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“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you

going.”

― Jim Ryun

“For me starting the day without a pot of tea would be a day

forever out of kilter.”

― Bill Drummond

“People have traditionally turned to ritual to help them

frame and acknowledge and ultimately even find joy in just

such a paradox of being human - in the fact that so much of

what we desire for our happiness and need for our survival

comes at a heavy cost. We kill to eat, we cut down trees to

build our homes, we exploit other people and the earth.

Sacrifice - of nature, of the interests of others, even of our

earlier selves - appears to be an inescapable part of our

condition, the unavoidable price of all our achievements. A

successful ritual is one that addresses both aspects of our

predicament, recalling us to the shamefulness of our deeds at

the same time it celebrates what the poet Frederick Turner

calls "the beauty we have paid for with our shame." Without

the double awareness pricked by such rituals, people are

liable to find themselves either plundering the earth without

restraint or descending into self-loathing and misanthropy.

Perhaps it's not surprising that most of us today bring one of

those attitudes or the other to our conduct in nature.”

― Michael Pollan

“Good habits are worth being fanatical about.”

― John Irving

“Just do it! First you make your habits, then your habits

make you!”

― Lucas Remmerswaal (from The A-Z of 13 Habits: Inspired

by Warren Buffett)

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There are 5 things I do every morning, no matter

what.

The only day I skip these items - which I affectionately call

my "Human Performance Hacks" - is when I know that my

productivity, my health and my motivation are not that

freakin' important. In other words, I have just a few days of

the year that are complete slob days in which I let everything

slide and simply sit around. Usually this is when I have a

hangover, it's a holiday, or I've caught some kind of strange

tropical disease like a parasite.

And of course, by the end of each of those "non-hacking"

days, my body and mind feel like complete crap by the

evening. I suppose that on the flipside, these days are

excellent ways to remember exactly why I integrate the

rituals and habits you're about to discover into my daily

routine on the other 360-some-odd days of the year.

So below, I'm going to share with you these top rituals and

habits - the 5 human performance hacks you must do every

morning if you truly want to achieve amazing feats of

physical and mental performance in your life. These are the

exact hacks I use to enable myself to write thousands of

words and record hours of audio and video each day, operate

three corporations, homeschool my twin boys, keep my wife

happy, and still have plenty of time and energy left over for

Ironman triathlon training, playing my guitar, and enjoying

a nice glass of red wine - no fancy smart drugs required.

Let's do this.

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Human Performance Hack 1: Check Your Heart Rate

Variability (HRV)

Every morning, I wake up, roll over, flip on my phone

and...check my e-mail.

Just kidding.

I do indeed, however, flip on my phone. But rather than

checking e-mail, I open a special app called the "SweetBeat

HRV", put on a wireless heart rate monitor, and do five

minutes of simple tracking.

HRV (which I describe in detail in chapter 7 of the Beyond

Training book), is a measure of the two branches of your

nervous system: the sympathetic and parasympathetic

branches.

Your parasympathetic nervous system (“rest-and-digest”)

influences your heart rate via the release of a compound

called acetylcholine by your vagus nerve, and decrease heart

rate variability. In contrast, your sympathetic nervous

system (“fight-and-flight”) influences heart rate by release of

epinephrine and norepinephrine, and

generally increases increases heart rate variability.

In a nutshell, f you’re well rested, haven’t been

training excessively and aren’t in a state of over-reaching,

your parasympathetic nervous system interacts cooperatively

with your sympathetic nervous system to produce even-

keeled responses in your heart rate variability to respiration,

temperature, blood pressure, stress, etc. And as a result,

you tend to have really nice, consistent and high

HRV values, which are typically measured on a 0-

100 scale. The higher the HRV, the better your

score.

But if you’re not well rested (over-reached or under-

recovered), the normally healthy beat-to-beat variation in

your heart rhythm begins to diminish. While normal

variability would indicate sympathetic and parasympathetic

nervous system balance, and a proper regulation of your

heartbeat by your nervous system, it can certainly be a

serious issue if you see abnormal variability – such as

consistently low HRV values (e.g. below 60) or HRV values

that tend to jump around a lot from day-to-day (70 one day,

90 another day, 60 the next day, etc.).

In other words, these issues would indicate that the delicate

see-saw balance of your sympathetic and parasympathetic

nervous system no longer works.

I know that seems like a lot of information, so I'll boil it

down for you:

If you wake up in the morning, test your HRV and it's low,

then you need to focus on de-stressing that day, and need to

replace (if possible) any stressful activities - whether

Crossfit or hard weight lifting or stressful tasks at work -

with easier tasks. This allows you to stay well-tuned to the

delicate see-saw balance of your nervous system.

Oh yeah, and one other quick thing: a low HRV may

simply mean that you just need to take a few

minutes and calm down before you hop out of bed.

Which is why I also do Hack #2 and Hack #3 to see if

I can get HRV before letting that number dictate my

whole day...

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Human Performance Hack 2: Journal.

While my HRV app is doing it's five minute thing, I roll over

and grab my 5 Minute Journal to begin a quick series of

notes. I keep the journal on my bedstand so I remember to

journal before I get out of bed. This is important.

Here are the main two reasons I like the 5 Minute

Journal method (compared to my old method of scribbling

down some illegible chicken-scratch on a notepad):

1. The layout of the journal integrates the simplest,

most effective things you can do everyday to be

happier. It's been proven over and over again that shifting

your focus to the positive can dramatically improve your

happiness, and this journal has a positive quote every day, a

weekly challenge, a structure to help you focus on what's

good and what you're grateful for - particularly positive

affirmations and the best things that are happening to you in

your life.

2. The journal is built on principles of positive

psychology. For some reason, it took psychologists about

80 years to realize it's better to focus on positive behavior

traits rather than things that make us anxious or sad. Rocket

science, huh? You end up smiling when you write down the

things you really appreciate about life, and scientific

evidence shows that journaling can promote creativity, self-

awareness, and personal development.

So I sit there and journal, typically writing down things like

how grateful I am for getting a chance to make a snowman

with my kids yesterday or for last night's glass of Pinot Noir

or for what happened with my wife after last night's glass of

Pinot Noir, then writing down things like how it would be

such a nice day if I got a chance to play guitar, fix the

snowman's nose, and connect with a colleague I'm launching

a phone app with, and finally finishing up with an

affirmation like "I'm a joyful guy to be around"...

...and when I'm done, I glance at my HRV score. Nine times

out ten, the simple act of journaling boosts my score

significantly higher. Amazing how writing grateful

thoughts, daily goals and positive affirmations with a pen

affects your internal biology.

And then, as soon as I finish journaling, I move on to Hack

#3...

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Human Performance Hack 3: Meditate.

Until last year, I used to go straight from journaling

to Hack #4.

But then I decided to hone in on and begin to prioritize daily

practice of one aspect of mental training that has been

proven to increase mental power: meditation. Even the

military uses meditation to prepare a soldier’s mind for

battle.

I know, I know - If there’s one thing you probably wouldn’t

associate with the stereotypical soldier in the military, it

would be sitting in a peaceful, zen-like position while

practicing deep, relaxing meditation. But the military has

actually found the practice of “mindfulness based

meditation” to be extremely helpful in overcoming stress.

And from Kobe Bryant to Joe Namath to Arthur Ashe,

meditation has helped countless athletes manage stress,

improve focus and enhance performance.

But here was my beef with meditation: the problem is that

it’s all too often associated with woo-woo science, mysticism

and extremely long periods of time spent sitting and

visualizing candle flames or the flow of the breath through

your nostrils. I don’t know about you, but even if those

techniques work, I simply don’t have time for them,

especially when I have twin 5 year old boys shooting tiny

marbles at me with their Lego rocket ships much of the day.

So instead, I use an extremely fast meditation hack

that only takes me about 60 seconds to perform, and

I do it immediately after journaling and right before

I get out of bed. It's called the quick coherence

technique, and here is how it goes:

Quick Coherence Step 1: Heart Focus. Focus your attention

on the area around your heart, the area in the center of

your chest. If you prefer, the first couple of times you try it,

place your hand over the center of your chest to help keep

your attention in the heart area. You'd be surprised once

you discover that your heart actually does still beat at the

buttcrack of dawn.

Quick Coherence Step 2: Heart Breathing. Breathe deeply,

but normally, and imagine that your breath is coming in

and going out through your heart area. Continue breathing

with ease until you find a natural inner rhythm that feels

good to you. This takes practice but you'll figure it out after

a few tries.

Quick Coherence Step 3: Heart Feeling. As you maintain

your heart focus and heart breathing, activate a positive

feeling. Recall a positive feeling, a time when you felt good

inside, and try to re-experience the feeling. One of the

easiest ways to generate a positive, heart-based feeling is to

remember a special place you’ve been to or the love you feel

for a close friend or family member or treasured pet. I

usually imagine my two little boys' smiling faces. This is the

most important step. But don't imagine my boys. Come up

with your own thing. I've found it to be even more effective

when you can create an image of the positive thing and

imagine it being placed on, in or near your heart. This

sounds ultra woo-woo, but it works.

The cool thing about the the Quick Coherence Technique is

that you can do it anytime, anywhere and no one will know

you’re doing it. In less than a minute, it creates positive

changes in your heart rate variability, which can also send

powerful signals to the brain which improve your focus and

how you’re feeling. In addition to the morning, you can apply

this one-minute technique before or during phone calls or

meetings, in the middle of a difficult conversation, when you

feel overwhelmed or pressed for time, or anytime you simply

want to practice instantly decreasing your stress. If you're

competing in sports or doing a tough workout that requires

focus, you can also use Quick Coherence whenever you need

more coordination, speed and fluidity in your reactions.

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Human Performance Hack 4: High-Dose Curcumin.

Once I finish up the first 3 steps, I get out of bed and

move on to hack number 4 - a quick hit of high-dose

curcumin (1000mg). I personally use 4 capsules of

this stuff called Phenocane, which is a potent, safe

source of curcumin and also has a bunch of other

natural feel-good herbal extracts in it. Plus, it's

faster than making an enormous bowl of Indian

curry.

So why is curcumin such an essential hack?

First curcumin acts as a bit of a pick-me-up - similar to an

anti-depressant, but without all the nasty side effects.

For example, in one study a group of 60 participants were

assigned to one of three groups for 6 weeks: 1000 mg of

BCMTM curcumin daily, fluoxetine (an anti-depressant) 20

mg daily, or a combination of both. A standardized test

called a Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was used to

assess the results.

Improvements were seen in all groups (fluoxetine 64.7% and

curcumin 62.5%), with the greatest improvement seen in the

combination group (77.8%). The differences, though, were

not significant across the groups. Specifically, the

researchers found the curcumin to be as effective as the

fluoxetine.

This was actually the first human study to find an anti-

depressant effect for curcumin, although previous animal

studies have shown mood-boosting effects.

But that's not all. Curcumin also alleviates brain

inflammation and stimulates growth of new brain cells. What

kind of things cause brain inflammation or shut down

growth of new brain cells? Here's just a few:

-Electrical signals from your phone and wi-fi router.

-Too much alcohol the night before.

-Not enough sleep the night before.

-Pharmaceuticals like anti-histamines or sleep drugs.

-Hard workouts the day before.

-Stress.

I don't know about you, but I get exposed to at least one of

these things almost every day. So I pop my Phenocane on an

empty stomach first thing in the morning and it makes an

enormous difference.

By the way, the renewal of brain cells by curcumin not only

gives the brain plasticity (meaning you're sharper in the

morning and better able to form memories and engage in

complex tasks), but it also seems to protect the brain from

stress and prevent depression. Cheap stuff, easy hack. Done.

And move on to the final hack...

(P.S. I also keep organic turmeric powder in my pantry and

sprinkle it all over my salad at lunch).

-----------------------------------------

Human Performance Hack 5: Do Yoga or

Foundation Moves.

Finally, I get my body moving. Gentle, light aerobic

movement early in the day enhances product of BDNF (Brain

Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which assist with learning,

productivity and focus later in the day.

Doing something physical in the morning also makes you

more likely to exercise later on in the day, especially if you're

an "All-Or-Nothing" personality like me. Morning moving is

also great for blood pressure, oxygenation, fat burning,

increased metabolic rate, and addressing any tight spots on

your body that may be prone to injury or lack of mobility.

So every day, I alternate between two modes of movement:

1) 10 minutes of yoga with deep, diaphragmatic breathing I

describe in Chapter 5 of Beyond Training);

2) One round of the 10 Core Foundation moves.

For the yoga, you can pick your poison. I personally do 100

jumping jacks, then I do the entire sun salutation series 3

times through (click that link, print it, hang it on your wall

until you memorize it, then rip it down and go into cruise

control for the rest of your life), then I finish with 10 push-

ups and 10 body weight squats.

And what the heck is Core Foundation Training?

Foundation Training is a series of exercises based on

integrating the muscular chains of your body - particularly

your butt.

In other words, Foundation Training turns on the notorious

weak link in most humans: our ass.

Of course, the book uses the more appropriate term

"posterior chain" - and teaches you how to stabilize your

spine and core to rapidly reduce any low back pain, mobilize

the hips, and use your powerful butt muscles all day long. So

you get better posture, and you also look way better in fitted

jeans.

For a quick introduction to Foundation Training, watch Dr.

Eric Goodman demonstrating the basic techniques of a few

the Foundation moves. I've had Eric on my podcast before,

and you can listen to that episode by clicking here.

OK, so now you need to get the Foundation Training Book,

learn the 10 moves in that book and do them every other

morning, alternating with yoga. It took me about 3 days to

memorize all 10 moves. They're not very complex, but they

make a huge difference in the the way you look, feel and

perform the rest of the day.

Plus you can tell your friends that you now activate your ass

every morning.

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Summary

At first glance, this list may seem mildly exhausting and

intimidating. But when you put it all together, it's actually

quite simple. For example, here are my notes from this

morning:

6:37: Wake

6:37-6:40: Lie in a semi-coma-like state digging the

goobers out of the corners of my eye.

6:40-6:45: Roll over, grab Sweetbeat stuff, grab journal,

and take HRV while journaling.

6:45-6:46: Quick Coherence Technique.

6:47: Get out of bed and pee. Pop 4 Phenocane and a glass

of water.

6:50-7:00: 10 Core Foundation exercises for 10 minutes.

Boom, that's it. By 7am I'm ready to rumble. Or at last take a

morning dump on my Squatty Potty.

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Now is the time for action, go 1) download a heart

rate variability app; 2) grab your 5 Minute Journal;

3) review the quick coherence technique; 4) get the

Core Foundation book; 5) order high dose

curcumin - and within one week you'll have

everything you need to change your life and hack

your productivity, your income, your career, your

health and your happiness. Happy hacking!

-----------------------------------------

Did you enjoy this chapter? Get the whole book

at BeyondTrainingBook.com and change your life, body

and health forever.