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Supercharge Your Brain & Life with Brendon Burchard (Part 3)

Brendon Burchard is a #1 New York Times bestselling author whose books include The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives that Make You Feel Alive, The Millionaire Message: Make a Difference and a Fortune Sharing Your Advice, and Life’s Golden Ticket: An Inspirational Novel.

Join this 3-part podcast with New York Times bestselling author and master high performance trainer Brendon Burchard in a rare conversation on activating the 10 human drives that shape everything you think, feel, and do in life.

According to Brendon, our brains are hardwired to meet very specific human drives, and learning to harness and activate these drives is the secret to success and happiness.

Make sure you subscribe so you receive the next two parts of our conversation. And pick up a copy of Brendon’s new book – High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way. Whether you want to get more done, lead others better, develop skill faster, or dramatically increase your sense of joy and confidence, the habits in this book will help you achieve it.

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"Don’t play small. If you’re going to change your life, make a radical shift. Have a breakthrough and a transformation."

Brendon Burchard

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In our previous episodes with Brendon, we talked about baseline drives. These drives are concerned with self-knowledge and social connection. In this episode, Brendon reveals the forward drives, which are concerned with self-actualization and social contribution. They are less comfortable to activate but more satisfying when they are achieved.

10 Human Drives (Drives 6 – 10)

Drive 6: Change

  • We are driven biologically, evolutionarily, and spiritually for change.
  • Most people fear 3 things about change, so know what you fear and see how you can re-wire your brain to see it from a different perspective.
  • People fear loss – that you’ll lose whatever you like. Ask yourself: what will I gain?
  • People fear process pain – that the change will be hard. Ask yourself: how can I set this process up so that I enjoy it?
  • People fear outcome pain – that the grass won’t be greener on the other side. Ask yourself: How can I find people who’ve achieved the outcome I want? How can they guide me?
  • Change can be the greatest release of dopamine in your life – but don’t make small changes.
  • SMART goals have their time and place but goals are not enough.
  • Don’t play small. If you’re going to change your life, make a radical shift. Have a breakthrough and a transformation. Leap; don’t crawl.

Drive 7: Challenge

  • Challenge is what makes you want to grow.
  • Growth is an outcome of challenge.
  • Humans are journey-thinkers, so the journey itself is rewarding.
  • Goals are great, but they are destination-thinking.
  • One of the greatest challenges of the last century was when JFK challenged Americans to go to the moon by the end of the 1960s.
  • When he issued the challenge in 1961, we lacked the technology, knowledge, and skills to do so – but we developed them because the challenge was set.
  • To hit another level of your life, ask yourself: what is that bold challenge? What is that one thing that you want to accept as a challenge?
  • Activating your drive for challenge is one way to reach self-actualization. This is why many people talk about overcoming challenges as some of the most meaningful moments of their lives.

Drive 8: Creative Expression

  • “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.” – Martha Graham
  • You have been given a gift of uniqueness – no one else is exactly like you. If you don’t amplify that into the world, you don’t feel alive.
  • When you are not expressing yourself, you are living a life that is subdued and a life subdued feels caged.
  • Creative expression takes many forms. You can dance, do music, or paint. You can write a book or work on marketing. You can talk about new ideas about the world, or decorate your office or home, or have your own fashion sense.
  • When you come from an authentic place creatively, you start to feel more engaged.

Drive 9: Contribution

  • Fulfillment and satisfaction come from these final two drives.
  • Our drive for contribution is ingrained within us, but this drive tends to be subdued in our culture.
  • Many people think that contribution is measured by “giving to.”
  • Giving time, money, effort, or energy to something makes you a contributor.
  • People don’t feel the zest of contribution in their life because they’re not giving to anything.
  • While “giving to” is important, contribution is actually measured by “giving of.”
  • Giving of yourself to the world is your greatest contribution.
  • Brendon lost his father in 2009 – and while society might not recognize his contribution, he gave of himself fully to every endeavor he was in. So everyone he touched in society will carry his charge, and the values and energy he gave, with them.
  • To contribute more, be more of yourself.
  • Live life at your highest level. When you make decisions from that standpoint, you’re more honorable, more authentic, more service-driven, more connected, and more generous.

Drive 10: Consciousness

  • We all want to transcend, and this desire shows up in two ways in our lives.

Transcendent Thought:

  1. We try to think beyond our own minds, transcending our impulses and ways of thinking in order to reach our highest selves.
  2. Meditation and Buddhist thought are all about transcendent thought.

Transcending Self:

  1. This is our drive to recognize and connect with something larger than ourselves.
  2. No one can ever be fully conscious, but we can all do our best and make it a lifelong goal to transcend our own consciousness levels.
  • The more conscious we become, the more spiritual we become, and the more we are able to live as our highest self.
  • “Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
  • Being more conscious of love, of giving it generously, of opening ourselves to it, and of leading from it will change the direction of our planet.

Liked this episode? Be sure to share it with your friends and tag me (@jimkwik) and Brendon (@brendonburchard)!

Don’t forget to listen to Parts 1 and 2, too.

Want more from Brendon? Discover the 6 habits that will help you succeed in his brand-new book: High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way.

 

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