Modern WisdomLife Hacks 208
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 0:26
Cold open: The Ready State app + the infamous “Pornhub tagging” origin story
The episode begins mid-conversation about building a massive mobility-video library and how The Ready State/MobilityWOD handled categorization at scale. The guys joke about the surprising inspiration for the original site’s filtering system before the official welcome kicks in.
- •Discussion of the workload behind a large video-based mobility app
- •Claim that MobilityWOD’s original site was modeled after Pornhub-style tagging/filtering
- •Jokes about choosing mobility routines like video categories
- •Sets the playful tone for the episode’s hack-review format
- 0:26 – 1:14
Show format + Yusef’s 75 Hard-inspired compliance mindset
Chris introduces the recurring “Life Hacks” format: tools, tactics, and friendly criticism. Yusef frames his hacks as lessons from running a scaled version of 75 Hard, where missing a day resets the entire streak.
- •Life Hacks episode structure: present → critique → keep what works
- •75 Hard as a consistency forcing function (and why it’s ‘largely stupid’ but effective)
- •Motivation: reduce friction so daily habits don’t break
- •Theme: designing systems that survive real life
- 1:14 – 6:01
“Supplement sweeties”: using gummies as a reward loop to take the boring stuff
Yusef’s first hack is turning one daily supplement into a treat (ACV/collagen gummies) to reinforce a supplement routine. The group debates dosing, whether collagen gummies are meaningful, and the broader idea of cue–habit–reward design.
- •Make one supplement feel like a reward to improve adherence
- •Use a small ‘treat’ to anchor a larger supplement stack (habit loop)
- •Skepticism about collagen dosing and gummy efficacy
- •Humorous detour: collagen vs gelatin and ‘Haribo as a supplement’
- 6:01 – 8:23
Turn any website into an “app” on iPhone home screen
Jonny shares a simple iPhone workflow: adding frequently used websites to the home screen so they behave like apps. They discuss best use cases (courses, portals, web apps) and why it’s better than hunting through Safari tabs.
- •iOS: Share → Add to Home Screen creates a pseudo-app shortcut
- •Useful for sites without native apps (courses, portals, web tools)
- •Often keeps you logged in, reducing repeated friction
- •Practical example: saving a member portal as a home-screen app
- 8:23 – 13:18
Optimize.me goes free: a huge library of summaries + worksheets as a ‘lead magnet’
Chris explains that Brian Johnson’s Optimize.me library (hundreds of summaries and masterclasses) is now free. They unpack why book summaries are valuable (prospecting, reviewing, catching missed ideas) while joking about Brian’s “distance runner” look.
- •Optimize.me: 1000+ “plus ones,” 600+ summaries, worksheets, audio, transcripts
- •Now free as part of a funnel toward Heroic.us coaching
- •How summaries help: scouting books, refreshing memory, spotting missed takeaways
- •Meta-discussion: summaries aren’t substitutes for the full book
- 13:18 – 26:06
Readwise + Otter: capturing highlights from Kindle and physical books (and paying invoices early)
Yusef brings Readwise as a system for resurfacing highlights and notes, while Jonny adds Otter for voice-transcribing key passages from physical books. Chris rounds out the segment with a relationship-building rule: pay invoices immediately to earn preferential treatment and remove mental drag.
- •Readwise syncs Kindle highlights and resurfaces them (email, integrations like Obsidian/Notion)
- •Using Kindle ‘notes’ alongside highlights to capture your thinking
- •Otter: record yourself reading key parts aloud → automatic transcription → exportable notes
- •Business heuristic: pay invoices early to build goodwill and reduce cognitive load
- 26:06 – 36:45
Avoid running out: “one is the new zero” + iPhone app switching + travel fragrances for memory
Yusef introduces a simple inventory rule: reorder when you’re down to one, not when you hit zero. Jonny adds a faster gesture for switching between iPhone apps, and Chris shares a travel ritual—buying a unique fragrance per trip to create strong memory anchors.
- •Reorder trigger: when you have one left, treat it like zero (buffer stock)
- •Why subscribe-and-save can be risky due to usage variance/backlogs
- •iPhone gesture: swipe along the bottom bar to jump between recent apps quickly
- •Scent-memory hack: one fragrance per trip to ‘store’ travel memories
- 36:45 – 49:15
Morning Pages (digital): journaling with analytics + diet rule-of-thumb: potatoes vs rice
Yusef shares a Morning Pages-style journaling app that sets word targets and analyzes tone/themes over time. Jonny then pivots to a nutrition heuristic—potatoes for cutting, rice for bulking—leading to a discussion of satiety, calorie density, and making dieting food ‘boring’ on purpose.
- •Morning Pages app: daily word goals, tone tracking, recurring-theme detection
- •Value of revisiting old entries to see progress and reduced emotional charge
- •“Potatoes for cutting” as a satiety-based strategy (boiled potato as high satiety)
- •Dieting principle: reduce palatability/novelty to avoid overeating
- 49:15 – 51:51
Bypass paywalls with 12ft.io (and why micropayments would fix everything)
Chris recommends 12ft.io as a way to view paywalled articles by accessing the unpaywalled versions needed for search indexing. They caveat the ethics (support what you value) and argue publishers would earn more if they offered easy one-off Apple Pay payments per article.
- •12ft.io: ‘12-foot ladder’ concept for many paywalled sites
- •Not ‘hacking’ so much as accessing alternate accessible versions used for indexing
- •Ethics: support outlets you like; use for ‘hate reads’ if you must
- •Friction argument: quick micropayments would convert more readers than subscriptions
- 51:51 – 57:12
Brightmind meditation: Shinzen Young’s system, structured like a training plan
Yusef introduces Brightmind, an app-based course that teaches Shinzen Young’s framework progressively, including theory lectures and practice plans. Chris and Jonny praise its non-woo systematic approach and discuss how it appeals to people who like structured training.
- •Brightmind app teaches Shinzen Young’s ‘Five Ways’ approach step-by-step
- •Includes guided sessions plus lectures and practice tracking (streaks/time)
- •Estimated completion: ~1–2 months with daily practice
- •Practice design: alternating ‘focus in/out’ across see/hear/feel modalities
- 57:12 – 1:04:02
Physical confidence: learn to roll + use airports for steps (and don’t queue early)
Jonny argues that learning to roll (forward/back/side) improves proprioception, reduces injury risk, and builds confidence in falls—similar to learning how to safely fail lifts. Yusef adds a travel hack: walk laps in airports to hit step goals and avoid pointless gate-queuing.
- •Rolling as an underrated skill for injury prevention and movement competence
- •Analogy: confidence improves when you know how to fail safely (e.g., dumping a squat)
- •Airport hack: do laps to get steps in before long flights
- •Boarding sanity: you usually don’t need to approach the gate until ‘last call’
- 1:04:02 – 1:08:52
Mobility solved (again): The Ready State’s revamped app with tests, filters, and follow-alongs
Yusef revisits his long-running “mobility journey” and recommends the upgraded The Ready State app. The new version includes a mobility test, better UI, follow-along sessions, and powerful filtering by time, equipment, pain, and activity—helping him stay injury-free longer.
- •New app features: mobility test + tracking progress over time
- •Filters by time, body part, pain, sport/movement prep, recovery, and equipment
- •Shift from instruction-only clips to guided follow-along routines
- •Claimed outcome: longest stretch of heavy training without injury (so far)
- 1:08:52 – 1:13:04
Low-stakes phone fun: Water Sort Puzzle + why some apps feel ‘designed by Satan’ (Waze)
Jonny recommends a simple puzzle game (Water Sort Puzzle) as a less-toxic alternative to modern dopamine-trap games—plus an ad-avoidance trick (airplane mode). The segment closes with a rant about Waze gamification and intrusive map-app advertising.
- •Water Sort Puzzle: simple, challenging, low-stress mobile puzzle
- •Ad hack: put phone in airplane mode to skip many ads
- •Critique: modern games engineered around addiction/microtransactions
- •Waze complaint: gamified notifications + distracting ads while driving
- 1:13:04 – 1:15:13
Micro-hack: stop a sneeze by pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth
Chris shares a practical trick to suppress a sneeze—especially useful when you’ve tweaked your back and can’t risk a violent spasm. The group riffs on the uniquely stressful experience of trying not to sneeze at the worst possible moment.
- •Technique: push tongue firmly against the roof of your mouth to cancel a sneeze
- •Use case: avoiding pain flare-ups with back issues
- •Backup behaviors: bracing/positioning when a sneeze is unavoidable
- •Relatable scenarios: sneezing while carrying coffee or on stairs
- 1:15:13 – 1:28:37
What they’re watching: Theranos, Succession, Bad Vegan, Sweet Bobby, The Alpinist, Boiling Point
The episode ends with media recommendations: The Dropout (Theranos), Succession, and documentaries about grifts and scandals. They also recommend intense watches like The Alpinist and the one-shot kitchen stress film Boiling Point, plus the catfishing podcast Sweet Bobby.
- •The Dropout dramatization vs Theranos documentaries (and WeWork parallels)
- •Succession praise: writing, characters, soundtrack; favorite characters discussed
- •Bad Vegan + Tinder Swindler critique: gullibility vs manipulation
- •The Alpinist (emotionally heavy) and Boiling Point (single-shot stress film)
- 1:28:37 – 1:29:20
Where to find Propane Fitness + episode wrap
Chris closes out by directing listeners to Propane Fitness resources for macros and online business-building. The episode ends with final goodbyes and standard Modern Wisdom outro prompts.
- •Macros calculator link and business resource link shared
- •Quick closing remarks and appreciation
- •Calls to watch clips and subscribe
