About
MaxedOut is an organization aimed at improving everyday living through principle-first approaches. The objective is truth and understanding that integrates all aspects of life together. To live effectively is to understand the fundamental principle that because we are conscious, we must learn how to live. This ultimately means to live in alignment with nature, but what does living in alignment with nature mean? What does that even look like? Exploration plays a huge part in the answer and that is exactly what this site aims to do, objectively explore our existence to learn what works and what doesn’t in living in a more healthy, focused, productive, fulfilling, and integrated way.
WARNING
We will go deep. You will be exposed to many brand new ideas, many of which will challenge your current way of thinking. Our aim is to deliver what has been found during our own exploration, it is to offer a different viewpoint through which to understand the world, where the top priority is effective living.
About Me.The ultimate focus is on improving the species as a whole, this isn’t about me. In my life, I’ve kept to myself, never sharing much of what I do or have done, only emphasizing doing and not talking about the doing. Even throughout my posts, I aim to minimize the use of “I”. But, for credibility sake, I’ll share a brief overview of why I may be qualified to talk about these subjects.
My name is Brandon.
Since my teens I have been interested in productivity to an obsessed degree. My interests grew in all areas of optimal performance, from fitness to problem solving. My time is either spent absorbing ways to improve myself, actively engaging in implementing what I’ve learned (while remaining very objective, for the sake of improvement), or in a state of reflection to integrate what I’ve learned and apply critical thinking to learn from my mistakes.
I have deeply embodied the concept of “extreme ownership”; if I am the problem, then I am the solution. There is always something I can do to improve my situation, and I have a strong urge to find it and never assume that what I have is optimal. I emphasize practicality in every way, I have tried MANY things through trial and error, all without a coach which demanded that I develop an objective and self-critical eye.
My day job is a programmer, I also spend a lot of free-time on personal programming projects and computer-related challenges (e.g. building breadboard computers). I love solving problems and being of service to others. I enjoy anything that promotes creative expression, including writing, such as poetry, rap, and word play.
Above all else, the most fulfilling activities to me are those where I can help others. This site is aimed at sharing my experience, the challenge I’ve set for myself is to do so in as clear and direct manner as possible. I want to provide what has worked for me and be as concise as possible. This is also meant to serve as documenting my own experience for my future self as well as my kids.
I have systems in place that makes capturing ideas easy, this habit has promoted my ability to compound previous ideas into even more elaborate and creative ideas, this has been a large factor in my ability to articulate the subjects that I talk about.The areas of interest to me are the following, in order of obsessiveness.
- Mind
- Philosophy
- Creativity
- Problem Solving
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Spiritual
- Connection with Nature and the Universe
- Mental Clarity and Stillness
- Presence
- Physical
- Weight Lifting
- Functional Training
- Breath
- Posture
- Stretching and Mobility
- Running
Beyond these include much more that serve as “enablers” for the above, such as nutrition, sleep, rest, ways to recover quickly (including from high stress situations as well as cognitive performance), learning how the mind (e.g. emotions, concentration, etc.) and body (e.g. breath, muscles, sensations) works.
For example, I have done a lot of research into nutrition. I haven’t had pizza, cake, or ice cream since I was 16 or 17. What most people call “pleasure-foods” is not in my diet, I eat for fuel and if I had it my way, I wouldn’t eat at all. I’ve experimented with many variations of eating lifestyles, my favorites have been keto and fasting. I regularly implement both, fasting 48-72 hours once a week and daily for about 16-20 hours. With all of this, I have still found ways to put on muscle size and definition while remaining lean and well-saturated. I have questioned societal assumptions for the sake of high performance and have revolutionary ways of doing things that ACTUALLY get results. What I write about comes from a place of a lot of experience and self-experimentation.
Basically, anything that promotes high performance.
I believe with a high enough level of discipline and mental stilness, anything can be achieved. I structure my life to promote the development of this with a very structured and rigerous routine. Through physical and mental challenges I explore my own psychological biases and work through mental barriers standing in my way of continued growth. This involves one of the most foundational points I’ll repeat throughout this blog and that is Exploration. I believe approaching life with a sense of curisoity and a mindset of gaining experience through exploration, then even the most unfortunate events can be made positive.
I have found each of the above interests to be an important factor in optimal function. I explore other subjects as well, for novelty and to increase my chances of coming across something useful for high performance, but the above list is just what has stood the test of time.
When I try a new subject out, I go all in, reading book after book, watching video after video, tons of research, and of course 100% practical implementation during the entire time. When I come across new information I immediately put it into practice and reflect. My entire lifestyle adjusts around this new subject. I also consider every possible connection the new information has to the other subjects I’ve come across and look for ways to improve on the current knowledge that is in books by combining it with my own experience. These are all things that I deeply embody, and I think this will be made clear as you begin reading what I have to write.
The topics I discuss capture all of these areas.I have done a LOT of exploring and trial and error with each of these areas. I have read deeply on each of these subjects and continue to explore them.Some experiences of mine include marathons with little training, regular high intensity physical exercise, skydiving, scuba-diving, cognitive challenges (programming is one of my favorite hobbies, especially low-level, “from-scratch”, challenges that demand a deep understanding), logic puzzles (e.g. rubix cubes), and daily self-crippling habits (e.g. odd social behavior to build up resilience, intense reduced breathing for days at a time and intense breath holds,
A lot of these things have been done as a form of “punishment” to myself when I feel I didn’t live up to the standards that I set for myself. This has created a very sturdy sense of discipline, not due to “punishing”, but due to setting a high standard and holding myself accountable, assuming on the low end, meaning if I didn’t complete the task in a way that screams “I hit my standard”, “without a doubt”, then I repeat it immediately (with an added level of punishing intensity) until I get it right. This sort of mentality is shown in my post on Challenge.
I have done a LOT of Exploration with struggle and how to perform optimally during it.
Some of my main influences have been (in no particular order):
- David Goggins
- A self-made endurance machineTook my already well-developed discipline to a whole other level
- Ben Greenfield
- A self-experimental bio-hackerBroad overview of a lot of topics and a great way to get introduced to new subjects surrounding high performance.
- Elon Musk
- An intellectual giant, his ability to break complex topics up is inspiring
- He seems to be on the “side of humanity” (i.e. aims to evolve the species forward), which I dig.
- Richard Feynman
- An incredibly brilliant learner, with a relatively low IQ, showing that intelligence is developed from a place of deep interest.
- Well-known for his ability to learn deeply and explain thoroughly, a wonderful teacher.
- Jordan Peterson
- A broad range of life-improving topics centering around how to be a better human.
- Real-talk, direct, and comes from a place of passion.
- Great explainer.
- Life-skills
- Often referred to as “the father you never had”.
- Elliott Hulse (especially as a teenager)
- Strong, direct advice.
- Practical and well-disciplined.
- Cal Newport
- Rapid learner, great resource for improving focus and learning ability.
- Steven Kotler
- Flow, optimal performance, and altered states of consciousness.
- Charlie Houpert
- Charisma, people skills, etc.
- Tim Ferriss
- Bio-hacker, productivity guru.
- Great explainer of productivity-related topics.
- Ryan Holiday
- Stoicism, overall great human and philosophical teacher.
- Eckhart Tolle
- Spiritual teacher.
- My main inspiration for presence and acceptance.
This list is incomplete, there includes particular books on habits, emotions, tons on the brain and how it works, breath, fitness, productivity, influence, and creativity.
I’ll share book recommendations and other inspirational resources later on. There are also a few personal inspirations that I’ve met over the years, especially throughout my time in University. The point here is that I have tried a LOT, and the content I write about comes from a place of experience. They are things that I’ve discovered through challenge and hardship, they are what have led me to continued growth and high performance even under intense stimulus, emotions, and overwhelm.
Basically, I want to share what I’ve learned on how to keep going when the going gets tough. My aim is to share what I’ve learned and collaborate with others to arrive at a concise toolbox that can serve as a resource to improving anyone and everyone. I am still on my journey and continuing to challenge myself. Before I get too far along and forget clearly where I came from and what has served as most pivotal in my progress, I want to share what I’ve discovered.I know for a fact, from self-experimentation and coming from a non-gifted background, that you can become anyone that you want.
Your skills are developed, you just have to want it bad enough, and then you’ll find a way. I had to develop cognitively and physically with not much going for me. From overcoming an attention disorder to physical dimensions that are not in my favor for weight lifting or endurance running.
I know we can be better and do better, I want to inspire others to reach their potential and be MaxedOut. I want to contribute to the blueprint for doing just that, on how to live a more effective life, no fluff or hidden intentions. This is my purpose.