Brian Johnson spent a year in Bali distilling the best of 100 great books on life, the universe and everything. He shares the wisdom in them via his fab mp3 commentaries and his easy to digest pdf notes. I was lucky enough to interview him for my website and as a result got right into the notes and made this slideshow...

1. ‘Journeys’ Series: Interviews by Michelle Rumney
Get your wisdom on!
Lucky me, I got to chat to Brian, Chief
Philosopher at: PhilosophersNotes.com!
Here’s a whizz-thru overview of the 100 titles
in the fab Philosophers Notes series... and
here’s the recording of our call.
RoomOnTheEdge.com

2. No.1
from Brian:
What are YOU here to do?
What’s your specific vocation or
mission in life?
We all have one. What’s yours?
Clear? Write it down! Live it!

3. No.2
Slooooowwww down.
Find the stillness.
Be still.
And watch your power grow!

4. No.3
“When you meet anyone, treat the
event as a holy encounter.”
Namaste. It’s one of my favorite
words.
It’s Sanskrit and means “I bow to the
divine within you.”.

5. No.4
The essence of Tolle’s work can
certainly be distilled into these three
words:
“One With Life.”
Take a deep breath, smile.
And enjoy the God within you...

6. No.5
How about you? Where’s your locus
of control?
The book is all about empowering you
to step into your role as a conscious
creator of your reality. It’s an
incredibly powerful thing to do.
* nudges you *
What are you waiting for?

7. No.6
‘If you shoot for the stars, you’ll at
least hit the moon.’
How great is that? What are you
shooting for?!? Never give up. Don’t
compromise your vision.
(I KNOW you have a big one if you’re
honest with yourself.)

8. No.7
Affluence. Another beautiful word.
Did you know the word literally
means “abundant flow”? That rocks.
Get in the FLOW of the universe.
Express yourself.
And you will experience every sense
of the beautiful word “affluence.”

9. No.8
Seligman and his wealth of research
speaks LOUDLY that we need to
figure out what our strengths are and
use them often.
So, what are your strengths? What are
you great at? What do you most enjoy
doing? (Good news is that they all
usually go together. :)

10. No.9
So, how about you? What’s YOUR
goal? Still refining it?
Here’s a short-cut: What would you do
if you weren’t afraid? Combine that
with: If you were ABSOLUTELY
GUARANTEED to succeed, what
would you do?

11. No.10
“He is a letter to everyone. You open
it. It says, ‘Live!’”
As Gandhi once said, “My life is my
message.”
What is the message of your life?
What does your “letter” say to the
world?
Mine? “Live!!!!”

12. No.11
How are your thoughts?
Your actions?
Your habits?
Your character?
Trace them closely.
Shape them consciously.
Reap your destiny…

13. No.12
Isn’t that a beautiful image? Feel that
chaos within?!
Here’s a switch: Let’s EMBRACE it.
Let’s not fight it. Deep breath in.
Exhale. Relax into it a bit. Smile.
Know you’re growing and that it’s this
chaos that gives birth to our dancing
star... Oh, yah. And definitely Dance.

14. No.13
Don’t flinch, don’t compromise,
surround yourself with people who
‘get you’ and if you “but remain true
to these ideals, your world will at last
be built”
and if you are still looking for that
ideal vision, keep on mining, my
friend..

15. No.14
I want to make sure you read it. :)
Isn’t it kind of BIZARRE that we
spend years and tens of thousands of
dollars on our educations and don’t
spend a minute or a dollar studying
what is arguably the most important
subject of our lives: LOVE?!?
I think so, too.

16. No.15
“You will not do incredible things
without an incredible dream.”
You should get the book (if you
haven’t already decided to get 10 of
them!!) for the chapter on
“Embracing the Last Taboo -
Being as “Unrealistic” as You Can.”
It’s one big inspiring quote.

17. No.16
It’s easy to get on the path of
Mastery. The real challenge lies in
staying on it.”
How true is THAT?!?
...
My experience? Just do what you say
you’re going to do.
Again and again and again..

18. No.17
So, the constant question:
For what were you created?!?
What makes you feel most alive? ...
What are your greatest gifts and how
are you giving them to the world?!?

19. No.18
What little things can you do today to
move forward?
Gimme three things (they don’t need
to be huge) that you have been putting
off:
1. ......................................
2. ......................................
3. ......................................
Good. Now do them.

20. No.19
I love this distinction.
Creator or Competitor?
Imagine choosing to live from a place
of pure creativity... from a place of joy
and overflow... having fun as we give
our unique gifts to the world...

21. No.20
It’s rather simple.
Three words:
1. Follow. 2. Your. 3. Bliss.
Key words: “bliss” and “your.”
Not someone else’s idea of your bliss.

22. No.21
“Your purpose is to act on the
resources God gives you. If God
gives you a bucket of fish, you have
to distribute those fish. If you don’t,
they’re going to rot, attract a bunch
of flies, and start stinking up your
soul.”
Love that. You have gifts to give to the
world. Give them.

23. No.22
What’s happening is happening and no
amount of wishing on your end is
going to make it any different in that
moment...
DO NOT argue with reality.
You’ll lose.
But only 100% of the time. :)

24. No.23
“The avoidance of money is just as
psychotic as being attached to
money.”
Where do you fall on the money
psychosis scale?
Attached to it? Or avoiding it? OR!
Healthfully engaged in the circulation
of abundance?

25. No.24
...So, we’ll start with a simple question.
What’s your ideal?...
Good. Let that flow.
Grab your journal or a sheet of paper
and write down what flows through
you. Now!
(Seriously. We need to quit putting stuff
like this off, because we rarely get
around to it “later”!!)

26. No.25
Simple point here: if you can’t control
it, just accept it.
Which leads us to #3: “Every feeling,
however unpleasant, has its uses.”
...see how that feeling might be able to
help you understand yourself better.

27. No.26
“Shortage of time is not your problem.
Shortage of money is not your
problem. Shortage of Connection to
the Energy that creates worlds is at
the heart of all sensations of shortage
that you are experiencing.”
Wow. Well, that puts it in perspective,
eh? Are you feeling a shortage in your
life right now?

28. No.27
“Every man is what he is because of
the dominating thoughts which he
permits to occupy his mind.”
Again, what thoughts do you allow to
dominate your consciousness?!?

29. No.28
How’s your internal dialogue?
Are you even aware of just how much
you criticize yourself?
It’s pretty crazy when we really start to
notice what’s going on up there in our
minds!!

30. No.29
“On this path effort never goes to
waste, and there is no failure. Even a
little effort toward spiritual awareness
will protect you from the greatest
fear.”
I love that. Are you feeling
disillusioned?!? KNOW that on this
path, effort never goes to waste!

31. No.30
So, I banish about 90 per cent of my
worries by taking these four steps:
1. Writing down precisely what I am
worried about.
2. Writing down what I can do about it.
3. Deciding what to do.
4. Starting immediately to carry out that
decision.

32. No.31
“To say ‘I love you’ one must know first
how to say the ‘I’.”
Wow. Love. That.
(States obvious:) We MUST have a
sense of who we are and have true love
for ourselves if we are going to truly
love another. Yah?
So, do you know how to say the “I”?

33. No.32
Whereas the average individuals “often
have not the slightest idea of what they
are, of what they want, of what their
own opinions are,” self-actualizing
individuals have “superior awareness
of their own impulses, desires,
opinions, and subjective reactions
in general.”
There’s that self-awareness again!

34. No.33
“The trick is in what one emphasizes.
We either make ourselves miserable,
or we make ourselves strong. The
amount of work is the same.”
from Journey to Ixtlan
That’s brilliant. So, uh, what are you
emphasizing? Any better alternatives?

35. No.34
1. Master Your Mind
2. Follow Your Purpose
3. Practice Kaizen (constant and never-
ending improvement)
4. Live with Discipline
5. Respect Your Time
6. Selflessly Serve Others
7. Embrace the Present

36. No.35
1. If you like something, enjoy it.
2. If you don’t like something, avoid it.
3. If you don’t like something and can’t
avoid it, change it.
4. If you can’t or choose not to (important
distinction there!) avoid or change
something you don’t like, then accept it.
5. You accept something by changing your
perception of it.

37. No.36
“What difference does it make, after
all, what your position in life is if you
dislike it yourself?”
That’s hilarious. And so true, eh? Isn’t it
amazing how we can spend so much of
our time doing everything we can to
please everyone around us and, at the
end of the day, not even like ourselves.
Eek!

38. No.37
Jacobsen talks at length about the fact
that we “everyday geniuses” are
fundamentally different than most and
our attempts at being “normal” are
typically far from successful.
As she says, “It is essential to
remember to work with, not around,
your own uniqueness.”

39. No.38
In this overview I’ll introduce you to two
(very) different orientations from which
we can choose to live: Victim and
Creator.
One’ll land you in the Dreaded Drama
Triangle (DDT) and the other’ll place
you squarely where you want to be: in
The Empowerment Dynamic (TED).

40. No.39
Again, step #1 for the Superior Man?
Know thyself.
Immediately followed by: Express
thyself. We MUST show up as our
highest selves. THAT is our primary
practice—if we have any integrity to our
commitment to give our gifts to the
world.

41. No.40
Here’s one of the many great exercises
from the book: Get out your journal.
Ask yourself “Why am I here?”
Write down what first comes to your
mind.
Don’t edit or fret. Just write...
Do this 20 times...

42. No.41
“...the winners are those who are
superior not to others but to their
former selves.”
Don’t compete. Excel.
Are you superior to yesterday’s former
version of yourself? Good.
Let’s keep the momentum. :)

43. No.42
“The greatest leaders and statesmen in
history have not been problem solvers.
They have been builders. They have
been creators.”
The theme of Robert Fritz’ brilliant
book, The Path of Least Resistance can
be summed up in three words:
“Structure determines behavior.”

44. No.43
If you’re as passionate about integrating
your spirituality and economics as I am,
it’s always a good sign when an author
wraps up his book with:
“We are free when we move from a
focus on getting love, abundance,
peace and freedom to being love,
abundance, peace, and freedom.”

45. No.44
Same goes with our health. Are you only
“mildly disappointed” with your current
health? Saying to yourself: “It’s just a
few extra pounds (or a few dozen!), I’m
a little bit tired, I could look a little
better and feel a little better, but I’m
OK.”
Insert slow leaking tire sound here <---
Well, WAKE UP!

46. No.45
Hah. That rocks. The image of a world-
class athlete going to an “exercise camp”
cracks me up.
You want to achieve specific results?
You have an intense drive and
motivation to achieve them?
Then train. Don’t “exercise.”

47. No.46
From a scientific perspective,
“optimism” does not equal positive
thinking. “Pessimists can in fact learn
to be optimists, and not through the
mindless devices like whistling a
happy tune of mouthing platitudes
(“Every day, in every way, I’m getting
better and better”), but by learning a
new set of cognitive skills.”

48. No.47
If you’re ready to have your ego torn
into “approximately a thousand” pieces,
you’ll probably dig Andrew’s work. If
not, you may want to delete this Note
and go back to your cozy existence. :)
As always, your call. For those ready for
the (hero’s) journey into the land of
Enlightenment, let’s go.

49. No.48
Let’s say we commit to a big goal or to
living a certain ideal—whether it’s
building a business or living from
appreciation. Powerful first step. But, the
real trick is in the RE-committing. It’s so
easy to get distracted or thwarted or
discouraged....
We need to RE-commit!
Again. And again. And again. :)

50. No.49
Tony likes to say we have six
fundamental needs. The needs for
1. Consistency; 2. Inconsistency;
3. Significance; 4. Connection/Love;
5. Growth; 6. Contribution.
Now, all of these needs are present and
important. The question that’ll shape our
destiny is, which are our top needs?!?

51. No.50
“No one is smart enough to be 100%
wrong.” What that means, stated
positively, is that everyone has, however
small, a partial truth to their position.
They’re not smart enough to be 100%
wrong... if you want to have good
relationships.. you’ll be wise to first
acknowledge the partial truth of the
other person/ideology/country/whatever.

52. No.51
If you have limited thoughts about
yourself, you will produce limited
results,
“For imagination sets the goal
“picture” which our automatic
mechanism works on.
We act, or fail to act, not because of
“will,” as is so commonly believed, but
because of imagination.”

53. No.52
“There is only one thing that makes a
dream impossible to achieve: the fear
of failure.” from The Alchemist.
That makes it pretty simple, eh? Are you
afraid of failure? Know that it’s the only
thing standing in your way. So...
*clears throat* *ahem*
What would you do if you weren’t
afraid?!?

54. No.53
“It is within the power of every man to
become great.”
Do you think you can become great?
Coupla things on that:
1) EVERYONE can become great; and,
2) As per Ford, “Whether you think you
can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

55. No.54
Now, what can you do to create a life in
which you’re spending more and more
time in your bliss zone and less time in
your “don’t need to spend my precious
hours on this spinning green ball doing
THAT” stuff?
What SPECIFIC steps can you take to
follow your bliss more?
Starting today?!?

56. No.55
“Fear brings failure; faith brings
success. It’s just that simple.”
What are your greatest visions for your
life? I’ll wait for a moment while you
conjure up the images of your ideal life
in your mind. :)
Take a deep breath in, close your eyes
and really FEEL into the vision of your
ideal life...

57. No.56
My AM ritual has given me more
consistency, clarity and confidence than
ever before. (Meditation, movement,
journaling, visualization. It’s hard to
have a bad day with that start! :)
So, get your morning routine on and how
about spending the last few minutes of
your AM silence imagining your ideal
self?!?

58. No.57
“Throughout almost the whole history
of psychiatry it has been difficult for
most psychiatrists to accept that
depression is a choice.”
“What about my headache?” Sorry to
break it to you, but, um, yah. That’s a
choice, too.

59. No.58
Imagine your body without your heart.
Say goodbye to your arms and legs and
brain and all your other organs and, well,
your life.
Now, imagine your life without courage.
All that love and kindness and
compassion and creativity and joy and
patience we live to express? Gone.

60. No.59
--> “Am I willing to feel good and have
my life go well all the time?”
Think about that. Are you willing to feel
good and have your life go well ALL the
time?
(Or do you think you’d explode before
something like that was possible? :)

61. No.60
Before we get into some more Ideas
from the book, how about this:
This is the #1 habit I can develop in my
life that’ll have the greatest positive
impact: _________________________
This is the #1 habit I can remove from
my life that’ll have the greatest positive
impact:_________________________

62. No.61
Very cool. I always knew meditation was
powerful but I never knew WHY. :) ...
As my Vipassana meditation teacher,
S.N. Goenka says:
“Work diligently. Diligently. Work
patiently and persistently. Patiently and
persistently. And you’re bound to be
successful. Bound to be successful.”

63. No.62
Event + Response = Outcome.
How are YOU responding to the events
in your life?!?
If you want more success, happiness,
joy, health, creativity, mojo, love,wealth,
and all that is good in the world, you’ve
GOTTA pay attention to Principle #1.
Take 100% Responsibility for your life.

64. No.63
It’s easy to TALK about spiritual ideals,
eh? But, obviously, that means
NOTHING if we don’t LIVE our truths.
So, what truth are you talking about a lot
these days but not quite embodying?!?
Now a good time to start living it? :)

65. No.64
This book is packed with wisdom. AND,
if you’ve read any of Dan’s work, you
know that he *always* comes back to
the simple stuff.
So, we’ll start there. What little things
can you do in your day-to-day life to
increase your activity level to enhance
your vigor and vitality?!

66. No.65
Your emotional well-being can be tied to
your source of motivation.
Where’s yours come from?
Do you love what you do? Or are you
going (compulsively) through the
motions cuz you feel you have to?
If you do love what you do: YES!!!!!.

67. No.66
Life is calling. Are you answering?
If not, beware.
No matter how much you try to numb
yourself, the pain’s not going away. Not
till you step up and answer the call.
Then? Well, then God’s on the line and
flowing through you.
Enter: Bliss, Enthusiasm,..

68. No.67
“That vibrational variance between
where you are and where you want to
be is the creative arena that you have
come forth to play within:
the Leading Edge of creation...”
Ah... Are YOU willing to play at the
Leading Edge of creation and dance with
your creative genius?!? Good. :)

69. No.68
“I would like to take the word should
and remove it from the vocabulary
forever. I’d replace it with the word
could. Could gives us a choice, and we
are never wrong.”
This is one of the all-time greatest Big
Ideas. Seriously.
Should, should, should, should.

70. No.69
So, you might have noticed that little
voice in your head. Yah? :)
One of the key first steps to entering the
Power of Now is to be able to get outside
of the tremendous force of an
undisciplined mind.

71. No.70
“Do things with your whole heart,
with as much intensity as you are
capable of.”
Are you split? Timidly going half-way?
Well... DO THINGS WITH YOUR
WHOLE HEART!!!
How are you holding back in your life?
How can you turn that intensity up a
notch or ten?

72. No.71
Wow.
“Mediocrity is self-inflicted. Genius is
self-bestowed.”
So, uh... Which one are you choosing? :)

73. No.72
Hah! How’s that for an image of our
minds? First: get a jumping monkey.
Then make him mad. Then drunk. Then
get a scorpion to bite him.
That little mad, drunk, jumping,
scorpion-stung monkey running your life
these days? If so, time to get it tamed,
eh? :)

74. No.73
If we want to enjoy life and expand into
our highest potential, it’s clear we’ve
gotta stop our criticizing, blaming,
complaining and overall whining and
eliminate all the “if-onlys and what-ifs.”
Starting now. Sound good? Sweet.

75. No.74
“Self-worth cannot be verified by
others. You are worthy because you
say it is so. If you depend on others
for your value it is other-worth.”
“Other-worth.” That’s classic. :)
Do you depend on others for your sense
of worth? Please stop doing that!!!.

76. No.75
So, we clearly need to relax and recover.
But skip the TV, will ya?
Go for a walk, hang out with your
family and friends, take a bath, read a
book, open your journal, get a massage,
meditate, do yoga, whatever!
Just unplug the TV, pretty please. :)

77. No.76
I love that. Feeling down?
Look at “It.”
Say, “It’s a little down today.” YOU are
NOT the depression.
Observe it. See it as separate from your
purest self.
And, let it pass.

78. No.77
What do you do when you see others
who are doing great things in their lives
and/or enjoying great material success?!
Do you celebrate their success or feel a
twinge of jealousy or even outright
envy?
Pay attention! ...
Choose to CELEBRATE their success!

79. No.78
“The person of low awareness sees
everything in life in a dualistic
perspective, either as a blessing or a
curse. The master of life sees all things
as opportunities.”
How do you see the world?...
It’s ALWAYS up to us how we want to
interpret the world.

80. No.79
“It is not enough to know how to do it;
one must do it, consistently, in the
same way as athletes or musicians
must keep practicing what they know
in theory.”
This is another *huge* theme of these
Notes. It’s NOT about “knowing” how to
do something or who said what when.
We must DO what we know.

81. No.80
It’s nice to talk about ideas, memorize
inspiring words, and get an intellectual
understanding of something.
But it’s what we DO that leads to our
self-esteem.

82. No.81
That’s awesome. Imagine your ideal car.
It looks soooo beautiful on display. You
buy it. And... It’s stuck in reverse. Hah!
Now imagine YOUR life. Are you stuck
in reverse? Always looking backwards?
Stuck in 1st, never willing to take a risk?
Or maybe stuck in 5th, never able to
slow down?

83. No.82
The solution? We’ve gotta literally re-
wire our minds to become more inclined
to notice and ruminate on the things we
*want* to have swimming around in our
consciousness.
For now? Start noticing when you’re
replaying that horrible scene for the 3rd
or 300th time and see if you can observe
yourself watching it...

84. No.83
So when we’re impeccable, we don’t use
our word against ourselves indulging in
guilt or shame. We also don’t use our
word against others in blaming,
criticizing or gossiping. We also honor
our commitments and only make
commitments we intend to follow
through on.
How’re you doing on those fronts?

85. No.84
“Take inventory of your good reasons
for self-esteem today... “
...Every day for 100+ days I wrote down
5 things I’m proud of, 5 things I will be
proud of, 5 things I’m grateful for, 5
things I’m excited about and 5 truths I
live by...

86. No.85
That’s another great image, eh?!?
You holding a grudge?
You DO realize that’s about as smart as
eating rat poison and thinking the rat will
die, right?
Seriously though. It’s that backwards. :)

87. No.86
Positive-negativity. That’s brilliant.
Something stressing you out right now?
Can you step back and see the positive in
the negative event?
Can you see how the greatest, most
transformative times of your life tend to
come after the most challenging/
stressful?!?

88. No.87
This is the 87th Note I’ve worked on and
it’s been fascinating to see the same Big
Ideas repeated by philosophers, mystics
and modern-day self-help gurus.
It’s even more exciting, in fact,
EXHILARATING (!!!), to see so many
of these Ideas SCIENTIFICALLY
TESTED and *PROVEN* to be
effective.

89. No.88
“Happiness is not about making it to
the peak of the mountain nor is it
about climbing aimlessly around the
mountain; happiness is the experience
of climbing toward the peak.”
So... where have you/are you spending
most of your time?!?

90. No.89
“You can not go beyond your own self-
accepted image. As long as you
underestimate yourself, you cannot
succeed in life.”
So... How do you see yourself?!?!
As a Divinely-inspired genius put on this
planet to share your precious gifts and
love and compassion and creativity and
abundance? (Awesome. :)

91. No.90
Our career is clearly one of our most
important primary foods.
It’s INCREDIBLY important we love
what we do if we wanna be living a
vibrant life. If you’re not loving your
work, you’ll get 10x (1,000x?) the value
of this book just by doing the exercises
he has in this section!

92. No.91
“I realized that I only judged people
when they displayed a quality I could
not accept in myself...”
You might’ve heard of this finger thing
before but go ahead and try it now.
Hold your hand straight out and point at
someone.
You’ve got one finger pointed at them
and three more right back at yourself...

93. No.92
“I’ve never known anyone to find
answers from thinking things to death,
but I have known people who gained
peaceful insights and grand solutions
while strolling through the park.”
This is a really Big Idea. Did you know
they’ve actually scientifically studied the
effects of exercise on our emotional
well-being?

94. No.93
Isn’t it weird how often we think stuff
needs to be either/or? Particularly with
our “spirituality.” Either I’m spiritual or
I’m an entrepreneur. Either I’m a monk
or I’m wealthy...
What about: My spirituality is expressed
THROUGH my work and my wealth is a
sign of my connection to the abundant
flow of the universe?

95. No.94
That’s awesome. So, if someone gives
you a hard time for your commitment to
your self-development, stay strong and
remember that those who are giving you
the hardest time are probably suffering
the most.
As Seneca comically reminds us: “The
worse a person is, the less he feels it.”

96. No.95
“The Master said, (the good man) does
not grieve that other people do not
recognize his merits. His only anxiety
is lest he should fail to recognize
theirs.”
Love that. Where’s your focus? Are you
frustrated people aren’t seeing your
wonderful qualities?

97. No.96
“The best leader follows the will of the
people. All of them embody the virtue
of non-competition. Not that they
don’t love to compete, but they do it in
the spirit of play. In this they are like
children and in harmony with the
Tao.” Brilliant. Did you know the origin
of the word “compete” has nothing to do
with our modern idea of going “against”
someone else? ...

98. No.97
Have you ever kept a log of how you
spend your time? It’s a *really* powerful
way to bring awareness to your routines
and the simple act of logging your
behavior dramatically alters it! :)
You’ll wanna check out the book for all
the Ideas Fiore brings to how we can
leverage this simple yet effective
practice.

99. No.98
Got a journal? If not, time to get one!
Da Vinci carried his everywhere. You
might wanna as well.
Gelb has a lot of awesome exercises to
fill your new journal up and research has
proven that capturing your thoughts,
questions, dreams, goals and all that jazz
is good for ya.

100. No.99
We tend to fear the unknown and the
more we can, as Ariane says, “...change
our view of change by viewing the
uncomfortable moments as an
opportunity for tremendous
transformation” the more empowered
we’re going to be in every facet of our
lives!

101. No.100
The grandmasters were more passionate
about chess. They loved it so much that
they were always thinking about it—they
lived, breathed, and ate chess!—leading
to a level of excellence that was far
superior to any other players in the
world. So... What are you most
passionate about? Of what will you
become a grandmaster?

102. Get your wisdom on!
thanks so much, Brian!! :-)
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