging the democracy that would be a shining light for our world. Abigail Adams said these are the hard times in which a genius would wish to live. Great necessities call forth great virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant waken to life and form the character of the hero and the statesman. I repeat, these are the hard times in which a genius would wish to live. Great necessities call forth great virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant wake into life inform the character of the hero and the statesman. Today's the day with wisdom, discipline, love and courage, I say let's go hero. P.S. abigail Adams wrote those words as per Chat GPT's response to my question about when she said that quote from Jack in a letter to her son John quincy Adams on January 19, 1780. At the time, John Quincy Adams was a teenager traveling with his father, John Adams to Europe during the American Revolution. Abigail wrote to encourage her son to embrace the challenges of the time and to develop his character through adversity. Her words reflected her belief that difficult circumstances were opportunities for personal growth and leadership. John Quincy Adams would later go on to become the sixth President of the United States, embodying the ideals his mother encouraged.
What's up? This is Michael, president and head coach at Heroic. One quick note before we go. I just think it's so amazing that Brian keeps reading all these books and distilling them into more wisdom and less time. By the way, thank you Brian for continuing to read the books distill them for us. I love not having to read the book just getting the more wisdom in less time to the plus ones of Philosopher's Notes. And if you're into this kind of thing, expressing the best version of yourself and using your greatest gifts make a positive impact on the world and make sure you head to Heroic Us to check out all the other resources that we have available to you. You can download a bunch of free goodies including Philosopher's Notes, masterclasses and our scientifically proven Heroic app. You can also explore advanced resources to help you go next level including live and virtual workshops, working one on one with a Heroic performance coach or even becoming a certified coach yourself as you master Heroic performance, the fundamentals of coaching Excellence and Heroic Coaching prosperity. Again, head to Heroic Us to get the ancient wisdom, modern science and practical tools you need to activate your heroic potential and change the world together. And please do hit subscribe appreciate you have a fantastic day and see you again soon.
