February 5, 2025 • 33 mins
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This podcast shows that navigating the complexities of the AI era requires more than just mastering technology; it calls for optimising our Brain States. Dr. Jon Finn introduces a transformative four-step system that empowers listeners to thrive in the AI revolution by effectively managing their cognitive energy. This system is the heart of his đź“–NEW Book: Train Your Brain for the AI Revolution: The Proven 4-Step System to Become Irreplaceable (No Tech Skills Required)
This podcast also covers:Â
• The importance of mastering Brain StatesÂ
• Introduction to the Recharge, Medium Charge, and High Charge Brain StatesÂ
• Practical tools for activating the Recharge Brain StateÂ
• Daily 3-to-1 reflection technique for mental clarityÂ
• The role of AI in handling routine tasksÂ
• Leveraging High Charge Brain States for complex problem-solvingÂ
• The Success Cycle: a four-step AI Edge systemÂ
• How to align daily tasks with peak brain performance
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello Habit Mechanics .
It's Dr John Finn here.
I hope you're having afantastic week.
So far, I've had a very busyDecember and January because
I've been working on our newbook and the new book is ready
for you to start listening to.
We're releasing the audiobookfirst.
(00:22):
The new book is called Trainyour Brain for the AI Revolution
.
The proven four is called trainyour brain for the ai
revolution the proven four-stepsystem to become irreplaceable,
no tech skills required.
So we've brought the habitmechanic system into the ai era
and you may have heard beforeabout the Habit Mechanic AI
(00:44):
system.
We've created an entirely newsystem combining the AI tools
that are available with ourscience-based behavior change
principles, and we've packagedall of those insights into a
really accessible book and thebook essentially talks you
(01:09):
through our new four-step system.
None of the individual elementsare new in the system, but the
way we've pulled this togetheris new in the system.
But the way we've pulled thistogether is new and the way the
(01:30):
ai world is shaping up hasallowed us, has allowed us to do
that.
So we think that these foursteps are the key to creating
the life that you truly want tolive and we think the AI World
is going to give us thepotential to do that Just.
I suppose an insight into howpowerful we're finding these
(01:53):
tools when you connect them withoptimized brain states is that,
just for the audiobook, theediting and the production of it
.
When we created the HabitMechanic audio book or we
(02:13):
created the equivalent the HabitMechanic book is about is much
longer than the new book, but tocreate the equivalent length of
audio in the Habit Mechanicbook for the new book, but to
create the equivalent length ofaudio in the Habit Mechanic book
for the new book, it took usabout 10 days with two people.
For this new book, it took oneday and one.
(02:40):
Sorry, it took three days andone person.
So by optimizing brain statesand using new AI tools, we're
able to.
For this just very specificaudiobook example, we're able to
do that work 233% faster and90% cheaper, and we're seeing
(03:02):
this across percent cheaper andwe're seeing this across lots
and lots of people that we areworking with.
But it's not necessarily aboutthe ai technology.
It's about optimizing yourbrain states and that this is
what that mechanic approach isall about.
So what the new book train yourbrain for the ai revolution
does is it shows you how tooptimize your brain state so
(03:26):
that you can be your very bestin the AI world.
We are making the entire bookavailable to our listeners, to
our community, for free insideof the Habit Mechanic University
app.
We're doing this because we'restill working on polishing the
(03:48):
artwork and things up before wehave a full release, but for our
members, you can listen to the,the pre-release version inside
of the Haven Mechanic Universityapp absolutely free.
You can get through the, the theprogram in the book.
The book is split into twoparts.
(04:09):
The first part is here's howyou implement the four-step
program called the success cycle, and the second half is more
about the science.
But you can get through theprogram part in.
I think it's three hours, 35minutes minutes, so really
really quickly and it shows youstep-by-step exactly what to do.
And we're really excited aboutthe success cycle.
(04:31):
We're introducing some newcharacters into the Lighthouse
brain.
So Willpower now has threeassistants the task director,
the day designer designer andthe routine engineer, um.
So we've created a really nicestory around um, around this
(04:52):
process, and it's really reallypowerful.
So what you're gonna hearshortly in this podcast is
actually the introduction to into the book.
You're gonna hear chapter one,which is your first three-minute
brain state two, and you'regoing to hear chapter two, which
is unleashing your brain's fullpotential in the AI era.
(05:13):
We are really excited aboutthis because this success cycle
is going to become the heart ofeverything we do.
It's going to become the heartof how we support people inside
of the hat, the app.
It's going to become the heartof our new 30-day one-to-one
coaching programs where we helppeople to optimize these 30-day
(05:39):
periods so they can actuallycreate the life that they want
to live um and we're seeing somereally exciting results on that
at the moment.
It's going to become the heartof how we train up our certified
habit mechanic ai edge coaches,so they're going to learn how
to deliver this system to theirclients.
We're also going to trainpeople train the trainer, so to
(06:00):
speak how to deliver thistraining program into businesses
.
There are, I think, our currentestimation or not ours, but the
World Economic Forum's currentestimation is there are already
750 million people that need tobe upskilled in this way.
It's there in black and white.
(06:21):
Businesses understand they needto do this, they need to learn,
they need to help their peopleto get better at working with ai
tools and again, it's not aboutthe key isn't mastering the
technology.
The key is mastering your brainstates.
Um, so there's massiveopportunities for people using
these skills in their own lives,but people creating their own
(06:42):
businesses off this.
We're also starting to workwith our first businesses using
these tools, businesses that arebringing us in to do everything
from running keynotes to theirpeople through to a team
training program, through toentire business having mechanic
ai edge a culture programs.
(07:04):
So this is really, really,really exciting.
Uh, I think that at last, wehave the opportunity to have the
equivalent of the, the sportscience revolution, but in terms
of the site, of thepsychological equivalent, of
(07:29):
that, the behavioral scienceequivalent.
So what this AI tool allows usto do is it makes it easier for
us to supercharge our cognitiveabilities in a way that we never
thought actually would bepossible.
It was some sort of futuristicdream, but now it's here.
We've been using these toolswith optimized brain states our
(07:49):
clients have, and the resultsthey're amazing.
They really are, and the tech'sgetting more powerful every day
.
But again, the key is is tolearn how to optimize your brain
states.
So, again, what you're going tohear next is the introduction
to train your brain for the airevolution.
You're gonna then hear chapterone, your first three minute
(08:15):
brain state two, and then you'llhear chapter two, unleashing
your brain's full potential inthe AI era.
There are I think there are 26chapters in the book.
The chapters are really punchyand short, very, very
deliberately.
Again, the total length of thebook, which unpacks the program,
(08:41):
is about three and a half hours, so it's easy to get through
For a limited time only.
You can listen to thepre-release version inside of
the Habit Mechanic Universityapp as we get everything ready
in the background.
So you can listen to the firstfew chapters here and if you
think, oh, that's interesting,go listen to the rest in the app
.
In the coming days and weeks,I'll drip some more chapters
(09:03):
into the, into the podcast aswell.
So, yeah, really lookingforward to your thoughts and
feedback.
If you know other people andyour network you think would be
interested in this, please,please, do share.
We're just making our mission tohelp people to succeed in this
unprecedented era of change.
(09:25):
That's my specialism I'm abehavioural science, psychology
specialist in resilience,performance leadership but it's
really always been centred onhelping people to optimise their
performance during periods ofsignificant change, and I don't
think we have seen a period ofchange before like we're going
(09:47):
to see in the coming years.
But it doesn't scare me,because I know that if we become
habit mechanics, of which thecornerstone is getting good at
managing our brain states, thenwe can actually create the lives
that we want to live, not thesebusy, overwhelmed, um, never
(10:11):
feeling like I want to feellives that we've been
conditioned into in the last of20 years or so.
We can start to live the liveswe want to live, with better
balance, doing more meaningfulthings, getting more high
quality time with our loved ones, doing those projects that
we've dreamed of doing for yearsand years but never got around
(10:32):
to doing so.
This is really, really exciting.
This is why we wrote the book.
So, again, what you're going tohear next is train your brain
for the AI revolution the provenfour-step system to become
irreplaceable.
And the good news is you do notneed any tech skills.
First, you'll hear theintroduction, then you'll hear
(10:54):
chapter one and then chapter two.
Enjoy.
Train your brain for the AIrevolution the proven four-step
System to Become Irreplaceable,no Tech Skills Required.
Written by Dr John Finn andread by me.
Dr John Finn Introduction howto get the most out of this book
(11:15):
.
Inside offices, worldwideprofessionals stare at their
screens, surrounded by AI toolsthat promise to transform their
work.
Each offers incrediblecapabilities analysing data,
managing projects, handlingroutine tasks.
Yet, despite all thistechnological power, many feel
(11:37):
more overwhelmed than ever.
Something isn't clicking.
To understand what isn'tclicking, consider
counter-intuitive truth.
Success in the ai era doesn'trequire mastering every single
artificial intelligence tool.
Instead, the foundation lies inmastering something far more
(11:58):
sophisticated your brain, themost complex technology in the
known universe.
The key is understanding how tooptimise your brain's three
essential energy modes what Icall your brain states.
This book provides ascience-based system for
optimising how your brainnaturally cycles through
(12:21):
different states throughout theday.
Learning to match these brainstates to different types of
work transforms how you createvalue in our AI augmented world.
And even if you have not usedany AI tools yet, you'll still
get a great deal out of thisbook.
Through our work with over20,000 professionals, from
(12:46):
Fortune 500 executives toworld-class athletes, we've
proven these brain optimizationprinciples work in real-world
settings.
Building on the foundation ofmy best-selling book, the Habit
Mechanic, I've created the HabitMechanic AI Edge system to help
(13:07):
you thrive in this newtechnological landscape, how
this book works.
You'll learn the success cycle,our proven four-step system for
optimizing your brain states inthe AI era.
You can start using thesepractical tools immediately to
enhance your performance andreduce overwhelm.
(13:28):
By the midpoint of the book,you'll have everything you need
to implement this systematicapproach for thriving in our
AI-augmented world.
The second half provides deeperinsights into the science
behind these practices, helpingyou refine your approach as you
gain experience and as AItechnology evolves.
(13:51):
Work through the success cyclesteps in sequence from
understanding your brain statepatterns to organising your
tasks, to optimising your dailyrhythm, to making improvements
automatic.
Each step builds on the next.
Keep this book accessible asyou integrate new AI tools into
(14:15):
your workflow.
The opportunities ahead areextraordinary and they're yours
to capture through optimisinghow your brain works with these
powerful new technologies.
If you have any questions aboutany area of this book, I am here
to help.
Just send me an email atcontact at toughermindscouk, or
(14:39):
contact me via our website,toughermindscouk.
Let's begin with a simple butpowerful tool that will
immediately make it easier foryou to improve your brain state
management.
Chapter one your firstthree-minute brain state tool.
Welcome, I'm Dr John Finn.
(15:00):
For 25 years I've specialised inthe behavioural science and
psychology of resilience,performance and leadership,
completing three degrees,including a PhD, in these fields
.
My expertise lies in helpingindividuals, teams and leaders
optimise their performanceduring periods of significant
(15:22):
change.
I've helped over 20,000 people.
Now, as we enter the mostprofound technological
transformation in human history,the AI revolution, I'm
dedicating myself to helpingpeople succeed in this
unprecedented era of change.
Whether you're just beginningto explore AI tools or already
(15:46):
using them regularly, theprinciples in this book will
help you integrate thesetechnologies more effectively
into your life so you can thrive.
My research has revealedsomething counterintuitive
Professionals excel in the AIera not by mastering every
emerging technology, but byunderstanding and optimising
(16:10):
their brain's fundamental energypatterns what I call your brain
states.
Those who grasp these patternsare completing sophisticated
projects in a fraction of thetime, while maintaining energy
for what matters most in theirlives.
Building on the principles frommy best-selling book, the Habit
(16:32):
Mechanic, I've developed apractical four-step system
called the Success Cycle to helpyou master your brain states
and give you the human AI edge,so you can seize the
extraordinary opportunities ofthe AI era.
Whether you're seekingpromotion, starting or growing a
(16:53):
business, developing your teamor wanting more energy for
family life.
Mastering your brain statestransforms what's possible as we
enter this unprecedented period.
Technology can either overwhelmus or help us create the lives
we truly want, and this systemensures you'll be among those
(17:15):
who thrive.
Your three brain states you havethree brain states.
Here's a quick overview.
First, your recharge brainstate.
This is your essential recoverymode when your brain rebuilds
its energy reserves.
Second, your medium chargebrain state this is your
essential recovery mode whenyour brain rebuilds its energy
reserves.
Second, your medium chargebrain state this is your
(17:35):
efficient processing mode,perfect for handling routine
tasks.
Third, your high charge brainstate this is your peak
performance mode, enablingsophisticated thinking and
complex problem solving.
While you'll learn to masterall three brain states, we begin
(17:56):
with your recharge brain state,the foundation for everything
else.
Without proper recharge, bothmedium and high charge states
become impossible to maintaineffectively.
Both medium and high chargestates become impossible to
maintain effectively, making itimpossible for you to be healthy
, happy and perform to yourpotential.
(18:16):
Let me share a simple tool thatwill help you activate your
recharged brain state moreeasily.
I will introduce this toolusing Sarah's story.
Sarah stared at her screensurrounded by three new AI tools
her company had recentlyimplemented.
Each promised incredibleproductivity gains, yet she felt
(18:39):
more overwhelmed than ever.
I have all these powerful tools, she told me later, but some
days I can barely focus enoughto use them effectively.
Other days I'm so wired fromconstant notifications that I
can't wind down at night.
I couldn't switch off, couldn'trecharge.
(18:59):
There had to be a better way.
Sarah's transformation beganwith a simple but powerful tool
the daily 3-to-1 reflection.
The purpose is simple yetprofound to help you calm your
thinking and achieve what wecall the recharge brain state,
(19:20):
your brain's essential recoverymode.
Most importantly, this toolhelps you learn to redirect your
mental spotlight to consciouslyguide your attention away from
threats and worries toward morehelpful patterns of thinking.
To make the daily three-to-onereflection even more powerful,
(19:42):
you can activate brain circuitsthat naturally enhance positive
thinking through thispre-reflection routine.
First, choose one of theseoptions Either take a
five-minute walk focusing onslow, calm breathing, or jump up
and down for five to tenseconds or more.
Second, quickly open and closeyour right hand several times.
(20:06):
Third, force yourself to smilewhile doing this.
Fourth, begin your daily 3-to-1reflection, which I'll show you
how to do shortly.
This pre-reflection routine ispowerful because it activates
your accumbens striatalprefrontal cortex network, what
(20:29):
Dr Kelly Lambert calls theeffort-driven reward circuit.
By using your right handspecifically, you're engaging
the left prefrontal cortex,which is associated with
positive emotions.
Your right side activates yourleft brain.
Adding a smile strengthens thispositive activation even
(20:51):
further.
Okay, ready, here goes.
Take a few minutes to completethe following two steps.
Step 1.
Rate yourself First.
Ask yourself this question howwell did you do your best to be
your best and achieve your goalstoday?
You could say you did great oryou failed, but I'd like you to
(21:15):
be a bit more accurate becausethis will be more helpful for
you.
So please rate yourself from 1.
You failed to 10, you wereperfect?
You are probably somewhere inbetween.
Write or type out your score.
Step 2.
Complete a focused reflection.
Write down or type out 3 ormore positive or helpful things
(21:40):
about your day.
And then one area you canimprove in the next 24 hours.
For example here's one ofSarah's early reflections I am
proactively trying to get betterat using AI tools.
I had breakfast with my familyusing AI tools.
I had breakfast with my family.
(22:01):
I am doing a three-to-onereflection.
One thing to improve in thenext 24 hours get to bed 10
minutes earlier tonight thanlast night.
At first it seemed too basic.
Sarah shared how could justwriting down three positives and
one area for improvement helpme to be at my best in the AI
(22:24):
era.
But within days I noticedsomething changing.
I was calmer.
I could see more clearly whichtasks needed my best thinking
energy.
Most importantly, I wasstarting to understand my own
brain's patterns.
Here's the fascinating part ofhow this works You're actually
(22:47):
using your high-charge brainstate through focused writing to
activate your recharged brainstate.
I'll say that again youdeliberately got yourself into a
high-charge brain state inorder to activate a recharged
brain state.
This is what makes thetechnique so powerful.
I use the 3-to-1 reflectionevery workday evening to process
(23:10):
the day, switch off and preparefor deep sleep.
And while it's called a 3-to-1reflection, I actually write
down as many positive or helpfulthoughts as I can possibly
think of.
The act of writing, or typing,is crucial.
It forces you to direct yourmental spotlight away from
(23:32):
threats and worries towardhelpful patterns of thinking.
This deliberate redirection ofattention is the cornerstone of
training your brain, makingdaily 3-to-1 reflections easier.
To make it easier to completeregular daily 3-to-1 reflections
(23:52):
, I have created a PDF template.
I use this and if you want touse it, go to toughermindscouk
forward slash resources todownload your copy.
I will also remind you tocomplete exercises like the
daily 3 to 1 reflections in theHabit Mechanic podcast.
(24:14):
Listen to it heretoughermindscouk forward slash
podcast.
Toughermindscouk forward slashpodcast.
Finally, our Habit MechanicUniversity app is also designed
to make completing regular daily3-1 reflections easier.
To learn more, go totoughermindscouk.
(24:36):
If you want to learn more aboutthe science behind the daily
3-to-1 reflection.
I unpack it in Appendix A whenI reveal the brain mechanics
behind emotional regulation.
But don't worry about thatright now.
Let's keep going.
Now that you have this tool foractivating your recharged brain
state, you might be wonderingabout your medium-charge and
(24:59):
high-charge states.
How do they work with AI tools,how can you optimise them for
peak performance and how do youmaintain the right energy
throughout your day?
We'll explore all of this inour next chapter, but first, if
it's helpful, make a note toremind yourself to complete a
(25:20):
three-to-one reflection thisevening, as Sarah discovered.
At first it seemed too basic,but that simple practice changed
everything.
Every journey begins with asingle step and this one will
create the foundation foreverything we'll build together.
Chapter 2.
Unleashing your brain's fullpotential in the AI era.
(25:44):
Now that you understand how toactivate your recharge brain
state, let's explore how yourother brain states transform
your work with AI tools.
Remember Sarah After masteringthe three-to-one reflection, she
discovered somethingfascinating.
Once I could reliably activatemy recharged state, she
(26:09):
explained, I started noticingclear patterns in my thinking
and energy throughout the day.
Some hours were perfect formentally challenging work, while
others were better for routinetasks.
Understanding these patternscompletely changed how I used AI
tools.
Sarah had discovered whatneuroscience shows.
(26:33):
Your brain's energy patternsshift between three distinct
modes recharge, medium chargeand high charge throughout the
day, each perfectly suited forspecific types of work.
Medium charge brain state yourmedium charge brain state is
perfect for handling simple,routine and largely undemanding
(26:57):
tasks, for example, sendingsimple emails, helping a client
solve a standard problem orhandling administrative tasks.
In recent years, theseactivities consume more and more
of our working hours, leavinglittle time for premium thinking
and doing our most challengingand high impact work.
(27:19):
But here's where AI creates anextraordinary opportunity.
Consider this startlingprediction from Winning by
Design, a leading sales trainingcompany that works with some of
the world's largest businessesWithin the next 12 months, ai
will enable companies to operatemany of their sales and
(27:42):
marketing functions at just 2%of current costs, while
achieving better results.
That's a staggering 98%reduction in costs with improved
performance.
This transformation is possiblebecause AI can now handle most
medium-charge tasks faster andmore efficiently than humans,
(28:06):
freeing us to focus onhigher-value work.
High-charge brain state.
Your high-charge brain stateenables your most sophisticated
thinking and high-impact work,from complex problem-solving and
creative development tostrategic planning.
This is your brain's premiumoperating mode where your unique
(28:30):
human capabilities truly shine.
Our research shows mostprofessionals can only maintain
one to two hours of thissophisticated thinking each day.
The rest gets consumed byinterruptions, routine tasks and
mental fatigue.
But here's what makes thismoment in history extraordinary.
(28:53):
While AI can't replicate thispremium cognitive work, it can
dramatically amplify it.
Think of it as having an expertconsultant instantly available
on demand, helping you completeyour most challenging and
high-impact work in a fractionof the time and at a fraction of
the cost.
Here's a real-world exampleProducing the audiobook version
(29:18):
of this book, a high-chargebrain state task, took one
person with optimized brainstates just three days using AI
tools.
The same task for a previousbook of identical length, when
AI tools were not available,required two people working for
10 days and cost nine times asmuch.
(29:39):
That's a 233% increase in speedand a 90% reduction in costs.
We're seeing similartransformations across many
professional fields.
The success cycle your four-stepAI edge system Achieving the
type of results I've sharedisn't about working harder.
(30:01):
It's about aligning yourbrain's natural patterns with
AI's capabilities.
This is where the success cycletransforms everything.
Just as elite athletes usesophisticated systems to
optimise their performance, ourfour-step system helps you
thrive in the AI era.
(30:21):
Step one measurement your brainstate analysis.
Map your brain's energypatterns to reveal your biggest
opportunities for transformation.
Step two planning yourstrategic roadmap.
Match each task to the righttype of energy and identify
(30:43):
where AI tools can enhance yourcapabilities.
Step three optimization yourdaily rhythm design.
Structure your day to maintainpeak energy for what matters
most professionally andpersonally.
Peak energy for what mattersmost professionally and
personally.
Step 4.
(31:03):
Automation your excellenceengine.
Develop triggers and systemsthat make optimal performance
automatic, using AI tools toenhance rather than drain your
energy.
The results More qualityrecharge time, less routine and
mundane work and significantlymore hours in your peak state,
(31:24):
doing the energising,high-impact thinking that makes
you feel at your best.
Sarah's experience shows thepower of this system Within
weeks of starting the successcycle she shared.
I was consistently finishing mymost valuable work by early
afternoon.
Ai tools handled routine tasksduring my medium charge periods,
(31:47):
while I saved my high chargehours for strategic thinking.
Best of all, I had real energyleft for family time in the
evenings.
But creating thistransformation starts with
understanding somethingfundamental about how your brain
works.
In the next chapter, you'lldiscover a simple story that
(32:09):
helps you to begin controllingthese complex patterns the story
of your lighthouse brain.
Hello Habit Mechanics .
It's Dr John Finn here.
I hope you're having afantastic week.
So far, I've had a very busyDecember and January because
I've been working on our newbook and the new book is ready
for you to start listening to.
We're releasing the audiobookfirst.
(00:22):
The new book is called Trainyour Brain for the AI Revolution
.
The proven four is called trainyour brain for the ai
revolution the proven four-stepsystem to become irreplaceable,
no tech skills required.
So we've brought the habitmechanic system into the ai era
and you may have heard beforeabout the Habit Mechanic AI
(00:44):
system.
We've created an entirely newsystem combining the AI tools
that are available with ourscience-based behavior change
principles, and we've packagedall of those insights into a
really accessible book and thebook essentially talks you
(01:09):
through our new four-step system.
None of the individual elementsare new in the system, but the
way we've pulled this togetheris new in the system.
But the way we've pulled thistogether is new and the way the
(01:30):
ai world is shaping up hasallowed us, has allowed us to do
that.
So we think that these foursteps are the key to creating
the life that you truly want tolive and we think the AI World
is going to give us thepotential to do that Just.
I suppose an insight into howpowerful we're finding these
(01:53):
tools when you connect them withoptimized brain states is that,
just for the audiobook, theediting and the production of it
.
When we created the HabitMechanic audio book or we
(02:13):
created the equivalent the HabitMechanic book is about is much
longer than the new book, but tocreate the equivalent length of
audio in the Habit Mechanicbook for the new book, but to
create the equivalent length ofaudio in the Habit Mechanic book
for the new book, it took usabout 10 days with two people.
For this new book, it took oneday and one.
(02:40):
Sorry, it took three days andone person.
So by optimizing brain statesand using new AI tools, we're
able to.
For this just very specificaudiobook example, we're able to
do that work 233% faster and90% cheaper, and we're seeing
(03:02):
this across percent cheaper andwe're seeing this across lots
and lots of people that we areworking with.
But it's not necessarily aboutthe ai technology.
It's about optimizing yourbrain states and that this is
what that mechanic approach isall about.
So what the new book train yourbrain for the ai revolution
does is it shows you how tooptimize your brain state so
(03:26):
that you can be your very bestin the AI world.
We are making the entire bookavailable to our listeners, to
our community, for free insideof the Habit Mechanic University
app.
We're doing this because we'restill working on polishing the
(03:48):
artwork and things up before wehave a full release, but for our
members, you can listen to the,the pre-release version inside
of the Haven Mechanic Universityapp absolutely free.
You can get through the, the theprogram in the book.
The book is split into twoparts.
(04:09):
The first part is here's howyou implement the four-step
program called the success cycle, and the second half is more
about the science.
But you can get through theprogram part in.
I think it's three hours, 35minutes minutes, so really
really quickly and it shows youstep-by-step exactly what to do.
And we're really excited aboutthe success cycle.
(04:31):
We're introducing some newcharacters into the Lighthouse
brain.
So Willpower now has threeassistants the task director,
the day designer designer andthe routine engineer, um.
So we've created a really nicestory around um, around this
(04:52):
process, and it's really reallypowerful.
So what you're gonna hearshortly in this podcast is
actually the introduction to into the book.
You're gonna hear chapter one,which is your first three-minute
brain state two, and you'regoing to hear chapter two, which
is unleashing your brain's fullpotential in the AI era.
(05:13):
We are really excited aboutthis because this success cycle
is going to become the heart ofeverything we do.
It's going to become the heartof how we support people inside
of the hat, the app.
It's going to become the heartof our new 30-day one-to-one
coaching programs where we helppeople to optimize these 30-day
(05:39):
periods so they can actuallycreate the life that they want
to live um and we're seeing somereally exciting results on that
at the moment.
It's going to become the heartof how we train up our certified
habit mechanic ai edge coaches,so they're going to learn how
to deliver this system to theirclients.
We're also going to trainpeople train the trainer, so to
(06:00):
speak how to deliver thistraining program into businesses
.
There are, I think, our currentestimation or not ours, but the
World Economic Forum's currentestimation is there are already
750 million people that need tobe upskilled in this way.
It's there in black and white.
(06:21):
Businesses understand they needto do this, they need to learn,
they need to help their peopleto get better at working with ai
tools and again, it's not aboutthe key isn't mastering the
technology.
The key is mastering your brainstates.
Um, so there's massiveopportunities for people using
these skills in their own lives,but people creating their own
(06:42):
businesses off this.
We're also starting to workwith our first businesses using
these tools, businesses that arebringing us in to do everything
from running keynotes to theirpeople through to a team
training program, through toentire business having mechanic
ai edge a culture programs.
(07:04):
So this is really, really,really exciting.
Uh, I think that at last, wehave the opportunity to have the
equivalent of the, the sportscience revolution, but in terms
of the site, of thepsychological equivalent, of
(07:29):
that, the behavioral scienceequivalent.
So what this AI tool allows usto do is it makes it easier for
us to supercharge our cognitiveabilities in a way that we never
thought actually would bepossible.
It was some sort of futuristicdream, but now it's here.
We've been using these toolswith optimized brain states our
(07:49):
clients have, and the resultsthey're amazing.
They really are, and the tech'sgetting more powerful every day
.
But again, the key is is tolearn how to optimize your brain
states.
So, again, what you're going tohear next is the introduction
to train your brain for the airevolution.
You're gonna then hear chapterone, your first three minute
(08:15):
brain state two, and then you'llhear chapter two, unleashing
your brain's full potential inthe AI era.
There are I think there are 26chapters in the book.
The chapters are really punchyand short, very, very
deliberately.
Again, the total length of thebook, which unpacks the program,
(08:41):
is about three and a half hours, so it's easy to get through
For a limited time only.
You can listen to thepre-release version inside of
the Habit Mechanic Universityapp as we get everything ready
in the background.
So you can listen to the firstfew chapters here and if you
think, oh, that's interesting,go listen to the rest in the app
.
In the coming days and weeks,I'll drip some more chapters
(09:03):
into the, into the podcast aswell.
So, yeah, really lookingforward to your thoughts and
feedback.
If you know other people andyour network you think would be
interested in this, please,please, do share.
We're just making our mission tohelp people to succeed in this
unprecedented era of change.
(09:25):
That's my specialism I'm abehavioural science, psychology
specialist in resilience,performance leadership but it's
really always been centred onhelping people to optimise their
performance during periods ofsignificant change, and I don't
think we have seen a period ofchange before like we're going
(09:47):
to see in the coming years.
But it doesn't scare me,because I know that if we become
habit mechanics, of which thecornerstone is getting good at
managing our brain states, thenwe can actually create the lives
that we want to live, not thesebusy, overwhelmed, um, never
(10:11):
feeling like I want to feellives that we've been
conditioned into in the last of20 years or so.
We can start to live the liveswe want to live, with better
balance, doing more meaningfulthings, getting more high
quality time with our loved ones, doing those projects that
we've dreamed of doing for yearsand years but never got around
(10:32):
to doing so.
This is really, really exciting.
This is why we wrote the book.
So, again, what you're going tohear next is train your brain
for the AI revolution the provenfour-step system to become
irreplaceable.
And the good news is you do notneed any tech skills.
First, you'll hear theintroduction, then you'll hear
(10:54):
chapter one and then chapter two.
Enjoy.
Train your brain for the AIrevolution the proven four-step
System to Become Irreplaceable,no Tech Skills Required.
Written by Dr John Finn andread by me.
Dr John Finn Introduction howto get the most out of this book
(11:15):
.
Inside offices, worldwideprofessionals stare at their
screens, surrounded by AI toolsthat promise to transform their
work.
Each offers incrediblecapabilities analysing data,
managing projects, handlingroutine tasks.
Yet, despite all thistechnological power, many feel
(11:37):
more overwhelmed than ever.
Something isn't clicking.
To understand what isn'tclicking, consider
counter-intuitive truth.
Success in the ai era doesn'trequire mastering every single
artificial intelligence tool.
Instead, the foundation lies inmastering something far more
(11:58):
sophisticated your brain, themost complex technology in the
known universe.
The key is understanding how tooptimise your brain's three
essential energy modes what Icall your brain states.
This book provides ascience-based system for
optimising how your brainnaturally cycles through
(12:21):
different states throughout theday.
Learning to match these brainstates to different types of
work transforms how you createvalue in our AI augmented world.
And even if you have not usedany AI tools yet, you'll still
get a great deal out of thisbook.
Through our work with over20,000 professionals, from
(12:46):
Fortune 500 executives toworld-class athletes, we've
proven these brain optimizationprinciples work in real-world
settings.
Building on the foundation ofmy best-selling book, the Habit
Mechanic, I've created the HabitMechanic AI Edge system to help
(13:07):
you thrive in this newtechnological landscape, how
this book works.
You'll learn the success cycle,our proven four-step system for
optimizing your brain states inthe AI era.
You can start using thesepractical tools immediately to
enhance your performance andreduce overwhelm.
(13:28):
By the midpoint of the book,you'll have everything you need
to implement this systematicapproach for thriving in our
AI-augmented world.
The second half provides deeperinsights into the science
behind these practices, helpingyou refine your approach as you
gain experience and as AItechnology evolves.
(13:51):
Work through the success cyclesteps in sequence from
understanding your brain statepatterns to organising your
tasks, to optimising your dailyrhythm, to making improvements
automatic.
Each step builds on the next.
Keep this book accessible asyou integrate new AI tools into
(14:15):
your workflow.
The opportunities ahead areextraordinary and they're yours
to capture through optimisinghow your brain works with these
powerful new technologies.
If you have any questions aboutany area of this book, I am here
to help.
Just send me an email atcontact at toughermindscouk, or
(14:39):
contact me via our website,toughermindscouk.
Let's begin with a simple butpowerful tool that will
immediately make it easier foryou to improve your brain state
management.
Chapter one your firstthree-minute brain state tool.
Welcome, I'm Dr John Finn.
(15:00):
For 25 years I've specialised inthe behavioural science and
psychology of resilience,performance and leadership,
completing three degrees,including a PhD, in these fields
.
My expertise lies in helpingindividuals, teams and leaders
optimise their performanceduring periods of significant
(15:22):
change.
I've helped over 20,000 people.
Now, as we enter the mostprofound technological
transformation in human history,the AI revolution, I'm
dedicating myself to helpingpeople succeed in this
unprecedented era of change.
Whether you're just beginningto explore AI tools or already
(15:46):
using them regularly, theprinciples in this book will
help you integrate thesetechnologies more effectively
into your life so you can thrive.
My research has revealedsomething counterintuitive
Professionals excel in the AIera not by mastering every
emerging technology, but byunderstanding and optimising
(16:10):
their brain's fundamental energypatterns what I call your brain
states.
Those who grasp these patternsare completing sophisticated
projects in a fraction of thetime, while maintaining energy
for what matters most in theirlives.
Building on the principles frommy best-selling book, the Habit
(16:32):
Mechanic, I've developed apractical four-step system
called the Success Cycle to helpyou master your brain states
and give you the human AI edge,so you can seize the
extraordinary opportunities ofthe AI era.
Whether you're seekingpromotion, starting or growing a
(16:53):
business, developing your teamor wanting more energy for
family life.
Mastering your brain statestransforms what's possible as we
enter this unprecedented period.
Technology can either overwhelmus or help us create the lives
we truly want, and this systemensures you'll be among those
(17:15):
who thrive.
Your three brain states you havethree brain states.
Here's a quick overview.
First, your recharge brainstate.
This is your essential recoverymode when your brain rebuilds
its energy reserves.
Second, your medium chargebrain state this is your
essential recovery mode whenyour brain rebuilds its energy
reserves.
Second, your medium chargebrain state this is your
(17:35):
efficient processing mode,perfect for handling routine
tasks.
Third, your high charge brainstate this is your peak
performance mode, enablingsophisticated thinking and
complex problem solving.
While you'll learn to masterall three brain states, we begin
(17:56):
with your recharge brain state,the foundation for everything
else.
Without proper recharge, bothmedium and high charge states
become impossible to maintaineffectively.
Both medium and high chargestates become impossible to
maintain effectively, making itimpossible for you to be healthy
, happy and perform to yourpotential.
(18:16):
Let me share a simple tool thatwill help you activate your
recharged brain state moreeasily.
I will introduce this toolusing Sarah's story.
Sarah stared at her screensurrounded by three new AI tools
her company had recentlyimplemented.
Each promised incredibleproductivity gains, yet she felt
(18:39):
more overwhelmed than ever.
I have all these powerful tools, she told me later, but some
days I can barely focus enoughto use them effectively.
Other days I'm so wired fromconstant notifications that I
can't wind down at night.
I couldn't switch off, couldn'trecharge.
(18:59):
There had to be a better way.
Sarah's transformation beganwith a simple but powerful tool
the daily 3-to-1 reflection.
The purpose is simple yetprofound to help you calm your
thinking and achieve what wecall the recharge brain state,
(19:20):
your brain's essential recoverymode.
Most importantly, this toolhelps you learn to redirect your
mental spotlight to consciouslyguide your attention away from
threats and worries toward morehelpful patterns of thinking.
To make the daily three-to-onereflection even more powerful,
(19:42):
you can activate brain circuitsthat naturally enhance positive
thinking through thispre-reflection routine.
First, choose one of theseoptions Either take a
five-minute walk focusing onslow, calm breathing, or jump up
and down for five to tenseconds or more.
Second, quickly open and closeyour right hand several times.
(20:06):
Third, force yourself to smilewhile doing this.
Fourth, begin your daily 3-to-1reflection, which I'll show you
how to do shortly.
This pre-reflection routine ispowerful because it activates
your accumbens striatalprefrontal cortex network, what
(20:29):
Dr Kelly Lambert calls theeffort-driven reward circuit.
By using your right handspecifically, you're engaging
the left prefrontal cortex,which is associated with
positive emotions.
Your right side activates yourleft brain.
Adding a smile strengthens thispositive activation even
(20:51):
further.
Okay, ready, here goes.
Take a few minutes to completethe following two steps.
Step 1.
Rate yourself First.
Ask yourself this question howwell did you do your best to be
your best and achieve your goalstoday?
You could say you did great oryou failed, but I'd like you to
(21:15):
be a bit more accurate becausethis will be more helpful for
you.
So please rate yourself from 1.
You failed to 10, you wereperfect?
You are probably somewhere inbetween.
Write or type out your score.
Step 2.
Complete a focused reflection.
Write down or type out 3 ormore positive or helpful things
(21:40):
about your day.
And then one area you canimprove in the next 24 hours.
For example here's one ofSarah's early reflections I am
proactively trying to get betterat using AI tools.
I had breakfast with my familyusing AI tools.
I had breakfast with my family.
(22:01):
I am doing a three-to-onereflection.
One thing to improve in thenext 24 hours get to bed 10
minutes earlier tonight thanlast night.
At first it seemed too basic.
Sarah shared how could justwriting down three positives and
one area for improvement helpme to be at my best in the AI
(22:24):
era.
But within days I noticedsomething changing.
I was calmer.
I could see more clearly whichtasks needed my best thinking
energy.
Most importantly, I wasstarting to understand my own
brain's patterns.
Here's the fascinating part ofhow this works You're actually
(22:47):
using your high-charge brainstate through focused writing to
activate your recharged brainstate.
I'll say that again youdeliberately got yourself into a
high-charge brain state inorder to activate a recharged
brain state.
This is what makes thetechnique so powerful.
I use the 3-to-1 reflectionevery workday evening to process
(23:10):
the day, switch off and preparefor deep sleep.
And while it's called a 3-to-1reflection, I actually write
down as many positive or helpfulthoughts as I can possibly
think of.
The act of writing, or typing,is crucial.
It forces you to direct yourmental spotlight away from
(23:32):
threats and worries towardhelpful patterns of thinking.
This deliberate redirection ofattention is the cornerstone of
training your brain, makingdaily 3-to-1 reflections easier.
To make it easier to completeregular daily 3-to-1 reflections
(23:52):
, I have created a PDF template.
I use this and if you want touse it, go to toughermindscouk
forward slash resources todownload your copy.
I will also remind you tocomplete exercises like the
daily 3 to 1 reflections in theHabit Mechanic podcast.
(24:14):
Listen to it heretoughermindscouk forward slash
podcast.
Toughermindscouk forward slashpodcast.
Finally, our Habit MechanicUniversity app is also designed
to make completing regular daily3-1 reflections easier.
To learn more, go totoughermindscouk.
(24:36):
If you want to learn more aboutthe science behind the daily
3-to-1 reflection.
I unpack it in Appendix A whenI reveal the brain mechanics
behind emotional regulation.
But don't worry about thatright now.
Let's keep going.
Now that you have this tool foractivating your recharged brain
state, you might be wonderingabout your medium-charge and
(24:59):
high-charge states.
How do they work with AI tools,how can you optimise them for
peak performance and how do youmaintain the right energy
throughout your day?
We'll explore all of this inour next chapter, but first, if
it's helpful, make a note toremind yourself to complete a
(25:20):
three-to-one reflection thisevening, as Sarah discovered.
At first it seemed too basic,but that simple practice changed
everything.
Every journey begins with asingle step and this one will
create the foundation foreverything we'll build together.
Chapter 2.
Unleashing your brain's fullpotential in the AI era.
(25:44):
Now that you understand how toactivate your recharge brain
state, let's explore how yourother brain states transform
your work with AI tools.
Remember Sarah After masteringthe three-to-one reflection, she
discovered somethingfascinating.
Once I could reliably activatemy recharged state, she
(26:09):
explained, I started noticingclear patterns in my thinking
and energy throughout the day.
Some hours were perfect formentally challenging work, while
others were better for routinetasks.
Understanding these patternscompletely changed how I used AI
tools.
Sarah had discovered whatneuroscience shows.
(26:33):
Your brain's energy patternsshift between three distinct
modes recharge, medium chargeand high charge throughout the
day, each perfectly suited forspecific types of work.
Medium charge brain state yourmedium charge brain state is
perfect for handling simple,routine and largely undemanding
(26:57):
tasks, for example, sendingsimple emails, helping a client
solve a standard problem orhandling administrative tasks.
In recent years, theseactivities consume more and more
of our working hours, leavinglittle time for premium thinking
and doing our most challengingand high impact work.
(27:19):
But here's where AI creates anextraordinary opportunity.
Consider this startlingprediction from Winning by
Design, a leading sales trainingcompany that works with some of
the world's largest businessesWithin the next 12 months, ai
will enable companies to operatemany of their sales and
(27:42):
marketing functions at just 2%of current costs, while
achieving better results.
That's a staggering 98%reduction in costs with improved
performance.
This transformation is possiblebecause AI can now handle most
medium-charge tasks faster andmore efficiently than humans,
(28:06):
freeing us to focus onhigher-value work.
High-charge brain state.
Your high-charge brain stateenables your most sophisticated
thinking and high-impact work,from complex problem-solving and
creative development tostrategic planning.
This is your brain's premiumoperating mode where your unique
(28:30):
human capabilities truly shine.
Our research shows mostprofessionals can only maintain
one to two hours of thissophisticated thinking each day.
The rest gets consumed byinterruptions, routine tasks and
mental fatigue.
But here's what makes thismoment in history extraordinary.
(28:53):
While AI can't replicate thispremium cognitive work, it can
dramatically amplify it.
Think of it as having an expertconsultant instantly available
on demand, helping you completeyour most challenging and
high-impact work in a fractionof the time and at a fraction of
the cost.
Here's a real-world exampleProducing the audiobook version
(29:18):
of this book, a high-chargebrain state task, took one
person with optimized brainstates just three days using AI
tools.
The same task for a previousbook of identical length, when
AI tools were not available,required two people working for
10 days and cost nine times asmuch.
(29:39):
That's a 233% increase in speedand a 90% reduction in costs.
We're seeing similartransformations across many
professional fields.
The success cycle your four-stepAI edge system Achieving the
type of results I've sharedisn't about working harder.
(30:01):
It's about aligning yourbrain's natural patterns with
AI's capabilities.
This is where the success cycletransforms everything.
Just as elite athletes usesophisticated systems to
optimise their performance, ourfour-step system helps you
thrive in the AI era.
(30:21):
Step one measurement your brainstate analysis.
Map your brain's energypatterns to reveal your biggest
opportunities for transformation.
Step two planning yourstrategic roadmap.
Match each task to the righttype of energy and identify
(30:43):
where AI tools can enhance yourcapabilities.
Step three optimization yourdaily rhythm design.
Structure your day to maintainpeak energy for what matters
most professionally andpersonally.
Peak energy for what mattersmost professionally and
personally.
Step 4.
(31:03):
Automation your excellenceengine.
Develop triggers and systemsthat make optimal performance
automatic, using AI tools toenhance rather than drain your
energy.
The results More qualityrecharge time, less routine and
mundane work and significantlymore hours in your peak state,
(31:24):
doing the energising,high-impact thinking that makes
you feel at your best.
Sarah's experience shows thepower of this system Within
weeks of starting the successcycle she shared.
I was consistently finishing mymost valuable work by early
afternoon.
Ai tools handled routine tasksduring my medium charge periods,
(31:47):
while I saved my high chargehours for strategic thinking.
Best of all, I had real energyleft for family time in the
evenings.
But creating thistransformation starts with
understanding somethingfundamental about how your brain
works.
In the next chapter, you'lldiscover a simple story that
(32:09):
helps you to begin controllingthese complex patterns the story
of your lighthouse brain.
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