Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais - The Psychology of Positive Habits | Jon Gordon

Episode Date: August 19, 2026

This is a conversation about habits, the ones you want to build and the ones you want to get rid of.Jon Gordon has written more than 30 books on leadership, habits and mindset. Recently he called his daughter and asked which of his own habits was the worst. She said simply: you're controlling.She was confirming something he had already come to see. Jon traces that habit of control back to a father who left when he was a year old, and to a feeling of powerlessness he thought he'd already healed. In reality, he still had more work to do. Jon's most recent book is titled The Power of Positive Habits, and it tackles a critical issue so many of us face - how do I break the habits that no longer serve me, and how do I build ones that will help me flourish? This is a conversation about self-awareness, self-challenge, and how to build practical habits, like gratitude, visualization, and something Jon calls the habit before the habit. Links & ResourcesLearn more about Jon here: https://jongordon.com/Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and wellbeing: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors!Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletterDownload Dr. Mike’s Morning Mindset Routine: findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and XJon Gordon’s Books: The Power of Positive Habits, The Energy Bus, The Power of Positive Leadership, The Power of a Positive Team, The One Truth, The Coffee Bean, and The Hard HatSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You are your habits. And so if a habit is not working for you, or you have a bad habit and it's holding you back, or it's hurting your life, you can pick a positive habit. And as I said, that thank you walk, that one habit changed the course of my life. How much of who you are today is shaped by the habits you've built? And how much is shaped by the wounds you never healed? If I had to go very deep, what am I really working on? It's what wounds have I not fully healed that I think.

I think I've healed, but I probably haven't fully healed. So I think I'm doing great. But then something they surface and go, oh, I'm not fully healed yet. Welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast, where we dive into the minds of the world's greatest thinkers and doers. I am your host, Dr. Michael Jervais, by trade and training, a high-performance psychologist. This week, John Gordon is back on the podcast. For good reason.

John's a bestselling author of more than 30 books, 18 bestsellers, including his latest the power of positive habits. His writing, it lives right at the intersection of leadership, habits for personal growth, mindset, and self-reflection. In your marriage, you're two imperfect people coming together, and you got issues. And when something is triggering you about your wife or your spouse, it's usually you.

You think it's your spouse, but it's usually you. We also get really practical. We talk about gratitude, self-talk, leadership under stress, and how to build better mental habits. Well, if you're anxious, you feel very good. is connected from yourself, from others. I have found the more you actually do this and you make it a habit, it increases alertness and energy helps you sleep better at night. This is the ultimate leadership principle right here. With that, let's jump into this week's conversation with John Gordon.

John, this is like, it's a real treat to be able to sit in person with you and have this conversation. We've known each other for years. Yeah, it's been a lot of time. But we don't get to spend a lot of time with each other. We don't. Let's start with something pretty concrete. You've written 33 books. Holy moly. I don't know how you do it.

And that's going to be part of this conversation. What you write about is really about lifting people up, supporting them, challenging them, giving them best practices to, in this case, your newest book, to build habits. I just want to start with, what do you hope people will get from this conversation? This conversation, the book, my life. I just want to lift people up. I want to encourage them. I think I want to be encouraged in life,

so I want to encourage others. I remember when I was down, I was miserable and negative. My wife was going to leave me. That's how bad it was. I lost my job during the dot-com crash. Didn't know how I was going to pay the bills. And I just remember struggling.

And I remember saying, why am I here? What am I born to do? And why am I so miserable? And I realized, Mike, I was miserable because I wasn't living with purpose. I was really focused on myself. health instead of others.

And right then there, I said, I want to make my life about others. I want to encourage others. Because I was pretty self-focused. And I had become not a narcissist, but I had narcissistic tendencies. I think from the wounds I had dealt with in the past and the abandonment I had with a biological father leaving, that's a whole other story. Oh, no. That is going to be part of this story.

All of that helped, you know, make me want more at that time and want to do more and become more and just live a better life. So it really became a quest to get better myself. And that quest began when my wife said, if you don't change, we're over. So I had to change if I wanted to stay married. It wasn't even like, hey, I want to get better at first. I want to stay married.

But then it was like, okay, I also want to be a better version of me. I also asked what I was born to do. Writing and speaking came to me in that moment. I'll never forget. So I want to be more purposeful, make a greater impact. I also now know I want to write and speak, but what am I going to write and speak about? I don't know.

So I began researching all these ways that could be more positive, and this was during the emerging field of positive psychology, all the way back in 2001, 2002. And as I was researching these ideas, I found one that said you can't be stressed and thankful at the same time. So I began practicing gratitude while taking a walk. I coined there to thank you walk, and while I was walking, I would just say what I was thankful for out loud.

My neighbors thought I was crazy. But as I'm doing this, were you actually speaking out loud when you're walking? Not just internal dialogue. No, I'm saying it out loud. I'm thankful that I can walk. I'm thankful that I can talk. I'm thankful for my kids,

even though they're driving me nuts right now. I'm thankful for my life, even though it's not going well. I'm just thankful. I would just say what I was thankful for. Maybe 10 minutes, 15 minutes. But I noticed a shift. And my wife noticed a shift.

And right then and there, began a quest to get better myself that led to a mission to help others get better. Because as I was doing that, I began then sharing tips via e-newsletter, an e-newsletter, one of the first of its kind back in the day in 2002, using constant contact and sending this out to five subscribers. My mother, my brother, my teammates from college, I didn't even think they were reading it, but I was sending it to them. But people started to share this, and it started getting out there.

And that's what led me then to start writing books and start speaking. Now, I was writing these positive tips, which were habits that I was doing all the way back in 2002, 2003, 2004, all the way to writing the energy bus in 2006. But as I'm doing these habits over the years and sharing them, I'm seeing people change, seeing them elevate, working with athletes, working with teams and organizations. Next year and now I'm like, wow, this is working. Wow, these guys are changing. They're being impacted by it.

And a lot of these habits were mental habits, which I know you love, because thinking is a habit. That's why there are so many thinking habits and mental habits in the book. There's also physical habits, but mental habits. So this book is really like a culmination of years and years of doing this. And I felt like I was coming back full circle to my beginning in writing the power of positive habits. 93 habits that over the years I've collected and had been doing and sharing. and then new ones that I researched recently for this book. And the cool thing is, as I researched these new habits, I began doing them.

And even in the last six months, I've elevated from a few of these new habits. It is one of the kind of hidden gifts in the profession that we're in is that one of my mentors earlier in my graduate program said, Mike, I just want to be really clear to you is that whatever you need, to explore and work on in your life is going to show up in your sessions with other people. So what do you mean? I said, you're going to see that thing as quickly as you can imagine in the chair across from you. And that is going to be one of the greatest gifts, is you're going to feel a certain way about it. You're going to recognize yourself in it.

And it will be an impetus for you to go to do that work. And he says, I encourage you, this is my mentor, said, I encourage you to let people know that you are also working. and the thing that your client at that time is working on. And this, I said, really? You know, like, and he's like, oh my God, this old idea that one person has it together and the other person is a mess. He goes, I think it actually creates more harm. So what I'm talking about is self-disclosure.

And for a long time as a psychologist, the training is self-disclose, never self-disclose as a camp, self-disclose with minimal kind of time allocated. And then, but whenever you're going to do it, make sure that serves a purpose. But the purpose for me, for a lot of it, is to be honest in the relationship. Because I think that we're constantly sorting that out. Is the person across from us honest? Are we being honest? Because when it's un-honest, it is untrustworthy.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. So- They also admire us for our strengths, but they really respect us and appreciate us for our weaknesses when we reveal them and how we overcame them. Yeah, that's right. If we can overcome them, then they know they can too. But what I'm saying in this case is like, I'll say, say somebody's working on something and I'm like, and I'll lean in and be like, I need that too.

And they look like, really? I go, hey, let's figure this out together. And then we eventually get to something that we'll do like a training something. And I do it alongside of them. We're holding each other accountable. Which seems like you're not supposed to do that. But it's like this amazing kind of gift to both of us, you know, in that way. Would you say because that creates connection and now you feel like there's a partnership where

they're not in this alone, you're doing it together and growing together? There's also an authenticity and a vulnerability that paves away for that connection. 100%. Yeah. You know, yeah, there's lots of reasons why, but self-disclosure in first and foremost is really about connection. So another person doesn't feel lonely in their suffering. Right.

Everyone thinks that they're the only mess. Yeah, that's right. And when they know that you're a mess to, oh, great, I'm not so bad. This is normal. Yeah. Yeah. And there's also parts where the clients are X number feet, X number miles ahead of me

in some things. Yeah. And there's times when I'm X number feet or X number miles ahead of them, and I come back the trail and pass them a flashlight or a torch to be able to kind of light the way. And for much of the time, I feel like we do it together. Yeah. I'm holding the flashlight for a little bit.

And then at some point they hold the flashlight. And then I'm like, where are you pointing that thing? Like, hold on, you got to take care of both of us. And then eventually they take it fully on their own. And they're like, thanks. Like, I'm good. That's good.

Yeah. That's why, you know, in this book, I share a lot of stories of my own, like personal stories. It's really personal. Yeah, very personal. But also I did that because, again, I got to show my transformation how these habits impacted me and hopefully inspire you and encourage you to know that they're possible for you. But they're short stories. So you read them.

And then there's the habit. And you're like, oh, okay. If he can do it, I can do it. I give people hope is what I like to say. Finding Master is brought to you by Magic Mind. Something that I come back to often is the power of principled mornings. The performers who sustained excellence over decades, not just for a season, they almost all have one, a set of behaviors that they do not negotiate away because they understand that how

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Again, that's LinkedIn.com slash mastery. Terms and conditions apply. And so in the most reductionist way, what do you hope people get from, let's go back to this conversation. Say it one more time. What do you hope people get from this conversation? I hope that they get better from it. I hope that they look within themselves and they get to know themselves better. I hope they can see how habits they choose will impact their life. That they don't have to be stuck where they are.

They can actually pick new habits to create a new them. You are your habits. And so if a habit is not working for you, or you have a bad habit and it's holding you back, or it's hurting your life, you can pick a positive habit. And as I said, that thank you walk, that one habit changed the course of my life. If someone listens to this and they get better from this. But I also want them to read the book. I'm not going to lie.

I do want them to read the book because I know this conversation is one thing, but reading the book is very personal. And as you read it, you're going to discover things within yourself. as you're reading it. You're going to be inspired, encouraged to take action. And then as you begin to take action, you're going to really see some positive change in your life and some transformation.

So, yeah, I do hope people listen to this and get better from this conversation, but I do want them to read the book knowing it will make them better. It's why I wrote it, to really help them grow exponentially. What is one question that you're wrestling with in your life right now that if we're talking about people

or the person listening right now, to go inward a little bit, to do a bit of self-discovery for themselves, so that they can be better in their life in whatever way that they kind of point that effort. What's a question you're working on right now in your life? You know, if I had to really go very deep, what am I really working on?

It's what wounds have I not fully healed that I think I've healed, but I probably haven't fully healed. So I think I'm doing great. But then something may surface and go, oh, I'm not fully healed yet. I'll give you an example. My wife, my daughter, my son, we were in Italy,

and they start binging on desserts and food. And this is what they do, sugar, and they just start binging. And they've been like this, like my whole life. And it's very, like, frenetic. and they're so addicted. And I have a controlling nature when that happens. And so I want to stop them from doing it.

So I'm like, hey, come on, guys. And I start to literally try to play cop. What are you afraid will happen for you? Well, let's go into this. I know why it's happening. Because let me tell you how this played out. And so I realized what I was doing, how uncomfortable I was making them.

And how they were lying about what they were eating. What I wasn't around. Like no one wanted to tell me. So I realized how destructive that was being and how I was making them feel. And also with my daughter. Because you were being critical, judgmental. Just judgmental and critical, but not even critical. It's just like controlling.

Just controlling. But hold on. See if you can go there for a minute is like what are you trying to sort out? What are you afraid of that would happen to you if this behavior continues for them? Which is a wild way of thinking about it. I realize the reason why I was doing it. because it's my wound of feeling powerless, of not having control. Why would you flex your power on the food choices that they're choosing?

It's not even a wanting to. It's a feeling of that they are acting in a way that is detrimental to them because I've seen how this food and doing that has had detrimental effects on their health. What about your life? Your health, did you have food issues? When I was in my 40s, I had a lot of food allergies. But in my home growing up, I would say, yeah, I was chubby kid and dealt with weight.

My whole family did. Did you get bullied for it? No. No. I didn't get bullied for it. How'd you know you're chubby? You're so good. You're good.

I looked in the mirror. And so you just brought back a moment where someone called me fat magic on the basketball court because I was good. but I was chubby. And so there's probably some element in there for myself. So when that happens, I recognize there's no doubt that I'm acting out of a wound. And I don't want to be doing this anymore to them and making them feel that way. So I literally brought them together with me and I apologize.

And I explained that this was definitely coming from a wound that I know I need to heal and I need to heal it because it's not good for my marriage. They try to tell my wife what to do, to work out. But it's like this, Mike. Do you work out today? Hey, why are you eating that? Like, you're going to feel horrible if you eat that. Don't eat that.

Hey, Jay, Jay, did you get your workout in today? Like, I'm calling my kids to make sure they got their workout at it. I'm calling my wife to make sure she's not binging that day on desserts. Like, how uncomfortable that. It's a miserable experience. It's hard to be around you because, you know. I wouldn't want to be around me. Yeah, right.

So the cool thing is, though. And I have a circle that I mentor. I actually told them this story. The other day, explained it to them. when I was teaching about wounds and healing. So I'm not hiding from it at all. And I told my circle, I showed them and I showed my family, this is something that I don't want to do and I'm not going to do.

When I released it in that moment, I released it, I felt so free. And ever since I have not said a word, I've actually felt free with it. I've released it. Like, that's it. I'm done with this. I am not going to play that part in that role anymore. That's a bad habit. I asked my daughter, what's my worst habit?

Because one thing I wish I wrote in the book was to get rid of your worst habit. Should be a habit. I did not put that in there, but it should be a habit to get rid of your worst habit. So I called my daughter yesterday, Jade, what is my worst habit? Because I don't really have a lot of bad habits. I don't eat bad. She says my dessert is Greek yogurt. That's how disciplined I am.

I don't gamble. I don't drink. I don't do porn. I don't do any of that. So what's my worst habit? She was your controlling. I said, all right, I'll take that. You're right, like, it is definitely my worst habit.

It's a, it's a kind of easy button for me to see that if you struggled with somebody early in your life, choosing to not be around you, that would feel very out of control. Yep. And my father left when I was a year old, as you said. And then also... How old were you? A year. And then my...

And he left for what reason? Why do you leave? Yeah. He and my mom got divorced. And he exited your life? Exited my life. He was back and forth involved, like we'd see him on weekends, but it was a very tumultuous relationship with he and my mom,

also going over to his house. He got remarried. He had a family. So I never felt safe. Yeah, can you feel like? I felt powerless. And then my mom remarried my stepfather, and I called my dad because he raised me since I was five.

And I love my dad. He was great. But he had a family from her previous marriage. and his family would come over. So I never felt safe. I never felt like I had power. And I was the youngest. So I'm watching all this go on.

And I don't feel like I have any control. And I have no power. But you do with your kids. But I do with my kids. With the gelato. Too much gelato. Stop eating in the bread. Yeah.

But which is crazy, right? And I think this is good for people to hear because. It's not when you understand that it's coming from a wound. It's coming from a place where you're trying to feel safe. Yeah. And collapse with you also know, there's very few people on the planet that would say that excess sugar is really a good choice.

So you love them, you want them to be healthy, and this is a way that you've been disciplined to your own life with the choices you've made to feel in control. And then it just kind of found its way through some rigid, kind of outwardly expression. Exactly. Which is like, no one asked you for that. No, but then you see them do it and you see them self-sabotage. So then it does affect me because I got a wife who's unhappy. I've got kids who are unhappy not feeling well.

Are you in their relationships because they're eating and it's actually whacking out their brain? They have such bad allergies that messes with their mental functions when they eat certain foods. So you see how it plays out in their relationships in their life and you just don't want them to live that way. And then I am miserable because you're as happy as your happiest kid when you see them struggle.

It's really hard to be happy when your kids are struggling. So you just want them to make better choices and do better. So then you feel like you have to control. But anytime we try to play God, we're going to be miserable because we were never meant to be God. And we can't control. So that letting go of it. I'm like, that's it. I am not doing this anymore.

You guys are going to have to figure it out. I hope you make great decisions. But I'm not going to take this on anymore. I love you and I hope you do. And it's amazing. Once you let it go, all of a sudden everyone starts to figure out on their own, which is always a key indicator for you. like this was a wound and it was something you need to work on because when something keeps happening and the pattern is there that's always a sign that it's you not them so i was had there's

this thing that kept coming up in in here at finding mastery in the business and i was having a hard time solving and getting through it and it was a repeating thing that was taking place for us as you know teammates here at finding mastery and my wife said wait hold on mike i've heard this six times she says what's your part in it i go it's not me She goes, okay. And I was like, wait, hold on. What do you mean? And she goes, well, what do you think your part is in this?

And I go, oh, I think it's this. And it was me being too exacting for a standard. And that is now creating a bit too much tension. And then it, you know, so I am so grateful for people in my life that hold an honest mirror up. Yeah. And then that only really happens when they know themselves. and they know that you are going to repair whatever rupture or repair whatever tensions come on the backside of a hard, honest, difficult conversation to have.

Yeah. Those are the ones that are in my roundtable, you know. And so I'm really thoughtful about who I am fortunate enough to learn from and listen to. And it's the ones that hold the mirror. Finding Master is brought to you by Momentus. I have spent my career studying the mind, how to develop it for high performance, how it can be great in high stress conditions, and what helps it stay sharp over the long arc of life. And one of the things I've learned is to pay close attention when science starts pointing

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It's shaped by what you train. My kids have been my greatest teachers throughout our journey in terms of just looking at myself. realizing where I need to be a better leader, where my wounds are affecting me and holding me back, and also marriage is that as well. Like in your marriage, you're two imperfect people coming together, and you got issues.

And when something is triggering you about your wife or your spouse, it's usually you. You think it's your spouse, but it's usually you. Like, here's another one. My wife will just leave all the stuff on the sink and in the sink. She doesn't clean up.

Me, I eat. I wash the dishes, I put it away. Like, that's what I do, but not my wife. And it just drives me nuts. Again, a lack of control, a lack of things being orderly. And so for years, it just bothered me. I'd say something. And then finally I realized, oh, actually it's me.

It's not her. It's like, this is me. Like, why does this bother me? It shouldn't, but it does. It's not her. So, again, another trigger, another wound, leading to healing. So to answer your question, I'm wondering what else is in there that I haven't dealt with that I need to. You are a bright light for so many people. You have a mastermind that you've

created. You've got a circle of people that you mentor on a monthly basis. You are a coach to many people. How do you go formally do your work? I do my work through when I attend other people's talks. when I've been to other people's masterminds and listening and learning. I haven't gone through formal counseling in years. But you have done it, but not just a while. Yeah. In the past. I do a lot of self-discovery and prayer, to be honest.

Do you write, like, journal in that way? I don't really journal, but when I am writing, like, the things I'm writing about, I'm usually writing to myself. I'm usually speaking to myself. When I'm praying, I'm asking God to reveal to me where I need to grow, what I need to heal. And I'm also asking for healing. So as I walk and I practice gratitude and I pray on a daily basis, that's been a big part of my journey to allow God to show me. And God, I believe, loves us too much to allow us to live surface level and not deal with the wounds.

I believe that when wounds come up like this one did recently, it's actually, a blessing, it comes up, because God will use circumstances, challenges, and adversity to reveal it so you can heal it. You are so good with quibs. Say it again? He'll use adversity challenges to reveal it so you can heal it. This was revealed, and it was uncomfortable and painful. It really was.

Which part is painful? The part where you see what you're doing, the part where you see how you're affecting your family, The part where you see that they're trying to do their best to satisfy you and you're making them feel that uncomfortable. And they love you too much, not to say anything or they don't even want to hear you talk, so that's why they're not saying anything. And you know that this is your problem and your challenge. And it was painful to look at yourself and know you don't have it altogether like you think. You do have these wounds. You do need healing on this journey.

And it was a wonderful thing. I told my wife, I said this is one of the greatest things. It's one of the hardest things. but this is one of the greatest things that has happened to me was this experience while I'm going through it and so there's a level of awareness I have now of to be able to look for those things and be open to them because I'm not scared of them

and as you said even now like what am I thinking what else do I need to uncover that needs to be uncovered because what you uncover will be covered with grace what you try to cover will eventually be uncovered And what is your process to go look at the things that are tender? It's really looking at your patterns.

I really believe it's looking at your patterns. It's looking at the things that keep coming up for you. And again, how do you do that? What is your process? My process is just life is my process. Relationships are my process. So underneath the surface, you are working often to say, what is this saying to me?

And is there something here that is. I can learn from and grow from. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, my body just heated up when we're talking about that. Like, I should probably pay attention. Yeah. Or even when I have a conversation with one of my team members. And I don't like to call them employees, but say team members. And I'm talking to them. And I said, you know what, John, you were a little short in that conversation. Like, why were you so short? You know, you're stressed. You got a lot going on. But, you know, you got to be a better leader and make sure that you're leading in a more positive way. You write about this. You got to live it. So I'm really self-aware.

I'm not living up to it and not matching what I write about and want to be. Because I always feel like I have to strive towards that. And I do have to walk the walk. I'll ask this in a different way. But do you have a weekly, daily mechanism with your teammates' employees that create the space for that? Or is this kind of randomly, haphazardly, you'll pull them aside and ask? Yeah, it's not a daily weekly. But it is, hey guys, what can I do about?

better and where can I be better? And it's conversations a lot of times one-on-one, say with Angela on my team, what could I do better? Have you noticed that I've been working on X, Y, and Z? You know what's cool though? I will say that it's cool that a lot of my team members have said, wow, we can tell you're really working on you and your leadership. Because I'm gonna be honest, like I wrote the power of positive leadership, right?

I did not have a team when I wrote that book. I was working with all these great leaders, and I wrote that book, seeing how much, seeing how they led, and then creating a pattern and framework for great leadership, which is now used by a lot of organizations. So watching that and seeing that, okay, that's what it looks like. So now, fast forward, I have a team, and now I'm dealing with all this stuff, and you know how hard it is to lead a team.

And I would say this in my talk, like, leadership is hard. I'm often pulling out my book going, what did I write on page 95? Oh, yeah, that's right, I have to stay positive. So now I'm seeing where there might be a gap between what I wrote about and how I need to lead better. So the cool thing is I told them, hey, I'm going to really work on this because I'm on the road. I get back. I just gave talks. I'm exhausted.

But now I have to deal with a million different things and fires to put out. If I was just running the company to be easy, I'm running a company and speaking and coaching and training and teaching and answering emails and looking at Slack and doing everything else and figuring out market. and making sure operations is being improved. It's a lot all at once. And recognizing that, I know that I could be stressed and act out of my need state instead of my, you know, more positive state. If you ever took the Birkman,

there's who you are in your normal state, who you are in your need state, and who you are in your stress state. That's right. In my normal state, I'm a very happy-go-luggy person. I want to enjoy life. like that's me speaking, that's me getting together with friends,

that's me, you know, coaching, having fun doing what I love, writing books, that's me. The need state, when you're not getting your needs met and you're stressed, the Berkman shows that I become very commanding and very controlling.

And so for me, it's recognizing how life and circumstances of events could then cause, as trigger to affect who I am in that state. And so it's recognizing that and then going, okay, what's the healing mechanism for that?

What's the next action, the next practice that's going to make me better? How can I approach this differently to make sure that I am actually growing and not hurting my team? When somebody is tired, discouraged, anxious, what are the positive habits? What are the habits that you would want people to invest in, to work their way through that? Well, if you're anxious, you and I talked about this when we talked about the one truth.

The root for the Greek word of anxious means to separate and divide. So when you're anxious, you actually feel separate and divided. You feel very disconnected from yourself, from others, and I would say, you know, spiritually. So I would want people to find moments of stillness. I would want them to take thank you walks and practice gratitude because you can't be stressed and thankful at the same time. I would want them to get outside and get some exercise in the morning,

get that blood flowing, get the dopamine and serotonin firing, get the sunlight on your eyes, which increases levels of cortisol, which increases alertness and energy helps you sleep better at night. Well done. Okay, I want to do this.

I want to hit a handful of these chapter titles. I'm going to give them to you at random. I'm checking the authenticity of your work. here. Okay. And a quick one-liner about what does this mean and what does a happen to make this thing happen. Okay. Okay. Okay. Are you ready? Yeah, let's go. Finding Master is brought to you by AG1. Summer is here. At least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, you can just feel it though. Days are longer, pace picks up, and there's this sense of momentum that comes with the season. For me, that also means more travel. It's more early mornings,

more late nights, and it's just really a schedule that isn't consistent as I'd like it to be. That's exactly when having a simple, reliable, daily foundation, it matters. AG1 has been that foundation for me for over a decade now. One scoop and a glass of cold water in the morning. And I know I'm supporting my gut health, full stop, filling the nutrient gaps that are hard to cover through food alone. And what ends up happening is I'm giving my body what it needs to keep showing up. And that really matters to me.

What I love about AG1 is that it doesn't ask a lot of me. It's one habit, one scoop. and it travels easily. The AG1 travel packs are something I genuinely rely on this time of the year. I throw a few in my bag before a trip and the routine stays intact wherever I am. If you haven't tried AG1 yet or you've been planning to think about getting back into it, now is a great time to start. Visit drinkag1.com slash finding mastery to get an AG1 flavor sampler and a bottle of vitamin

D3 plus K2 free in your welcome kit with your first AG1 subscription. It's a $72 value. Again, that's drink. ag1.com slash finding mastery. There's a little anxiety, I'm sure. Good. All right. My wound is coming out now.

Your number, your favorite number is? 11. Trust in your big life plan is the title of the chapter. Yeah. What is that about? What's the habit? Trust in your big life plan. There's going to be adversity in your life and challenges, but there is a big plan that is

meant for you in your life. And what's a habit? A habit for that. is to actually see adversity and challenges as your partner in growth and part of that ultimate plan. Okay, this is random. Number 18, play your highlight reel. Play your highlight reel. You love this.

This ought to be the easiest one for you. This is visualization. This is actually seeing the great moments in your life. You're getting on stage. Visualize yourself on stage when you had great speaking moments, get on stage with that in mind to have more confidence. How often do you see a highlight reel? Do you do this training?

you can do this highlight real every single day. How often do you do it? And you can also do it in your life as much as you have. No, how often do you do it? I would do it once a week. Once a week. Not as much as I should. No, that's good.

Yeah, listen, there's no critique. No, no critique. Okay, good. Number 22, double 11, all right? Connect before you can correct. This is the ultimate leadership principle right here. Connect before you correct. So, you know, if you are correcting before you're connecting,

you're going to get burned out instead of buy-in. You're going to get disengagement instead of dedication, resentment instead of results. You want to make sure that you are truly connecting with your team. They got to know that you love them and care about them. And when you do, you earn the right to challenge and correct them. I know you're really intentional. So let me start with number one. You chose this one for a reason.

The title of chapter is The Habit before the Habit. So the Habit before the Habit. I love this one because any habit that you want to do, you're going to have friction to implement the habit. So to help make sure you implement it, the habit before the habit. It helps that. You want to work out in the morning. Make sure you put out your clothes and your sneakers the night before. So when you get up, it's looking right at you.

There they are. There's no, I have to go find it. No, there it is. You put it on. You're more likely to go work out. You want to read at night before bed? Put your book on the bed. So you see it.

And then you'll see it. You'll read it hopefully because the friction is gone and you're more likely to do that habit. Number 56, do one more. Do one more. This came from George Boiarty, I wrote about in the hard hat. He died on the field in 2004, was hitting the chest with a ball and died. And amazing young man. Well, people were inspired by him, especially Rob Pinell, one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time.

And he was inspired to do one more for George. So if it was 20, he would do 21 reps because George was number 21. So the idea is that, you know what, we could all do one more. Number 69. Make the pie bigger. Make the pie bigger. You know, this is you and I. You know, earlier before this podcast,

we were talking about our businesses and we were talking about how we can both improve and grow and just sharing ideas. We weren't focused on our own agenda. We were making the pie bigger. Whenever there's an opportunity, don't focus on getting your piece of the pie. How much you can make or take.

Just make the pie bigger so everyone wins more. And I love to do that. When I wrote the coffee bean with Damon West, I gave him half in my advance and royalties of the book. And he said, John, you don't need me. You can just do this in your own. I knew we should do it together.

And because we made the pie bigger, we're now impacting millions of people as a result of that one book, the coffee bean, because we did it together, make the pie bigger. And what's the habit to ready somebody to be able to see the world that way? Right. The habit is every situation you're in,

you're asking yourself, how can I make the pie bigger in this moment? And, you know, that simple framing requires some diligence if you want to be good at it. And as corny as this sounds, if you want to get better at something, you probably need to write something down. Yes.

And so as corny as this sound, if you want to get better at making the pie bigger, wake up in the morning, and you write it down, you think about it. And it could be just that sentence, which is my goal today or my intention is to make the pie bigger.

And then check in at lunch and then check in at the end of the day. Did I make the pie bigger? Yeah. And you have to be honest, right? Did I make the pie bigger? Wait, I want to say yes, because it's important to me right now, but how did I do that? Oh, in that conversation with John, blah, blah, blah.

So check. And at the end of the day, maybe that's the only one, but I've given myself a chance for a couple more options. And someone's probably thinking, yeah, but so-and-so is trying to get their piece of the pie and take part of mine. What do I do? I have found the more you actually do this and you make it a habit, you start to attract other people who want to make the pie bigger with you.

But at any deal, you're going to make the pie bigger with you. But at any deal you go in, just you're looking at the situation. One of my favorite habits, too, is to actually live with purpose and write down your purpose statement, what you're talking about. If you write your purpose statement down and you read it each day, that's a reminder for you to go out and live that purpose that you just wrote down. Reading it every day helps you live that purpose. Yeah.

I'll give a plug right now as like, your purpose is one of the greatest things you can do. Oh, yeah. Exponentially to live a great life is to be really clear about it. I know you've got a methodology. We've got a methodology here. Wherever you go get it, do that work. It is meaningful work. All right.

Last one. 93. The final habit. Create an amazing funeral. What do you think it is? Well, I know what it is because I read your book. But the create the amazing funeral, the idea that you are going to create an experience where people can celebrate, where you are thinking about, for me, the way what I took away from it is cover some finance,

All right? Yeah. Plan for the burden to be lifted as best as you possibly can for the ones that are still living. Yeah. And leave a legacy. And what is legacy? But impact. So if you have an amazing funeral, if Michael Drouvet, it's your day and it's your time to go,

I envision in my funeral, like people are all there. And they're celebrating because you lived because you made a difference in their life. They're celebrating your life. Not celebrating that you died. They're celebrating your life. And because of that, it's an amazing funeral. Like, you left a legacy. And all these people are there,

and they're talking about what you said and what you did and reading your book and your next one that you're going to write that's going to impact them. I'm always encouraging you on that. And they're being encouraged by you because you poured into them. So what's the habit of that? Well, if I know I want to create an amazing funeral, then that means every day I'm going to live intentionally

to impact the people around me. My team? My family, people I meet on the street, I'm going to make time for them. I'm going to encourage them so that they will have great stories to tell, hopefully at the funeral. You're amazing. John, like, you are a breath of fresh air. You are creating net positive in the world. People trust you for a reason.

You are extraordinary at writing. I appreciate that. Yeah, you are very good writer. The fact that you can crank 33 books and how many are bestsellers? 19, five children's books. It's remarkable. I didn't know I could write. Yeah, you represent something that is just so giving to the world.

Thank you for helping me in a meaningful way launch my book. That was cool. That was a real gift, man. That was cool to say. Yeah, so thank you for that. I can't wait for the next one. You always say that. You were a big voice in my head to write the first one.

All right, where can folks be part of your mastermind or where can folks be part of your group and get coached by you or take some courses? I appreciate that. Obviously, read your books. John Gordon.com? John Gordon.com. J-O-N.Gordon.Gordon.com.

You'll find the books. You'll find information about me. My mastermind, my circle is John Gordon's circle.com, if you're interested in that. And then I'm on social media everywhere. The book is the power of positive habits book.com. That's power of positive habits book.com. The cool thing about that is we have a cool thing there when you get the book. We're giving you a free habits developer, which means you put in your top three habits

from the book, and then it gives you a 30-day plan to go implement those habits. Because people say, well, how do you make habits stick? But one, you pick habits that are sticky. I said, I didn't write this book to teach you about the science of habits and make habit stick. This is a book of habits that actually do stick. And when you put them into practice, because they're simple, powerful, and practical, they're going to impact your life.

So let's put them in the practice 30 days and you'll see how they impact your life. Well done. Well, done, John. Thanks, brother. Appreciate your brother. I appreciate you. Next time on finding mastery. Dementia is one of the greatest health challenges of our time.

But what if much of our risk isn't fixed? Next week, Dr Michael Joubeyes sits down with physician and neuroscientist Dr. Tommy Wood, whose research suggests that many of the factors influencing long-term brain health are more within our control than we've been led to believe. Together, they explore what dementia actually is, why brain decline isn't an inevitable part of aging, and the practical habits that may help protect your brain for decades to come. Join us Wednesday, August 26th at 9 a.m. Pacific only on Finding Mastery.

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