Habit Building

Arthur Boorman: Losing 140 Pounds and Walking Again Through Daily Yoga

In ten months of daily practice, Boorman lost 140 pounds, dropped to 157 pounds, threw away his leg braces, back brace, and forearm crutches, and regained complete unassisted ...

Joshua Foer: Winning the US Memory Championship Through Memory Palaces

In March 2006, after one year of deliberate practice, Foer won the U.S. Memory Championship and set a new U.S. national record by memorizing a shuffled deck of 52 playing card...

Trevor Moawad: Navigating Terminal Illness Through Neutral Thinking

Moawad became the nation's premier mental conditioning expert, dubbed 'the world's best brain trainer' by Sports Illustrated. He mentored Russell Wilson to a Super Bowl champi...

Arnold Schwarzenegger: With Daily Visualization, He Conquered 3 Careers

Schwarzenegger became the youngest Mr. Universe in history at age twenty and won seven Mr. Olympia titles. He transitioned to cinema to become the highest-paid action star in ...

William McRaven: Daily Discipline Rebuilt Him After a Parachute Crash

McRaven made a complete physical recovery, defied medical predictions, and returned to full active duty. He rose to Four-Star Admiral and Commander of U.S. Special Operations ...

Barbara Oakley: With Brain Retraining, She Conquered Her Fear of Math

Oakley earned a B.S. in electrical engineering, an M.S. in electrical and computer engineering, and a Ph.D. in systems engineering, becoming Professor of Engineering at Oaklan...

Ethan Kross: Using Distanced Self-Talk to Neutralize Paralyzing Panic

Kross immediately neutralized his panic, laid down the baseball bat, and fell asleep, regaining complete emotional control. He spent the next decade conducting groundbreaking ...

Vicki Robin: Achieving Financial Freedom at 32 Through Mindful Spending

Robin reached the Crossover Point at age thirty-two, achieving complete financial independence on a modest budget and never needing to work for money again. She dedicated deca...

David Goggins: With the Accountability Mirror, He Became a Navy SEAL

Goggins lost 106 pounds in 87 days, entering Navy SEAL training at 190 pounds. After enduring and completing Hell Week three separate times due to severe medical setbacks (dou...

Marie Kondo: Daily Decluttering Rebuilt Her Mind After a Breakdown

Kondo completely eradicated rebound clutter from her life, creating a permanent state of serene order. She launched a boutique organizing consultancy in Tokyo with a six-month...

Josh Waitzkin: Winning a World Championship Through Deliberate Practice

Waitzkin won the Tai Chi Chuan World Championship (Push Hands) in Taiwan in November 2004, overcoming a broken right hand in the finals to defeat the reigning champion. He sub...

Anthony Trollope: With 15-Minute Sprints, He Wrote 47 Classic Novels

Trollope became one of the most prolific, celebrated, and commercially successful novelists in English history, publishing 47 novels (including the Barsetshire and Palliser se...

Benjamin Franklin: A 13-Virtue Ledger Engineered His Character

The virtue ledger transformed Franklin from an abrasive, indebted artisan into one of history's most versatile polymaths. It enabled him to achieve financial independence by a...

James Clear: Using Micro-Habits to Recover from Severe Brain Injury

Clear's micro-habits compounded into extraordinary results: by senior year, he was voted team captain, named to the All-NCAC First Team, selected as Denison's top male scholar...

Kamal Pardeshi: Mastering Fluent English in 1 Year Through Daily Reading

Effort never goes wasted — it branches into things you never expected....

Deepali Dholepatil: Practicing in the Mirror to Conquer Fear of Speaking

After being passed up for a promotion three times, I chose to stop feeding my fear monster. Starting with one small presentation, a mentor, and steady practice, I slowly rebui...