Join us each week as we discuss a variety of strategies for being awesome at life. We'll share what we're leaning on our own pursuit of self-mastery and lifestyle design in the areas of physical, mental, and emotional health.
Could eating only when the sun is up really make a difference in your health and longevity? The research says that time-restricted eating can have a profound effect on your health. In this episode, Jeff share's what he's learned over the last month from trying this new approach.
It finally snowed in February! I realize that sounds funny but it's been a very warm February by Nebraska standards. The fresh 3 inches of snow provided the perfect opportunity to get outside and play in the snow, except this time Jeff did it in nothing but a swimsuit to do some self experimentation he and Zack have been working on for the last couple of weeks.
Who's voice do you hear in your head when you want to eat a donut? Or when you don't want to get out of bed? Or when you just don't feel like giving your all? In this episode we talk the value of intentionally developing those voices so you can better hold to your own personal standards.
Welcome back for season 3 of the Ax & Yoke. We're starting this season with a little project to help Steve become more uncompromising with the standards he's set for himself. Like many of us, Steve knows what he wants to do in order to operate at his highest level, but for some reason or another just doesn't do the work. Zack and Jeff are going to help Steve get it done once and for all.
Isn't working out an hour a day enough? Maybe not, if we're sitting in a chair all day. Today we talk about a book by Katy Bowman who encourages us to begin moving more during the day and to not sweat the hard workouts.
To man the rudder is to keep the balance of the vessel in check. Going too far in any direction leads to trouble. When developing our character we must balance what's in our nature with the version of ourselves we chose to show the world.
Finding the sweet spot for growth...it's more uncomfortable than you think.
Steve recaps lessons learned from his recent trip to San Diego to participate in the first annual "Muster" event hosted by most recent man crush Jacko Willink.
Join us as we experiment with new exercise programs designed to get better results by doing less work.
Should we aim for something higher than happiness? Join us as we wrestle with that question and more as we read and discuss the introduction of David Brooks' "Road To Character".
Join us as we discuss the first ever A&Y Expedition to Pike's Peak and what we learned from each other and about ourselves.
We cover a lot of topics on today's show so that we can catch you up on what we're reading and listening too so we can operate at our highest level.
Jeff pays tribute to Earl Nightengale and his "The Strangest Secret" cassette tape.
Steve shares some ideas for how to us the panic monster to help us be more productive.
Steve uncovers the idea that more options are not necessarily better.
Jeff shares a story that reminds us of the power we all have to influence others.
Our roles as parents, managers and leaders have one objective in common, to bring out the very best in others. There is one simple (not easy) approach that trumps them all, it's coaching. The more we can slow our rush to provide advice and instead ask questions the better we will be in helping others operate at their highest level.
Failure and what it can teach us if we're willing to hear the lesson.
Are you guilty of blaming your lack of resources for your troubles? We all do it. In this episode, Steve gives us some ideas how to get over it and make progress anyway.
We often talk about the importance of starting things to learn what you should do next. We call it "putting the cart before the horse". It's a great recipe for getting off your couch and saying "Hell Yes" to the ideas and dreams in your head. But what should we do when we start things but can't seem to finish? We start behaving like the Mighty 4%. This is an elite group, because they're the ones who create the most value and they do it by doing one thing really well. They finish what they start.
This episode is a tribute to Chris Moore who passed away last week. Chris was an inspiration to us and the creative work we do. He taught us that "big growth comes when you begin boldly and keep at it."
The Four Burner Theory challenges us to think about work life balance and what it takes to be successful. It heats up a debate on what tradeoffs we make in order to operate at our highest level and leaves us asking if it's true, and if it's worth it?
If you’ve ever played video games as a kid, then you know the game designers hide secret shortcuts and cheat codes in the game for gamers to discover and use in order to beat the game. Charlie Munger says we should be using 80-90 mental models to optimize our decision making. These mental models are like the cheat codes of life and they’re more important than your circumstances in determining your destiny. In this episode, we how discuss how leveraging the right mental models greatly improves one’s ability to operate at their highest level.
Everyone who's ever tried to become more productive has heard of the 80/20 rule. What's surprising is how few people actually understand it's real value and even if they do understand it, fail to use it often enough. In this episode, Zack and Jeff talk about the 80/20 rule and this guy name Pareto who discovered it in 1896.
Our phones have removed the need to think and wonder anymore because we have the world of information at our fingertips. This week we discuss the value of returning to wonder and contemplation.
It's the little things that matter most in life and it turns out celebrating those moments can improve your life.
Do we own our thoughts and feelings? In this episode, we discuss the concept of the Monkey Mind and try to understand how to keep it under control.
Leading people can be a really tough job. Most people are surprised to learn when they get their first employee, how instead of their life getting easier, everything just got a lot harder. The most difficult thing is often figuring out what motivates your new employee. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone explain what drives people in a simple and memorable way? Dan Pink’s book titled Drive, will arm you with powerful insights to make the most of your leadership opportunity. In this episode, we review the big take aways from the book.
Motivation, Ability and Opportunity are the generally accepted ingredients to success in life. In Adam Grants book, Give and Take, he proposes that there is a 4th and often overlooked ingredient, which is your reciprocity style. Who are most successful in the workplace, the Takers, Matchers or Givers? The answer may surprise you.
If you asked me what is the single greatest habit to start right now? It is to read more books. In this episode, I provide some suggestions on how to make time for reading, how to read a book in a way to get the most out of it, and provide some ideas on books you might find interesting. A special thanks to Criteria for sharing their song "Prevent the World" with our show.
Fifty-Two episodes of the A&Y Project complete. In this episode, we talk about what e've learned from our own journey over the last year. How you can put the cart before the horse on your projects?
in the 1993 Movie "My Life" staring Michael Keaton and Nicole Kidman, Keaton's character learns he's dying of terminal cancer. His children are too young to learn much from their dad, so he decides to record the fatherly wisdom he won't be around to share. As a movie, it's hilarious, touching and sad all at the same time. It's stuck with me ever sense and it inspired me share the three greatest lessons I have learned over my lifetime.
Let's face it, rejection hurts. The person who rejects us the most is often the little voice in our own heads. Many of us don't apply for the dream job, ask for a raise, or negotiate because of the fear of rejection. In this episode, we share some stories of people who asked “why not?” and faced their fears to live the life they really want.
When we think of Improv we often think of the TV show "Whose Line Is It Anyway" or the famous Chicago Improv comedy club "Second City" which is credited with producing comedians Steve Carell, Tina Fey, and Steven Colbert. What we don't typically think about is how Improv can teach us to be more skillful at life. In this episode, we introduce the three fundamental rules of improv and provide simple actions you can take to be better at everything.
Why do we focus so much on getting better and operating at a higher level? In this episode we deconstruct the why behind self improvement and it's less about the self than you might think.
What's the point of going it alone? We all need help reaching our goals and what better way to do it by starting a Mastermind group to support each other. We started one last December and have been amazed by the results from it.
Many people stress over investing in stocks, bonds, and real estate? Warren Buffet says the best investment you can make is in yourself and I couldn't agree more. Just because you're out of school doesn't mean you're done learning. It actually means you're finally free to study anything you want. Thanks to the internet there's an online course, webinar or seminar to teach you just about anything your heart desires. Get out there and learn something new!
We often say there are only two things you can control, your attitude and your effort. Well, technically there’s one more thing you can control and it’s your breath. Breath is the new frontier for improving performance. It’s easy to do with a little practice and it can be done anywhere and anytime. We learned all of this from my mentor Mark Divine. In this episode, we teach you how to box breath. You will learn: How to manage stress and performance anxiety How to increase your sense of well-being
Every once and a while I come across something that's really awesome and inspiring. It was certainly the case when I watched Simon Sinek's talk. I was surprised to learn there's a chemistry aspect to great leadership. In this episode, we deconstruct how hormones make us feel and can help us become better leaders and drive deeper connections with our tribe. You will learn: About the trust hormone Why testosterone is important for leadership The importance of how we perceive stress
How we talk to ourselves is more important than you think. Is there a voice in your head discouraging you from trying new things? Is it criticizing and judging your ideas before you can share them with the world?If yes, then congratulations on being a perfectly evolved human. We're biased to filter the world through a negative lens because it was safer to do so back when we hunted with rocks and sticks. Today's world is relative safe and this negative bias is holding us back from reaching our potential. In this episode, we deconstruct why it's easier to think negative thoughts and how we can prime our minds to operate at our highest level. You will learn: How a single word can change how we behave Why just thinking about honor keeps us from cheating Why it's easier to be negative than positive
We know we should be working on the most important things in our lives but somehow we just don't feel like doing it. Why do we do this to ourselves? We thought this would a great topic to discuss and hopefully make ourselves and you more aware of the struggle and possibly some ideas that will help you overcome it next time.
One of the first influencers in the area of going back to basics via the caveman is Mark Sisson. He has a great blog www.marksdailyapple.com that has had a big impact on our lives and is the perfect place to start as you develop self-mastery in 2016. In this episode, we cover the second half of the 10 Laws of the the Mark's Primal Blueprint. You will learn: About the importance of sleep Why it's important to get enough sunlight How to avoid mistakes
One of the first influencers in the area of going back to basics via the caveman is Mark Sisson. He has a great blog www.marksdailyapple.com that has had a big impact on our lives and is the perfect place to start as you develop self-mastery in 2016. In this episode we cover the first 5 Laws of the the Mark's Primal Blueprint. You will learn: How to get back to basics with your diet What are the most effective activities to include in your exercise program Identify poisons you should avoid in your life
We all know those mentally strong people who never seem to break or give up. They seem to have a leg up on the rest of us when it comes to dealing with tough times. I don't know about you, but I want to be one of those unbreakable people. In this episode, we discuss Amy Morin's widely distributed article that breaks down 13 things mentally strong people don't do. It surprisingly simple list of things we can all stop doing to some degree or another.
Did you you know Ben Franklin popularized the use of the Pros and Cons list in 1772? You probably won't need your bifocals to see that a lot of research and development on how to make better decisions has been done over the 243 years since Franklin first used it. In this episode we share some of the latest methods we learned from reading the book Decisive: How To Make Better Choices In Life And Work by Chip and Dan Heath.
To truly operate at your highest level you will have to develop mastery in the areas of the physical, mental, emotional, intuition and spiritual. Jeff recently attended the annual Unbeatable Mind Retreat in Carlsbad, CA. There he learned from the leaders in breath control, fitness, nutrition and brain science. In this episode, he shares just a few of the insights he gained from the experience.
It's that time of year again when people lose their minds and start fighting over doorbuster deals at the old Walmart. In this episode, they guys ask if it's time to follow the outdoor sports coop REI's lead and #optoutside? A special thanks to the band Bazile Mills for sharing their song with us and to Chisel Creative Studio for designing our artwork. http://www.bazilemillsmusic.com http://www.chiselcs.com
Do you ever not feel like doing something that matters to you? It happens to me all of the time. I set my mind to doing something I know is good for me but then after a while I just lose the motivation to stick to it. Is it just me? Nope. It happens to everyone, but the difference between the successful and and the average is the successful find a way to do it even when they don't feel like it. This episode is one of those moments. We love podcasting and sharing ideas to help our listeners live remarkably, but sometimes we lose some of the momentum required to gear up for another show, when we'd much rather grab a big gooey cinnamon roll at one of our favorite breakfast places. Instead of bailing out completely we decided to drop just a few ideas to satisfy the commitment to ourselves and our listeners and to keep the streak alive. Sometimes just showing up is good enough. Think about this the next time you don't feel like working out, reading or whatever you're working in your life. Showing up is half the battle and always better than doing nothing.
Public speaking can be a terrifying experience, but it doesn't need to be. You don't want to miss your opportunity to influence others because you aren't comfortable delivering your message. In this episode, we give you the secrets we've learned to speak with confidence in any situation. You will learn: Why storytelling trumps facts and figures What makes someone sound like an expert How to rehearse like a pro How to deal with your pre-stage nerves A special thanks to Bazile Mills, Chisel Creative Studio and Bench Omaha for supporting the show. Support the show by signing up for our newsletter at www.axandyoke.com
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