Heroes!

We’ve got a SPECIAL Philosopher’s Note this week! 👋 🎉 

It’s on Areté by Brian Johnson.

And…

(Spoiler alert!)

This Note is the first one in our collection that wasn’t written by Brian.

Yep. It’s Michael here. And it was a profound honor for me to be distilling Areté into the 687th Philosopher’s Note.

Now…

Before we get to the quick intro to the Note (which you can jump right into here), I have to take a moment to celebrate the bliss out of Brian.

Writing this Note was, quite frankly, one of the most meaningful, joyful, and profound things I’ve had the opportunity to do for Heroic.

Philosopher’s Notes have changed my life many times over.

I listen to the featured PN every day, and every week’s new Note at least three times, so having the opportunity (and trust!) to create this one was really special.

It was also painstakingly, “tortures of the damned” difficult to try to FIT all that wisdom into six pages. 🤪

(Maybe 10 hours of deep, focused work. And countless re-reads looking for every possible word or sentence to pull out and re-craft to shrink it from 8 to 7 to 6 to 5.9 to 5.8 to 5.7 pages. Thanks for the help Calman!!! 🙌)

I know Brian makes a comment about that challenge in almost every Note, and I’ve often read those comments as playful jokes, but OH MY GOODNESS is the struggle real!

And…

The process gave me even greater respect and gratitude for the fact that Brian has done this NEARLY 700 TIMES!!! (En route to 1,000!)

And, as I narrated the Note for the MP3, that he has done THAT as well! (And for the Areté audiobook!)

It caused me to reflect on just (!) how (!) much (!) WORK (!!!) he has done to master his craft as a teacher, and how deep his commitment is to give all of us “more wisdom in less time” and the tools to actualize our potential.

And it’s doubled my own commitment to take each and every +1 and Philosopher’s Note and Target Swipe and every other thing AS GRANTED rather than for granted.

As well as my commitment to serve YOU, and alongside you (yes you!), in this movement to help create a flourishing world together.

51 | 2051

Hope you enjoy the Note!

(And in case you were wondering, none of the above actually made the PN. SIX pages!!! 😝)

With that, here’s the quick intro…

Areté. It’s the one-word answer the Stoics would give you if you asked them how to live a good life, the one-word summation of our philosophy at Heroic, and the title of Brian Johnson’s book featuring 451 ideas/chapters to help us activate our Heroic Potential.

Now, before you get confused about the 3rd person references to Brian, let’s follow the advice of Randy Pausch’s dad in The Last Lecture and address the “elephant in the room.”

You may have already guessed it, but this note isn’t being written by Brian. It’s Michael here, Bri’s right-hand-guy and the President and Head Coach at Heroic. It is a profound honor for me to be distilling Areté into the 687th Philosopher’s Note in our collection.

As you know if you’re familiar with Brian and his iconoclastic style, the book is a quick-reading, conversational, knock-your-socks-off-with-practical-wisdom masterpiece.

Most of the books Brian profiles in these Notes are so PACKED with Big Ideas they’re tough to narrow down to just a few favorites. Areté’s 1,000+ pages are so dense with distilled wisdom that we’re not even going to make it too far past the cover! (!!!) Grab a physical copy here, or download a PDF of the cover and the first 12 chapters here, and let’s get to work!

-Michael

P.S. As you’ll see on the copyright, Areté is owned by Heroic Public Benefit Corporation, which is owned by 3,000+ investors from 75+ countries who have invested between $100 and $1 million+. Learn more about becoming an investor in Heroic here: wefunder.com/heroic

P.P.S. Areté is the first book published by Heroic Blackstone Publishing, the new imprint we formed in partnership with the world-class, values-aligned publishing company Blackstone Publishing. A HUGE shout out to our team at Blackstone for their incredible work, and special gratitude to Josh and Stephanie Stanton. We’re blessed to have you as partners and couldn’t be more FIRED UP about what’s in store for Heroic Blackstone Publishing, including Volume II (~20% done!), the Areté Workbook, The Way of the Heroic Kid, a younger-kids picture book series, and a Heroic Blackstone edition of Meditations. (More old-school classics coming soon!)

P.P.P.S. Here are some gems from the book to get you warmed up!

“Know what you want. Know what you need to do to get it. Tell Part X to settle down. And go do what you’re here to do. Close the gap. Give us all you’ve got. TODAY.”

“You want to be Heroic and show up as your best self and create a great, joyful life in which you’re giving your gifts to the world.”

“Heroes finish strong.”

P.P.P.P.S. You see the last few new Notes? Move by Move by Maurice Ashley, The Confident Mind by Nate Zinsser, Unstoppable Mindset by Alden Mills, Scars and Stripes, 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class by Steve Siebold, and Creating Your Best Life by Caroline Adams Miller & Dr. Michael B. Frisch.

Coming soon: Audacious Goals, Remarkable Results by Brad Borkan and David Hirzel.

P.P.P.P.P.S. Got suggestions for future Notes? Let us know here: heroicpbc.typeform.com/book-rec

P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Hey there! Did a friend forward you this email? Get instant access to all of the Philosopher’s Notes mentioned above (and 600+ others and a TON of other goodness!) with Heroic Premium. Get the first 30 days for free!

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. As mentioned above, Heroic is a history-making, crowdfunded Public Benefit Corporation committed to changing the world by running our business the way we think our heroes would—with wisdom, discipline, courage, and love. 

We’re blessed to have the support of 3,000 investors (just like you!) from over 75 countries around the world.

Would you like to become one of our Early-Stage Heroic Investors and own a piece of our movement while supporting us in our Mission to change the world? You can invest as little as $100 or as much as $1,000,000+.

Learn more and invest today at Wefunder.com/Heroic.

And…

Any time we talk about our crowdfunding round, our attorneys remind us that we need to include this bit of legalese so here we go…

1. Blackstone Publishing is an investor in Heroic.

2. The comments, endorsements, and/or likenesses of Blackstone Publishing are included with their express permission.

3. The comments and/or endorsements of Blackstone Publishing are not, and should not be regarded as, investment advice. Individuals considering an investment in Heroic should consult an investment professional before making an investment decision.

4. These materials may contain forward-looking statements and information relating to, among other things, the company, its business plan and strategy, and its industry. These forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of, assumptions made by, and information currently available to the company’s management. When used in the offering materials, the words “estimate,” “project,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management’s current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. The company does not undertake any obligations to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after such date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.