The Habit Mechanic - Unlock your Human-AI Edge

Train Your Brain for the AI Revolution - NEW Book! ✨🧠

• Dr. Jon Finn

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Listen to the FULL BOOK for FREE here (limited time only!).

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 📖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: 
• The importance of mastering Brain States 
• Introduction to the Recharge, Medium Charge, and High Charge Brain States 
• Practical tools for activating the Recharge Brain State 
• Daily 3-to-1 reflection technique for mental clarity 
• The role of AI in handling routine tasks 
• Leveraging High Charge Brain States for complex problem-solving 
• The Success Cycle: a four-step AI Edge system 
• How to align daily tasks with peak brain performance

Speaker 1:

Hello Habit Mechanics. It's Dr John Finn here. I hope you're having a fantastic week. So far, I've had a very busy December and January because I've been working on our new book and the new book is ready for you to start listening to. We're releasing the audiobook first.

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The new book is called Train your Brain for the AI Revolution. The proven four is called train your brain for the ai revolution the proven four-step system to become irreplaceable, no tech skills required. So we've brought the habit mechanic system into the ai era and you may have heard before about the Habit Mechanic AI system. We've created an entirely new system combining the AI tools that are available with our science-based behavior change principles, and we've packaged all of those insights into a really accessible book and the book essentially talks you through our new four-step system. None of the individual elements are new in the system, but the way we've pulled this together is new in the system. But the way we've pulled this together is new and the way the ai world is shaping up has allowed us, has allowed us to do that. So we think that these four steps are the key to creating the life that you truly want to live and we think the AI World is going to give us the potential to do that Just. I suppose an insight into how powerful we're finding these tools when you connect them with optimized brain states is that, just for the audiobook, the editing and the production of it. When we created the Habit Mechanic audio book or we created the equivalent the Habit Mechanic book is about is much longer than the new book, but to create the equivalent length of audio in the Habit Mechanic book for the new book, but to create the equivalent length of audio in the Habit Mechanic book for the new book, it took us about 10 days with two people. For this new book, it took one day and one. Sorry, it took three days and one person. So by optimizing brain states and using new AI tools, we're able to. For this just very specific audiobook example, we're able to do that work 233% faster and 90% cheaper, and we're seeing this across percent cheaper and we're seeing this across lots and lots of people that we are working with. But it's not necessarily about the ai technology. It's about optimizing your brain states and that this is what that mechanic approach is all about. So what the new book train your brain for the ai revolution does is it shows you how to optimize your brain state so that you can be your very best in the AI world. We are making the entire book available to our listeners, to our community, for free inside of the Habit Mechanic University app. We're doing this because we're still working on polishing the artwork and things up before we have a full release, but for our members, you can listen to the, the pre-release version inside of the Haven Mechanic University app absolutely free.

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You can get through the, the the program in the book. The book is split into two parts. The first part is here's how you implement the four-step program called the success cycle, and the second half is more about the science. But you can get through the program part in. I think it's three hours, 35 minutes minutes, so really really quickly and it shows you step-by-step exactly what to do. And we're really excited about the success cycle. We're introducing some new characters into the Lighthouse brain. So Willpower now has three assistants the task director, the day designer designer and the routine engineer, um. So we've created a really nice story around um, around this process, and it's really really powerful.

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So what you're gonna hear shortly in this podcast is actually the introduction to in to the book. You're gonna hear chapter one, which is your first three-minute brain state two, and you're going to hear chapter two, which is unleashing your brain's full potential in the AI era. We are really excited about this because this success cycle is going to become the heart of everything we do. It's going to become the heart of how we support people inside of the hat, the app. It's going to become the heart of our new 30-day one-to-one coaching programs where we help people to optimize these 30-day periods so they can actually create the life that they want to live um and we're seeing some really exciting results on that at the moment. It's going to become the heart of how we train up our certified habit mechanic ai edge coaches, so they're going to learn how to deliver this system to their clients. We're also going to train people train the trainer, so to speak how to deliver this training program into businesses.

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There are, I think, our current estimation or not ours, but the World Economic Forum's current estimation is there are already 750 million people that need to be upskilled in this way. It's there in black and white. Businesses understand they need to do this, they need to learn, they need to help their people to get better at working with ai tools and again, it's not about the key isn't mastering the technology. The key is mastering your brain states. Um, so there's massive opportunities for people using these skills in their own lives, but people creating their own businesses off this. We're also starting to work with our first businesses using these tools, businesses that are bringing us in to do everything from running keynotes to their people through to a team training program, through to entire business having mechanic ai edge a culture programs. So this is really, really, really exciting.

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Uh, I think that at last, we have the opportunity to have the equivalent of the, the sport science revolution, but in terms of the site, of the psychological equivalent, of that, the behavioral science equivalent. So what this AI tool allows us to do is it makes it easier for us to supercharge our cognitive abilities in a way that we never thought actually would be possible. It was some sort of futuristic dream, but now it's here. We've been using these tools with optimized brain states our clients have, and the results they're amazing. They really are, and the tech's getting more powerful every day. But again, the key is is to learn how to optimize your brain states. So, again, what you're going to hear next is the introduction to train your brain for the ai revolution. You're gonna then hear chapter one, your first three minute brain state two, and then you'll hear chapter two, unleashing your brain's full potential in the AI era.

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There are I think there are 26 chapters in the book. The chapters are really punchy and short, very, very deliberately. Again, the total length of the book, which unpacks the program, is about three and a half hours, so it's easy to get through For a limited time only. You can listen to the pre-release version inside of the Habit Mechanic University app as we get everything ready in the background. So you can listen to the first few 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 into the, into the podcast as well. So, yeah, really looking forward to your thoughts and feedback. If you know other people and your network you think would be interested in this, please, please, do share.

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We're just making our mission to help people to succeed in this unprecedented era of change. That's my specialism I'm a behavioural science, psychology specialist in resilience, performance leadership but it's really always been centred on helping people to optimise their performance during periods of significant change, and I don't think we have seen a period of change before like we're going to see in the coming years. But it doesn't scare me, because I know that if we become habit mechanics, of which the cornerstone is getting good at managing our brain states, then we can actually create the lives that we want to live, not these busy, overwhelmed, um, never feeling like I want to feel lives that we've been conditioned into in the last of 20 years or so. We can start to live the lives we want to live, with better balance, doing more meaningful things, getting more high quality time with our loved ones, doing those projects that we've dreamed of doing for years and years but never got around to doing so. This is really, really exciting. This is why we wrote the book. So, again, what you're going to hear next is train your brain for the AI revolution the proven four-step system to become irreplaceable. And the good news is you do not need any tech skills. First, you'll hear the introduction, then you'll hear chapter one and then chapter two. Enjoy. Train your brain for the AI revolution the proven four-step System to Become Irreplaceable, no Tech Skills Required. Written by Dr John Finn and read by me. Dr John Finn Introduction how to get the most out of this book.

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Inside offices, worldwide professionals stare at their screens, surrounded by AI tools that promise to transform their work. Each offers incredible capabilities analysing data, managing projects, handling routine tasks. Yet, despite all this technological power, many feel more overwhelmed than ever. Something isn't clicking. To understand what isn't clicking, consider counter-intuitive truth.

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Success in the ai era doesn't require mastering every single artificial intelligence tool. Instead, the foundation lies in mastering something far more sophisticated your brain, the most complex technology in the known universe. The key is understanding how to optimise your brain's three essential energy modes what I call your brain states. This book provides a science-based system for optimising how your brain naturally cycles through different states throughout the day. Learning to match these brain states to different types of work transforms how you create value in our AI augmented world. And even if you have not used any AI tools yet, you'll still get a great deal out of this book. Through our work with over 20,000 professionals, from Fortune 500 executives to world-class athletes, we've proven these brain optimization principles work in real-world settings. Building on the foundation of my best-selling book, the Habit Mechanic, I've created the Habit Mechanic AI Edge system to help you thrive in this new technological landscape, how this book works. You'll learn the success cycle, our proven four-step system for optimizing your brain states in the AI era. You can start using these practical tools immediately to enhance your performance and reduce overwhelm. By the midpoint of the book, you'll have everything you need to implement this systematic approach for thriving in our AI-augmented world. The second half provides deeper insights into the science behind these practices, helping you refine your approach as you gain experience and as AI technology evolves. Work through the success cycle steps in sequence from understanding your brain state patterns to organising your tasks, to optimising your daily rhythm, to making improvements automatic. Each step builds on the next. Keep this book accessible as you integrate new AI tools into your workflow. The opportunities ahead are extraordinary and they're yours to capture through optimising how your brain works with these powerful new technologies.

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If you have any questions about any area of this book, I am here to help. Just send me an email at contact at toughermindscouk, or contact me via our website, toughermindscouk. Let's begin with a simple but powerful tool that will immediately make it easier for you to improve your brain state management. Chapter one your first three-minute brain state tool. Welcome, I'm Dr John Finn.

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For 25 years I've specialised in the behavioural science and psychology of resilience, performance and leadership, completing three degrees, including a PhD, in these fields. My expertise lies in helping individuals, teams and leaders optimise their performance during periods of significant change. I've helped over 20,000 people. Now, as we enter the most profound technological transformation in human history, the AI revolution, I'm dedicating myself to helping people succeed in this unprecedented era of change. Whether you're just beginning to explore AI tools or already using them regularly, the principles in this book will help you integrate these technologies more effectively into your life so you can thrive. My research has revealed something counterintuitive Professionals excel in the AI era not by mastering every emerging technology, but by understanding and optimising their brain's fundamental energy patterns what I call your brain states. Those who grasp these patterns are completing sophisticated projects in a fraction of the time, while maintaining energy for what matters most in their lives. Building on the principles from my best-selling book, the Habit Mechanic, I've developed a practical four-step system called the Success Cycle to help you master your brain states and give you the human AI edge, so you can seize the extraordinary opportunities of the AI era. Whether you're seeking promotion, starting or growing a business, developing your team or wanting more energy for family life. Mastering your brain states transforms what's possible as we enter this unprecedented period. Technology can either overwhelm us or help us create the lives we truly want, and this system ensures you'll be among those who thrive.

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Your three brain states you have three brain states. Here's a quick overview. First, your recharge brain state. This is your essential recovery mode when your brain rebuilds its energy reserves. Second, your medium charge brain state this is your essential recovery mode when your brain rebuilds its energy reserves. Second, your medium charge brain state this is your efficient processing mode, perfect for handling routine tasks. Third, your high charge brain state this is your peak performance mode, enabling sophisticated thinking and complex problem solving. While you'll learn to master all three brain states, we begin with your recharge brain state, the foundation for everything else. Without proper recharge, both medium and high charge states become impossible to maintain effectively. Both medium and high charge states become impossible to maintain effectively, making it impossible for you to be healthy, happy and perform to your potential.

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Let me share a simple tool that will help you activate your recharged brain state more easily. I will introduce this tool using Sarah's story. Sarah stared at her screen surrounded by three new AI tools her company had recently implemented. Each promised incredible productivity gains, yet she felt more overwhelmed than ever. I have all these powerful tools, she told me later, but some days I can barely focus enough to use them effectively. Other days I'm so wired from constant notifications that I can't wind down at night. I couldn't switch off, couldn't recharge. There had to be a better way.

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Sarah's transformation began with a simple but powerful tool the daily 3-to-1 reflection. The purpose is simple yet profound to help you calm your thinking and achieve what we call the recharge brain state, your brain's essential recovery mode. Most importantly, this tool helps you learn to redirect your mental spotlight to consciously guide your attention away from threats and worries toward more helpful patterns of thinking. To make the daily three-to-one reflection even more powerful, you can activate brain circuits that naturally enhance positive thinking through this pre-reflection routine. First, choose one of these options Either take a five-minute walk focusing on slow, calm breathing, or jump up and down for five to ten seconds or more. Second, quickly open and close your right hand several times. Third, force yourself to smile while doing this. Fourth, begin your daily 3-to-1 reflection, which I'll show you how to do shortly. This pre-reflection routine is powerful because it activates your accumbens striatal prefrontal cortex network, what Dr Kelly Lambert calls the effort-driven reward circuit. By using your right hand specifically, you're engaging the left prefrontal cortex, which is associated with positive emotions. Your right side activates your left brain. Adding a smile strengthens this positive activation even further. Okay, ready, here goes. Take a few minutes to complete the following two steps.

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Step 1. Rate yourself First. Ask yourself this question how well did you do your best to be your best and achieve your goals today? You could say you did great or you failed, but I'd like you to be a bit more accurate because this will be more helpful for you. So please rate yourself from 1. You failed to 10, you were perfect? You are probably somewhere in between. Write or type out your score.

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Step 2. Complete a focused reflection. Write down or type out 3 or more positive or helpful things about your day. And then one area you can improve in the next 24 hours. For example here's one of Sarah's early reflections I am proactively trying to get better at using AI tools. I had breakfast with my family using AI tools. I had breakfast with my family. I am doing a three-to-one reflection. One thing to improve in the next 24 hours get to bed 10 minutes earlier tonight than last night.

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At first it seemed too basic. Sarah shared how could just writing down three positives and one area for improvement help me to be at my best in the AI era. But within days I noticed something changing. I was calmer. I could see more clearly which tasks needed my best thinking energy. Most importantly, I was starting to understand my own brain's patterns. Here's the fascinating part of how this works You're actually using your high-charge brain state through focused writing to activate your recharged brain state. I'll say that again you deliberately got yourself into a high-charge brain state in order to activate a recharged brain state. This is what makes the technique so powerful.

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I use the 3-to-1 reflection every workday evening to process the day, switch off and prepare for deep sleep. And while it's called a 3-to-1 reflection, I actually write down as many positive or helpful thoughts as I can possibly think of. The act of writing, or typing, is crucial. It forces you to direct your mental spotlight away from threats and worries toward helpful patterns of thinking. This deliberate redirection of attention is the cornerstone of training your brain, making daily 3-to-1 reflections easier.

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To make it easier to complete regular daily 3-to-1 reflections, I have created a PDF template. I use this and if you want to use it, go to toughermindscouk forward slash resources to download your copy. I will also remind you to complete exercises like the daily 3 to 1 reflections in the Habit Mechanic podcast. Listen to it here toughermindscouk forward slash podcast. Toughermindscouk forward slash podcast. Finally, our Habit Mechanic University app is also designed to make completing regular daily 3-1 reflections easier. To learn more, go to toughermindscouk. If you want to learn more about the science behind the daily 3-to-1 reflection. I unpack it in Appendix A when I reveal the brain mechanics behind emotional regulation. But don't worry about that right now. Let's keep going.

Speaker 1:

Now that you have this tool for activating your recharged brain state, you might be wondering about your medium-charge and high-charge states. How do they work with AI tools, how can you optimise them for peak performance and how do you maintain the right energy throughout your day? We'll explore all of this in our next chapter, but first, if it's helpful, make a note to remind yourself to complete a three-to-one reflection this evening, as Sarah discovered. At first it seemed too basic, but that simple practice changed everything. Every journey begins with a single step and this one will create the foundation for everything we'll build together.

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Chapter 2. Unleashing your brain's full potential in the AI era. Now that you understand how to activate your recharge brain state, let's explore how your other brain states transform your work with AI tools. Remember Sarah After mastering the three-to-one reflection, she discovered something fascinating. Once I could reliably activate my recharged state, she explained, I started noticing clear patterns in my thinking and energy throughout the day. Some hours were perfect for mentally challenging work, while others were better for routine tasks. Understanding these patterns completely changed how I used AI tools. Sarah had discovered what neuroscience shows. Your brain's energy patterns shift between three distinct modes recharge, medium charge and high charge throughout the day, each perfectly suited for specific types of work.

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Medium charge brain state your medium charge brain state is perfect for handling simple, routine and largely undemanding tasks, for example, sending simple emails, helping a client solve a standard problem or handling administrative tasks. In recent years, these activities consume more and more of our working hours, leaving little time for premium thinking and doing our most challenging and high impact work. But here's where AI creates an extraordinary opportunity. Consider this startling prediction from Winning by Design, a leading sales training company that works with some of the world's largest businesses Within the next 12 months, ai will enable companies to operate many of their sales and 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 possible because AI can now handle most medium-charge tasks faster and more efficiently than humans, freeing us to focus on higher-value work.

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High-charge brain state. Your high-charge brain state enables your most sophisticated thinking and high-impact work, from complex problem-solving and creative development to strategic planning. This is your brain's premium operating mode where your unique human capabilities truly shine. Our research shows most professionals can only maintain one to two hours of this sophisticated thinking each day. The rest gets consumed by interruptions, routine tasks and mental fatigue. But here's what makes this moment in history extraordinary. While AI can't replicate this premium cognitive work, it can dramatically amplify it. Think of it as having an expert consultant instantly available on demand, helping you complete your most challenging and high-impact work in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost. Here's a real-world example Producing the audiobook version of this book, a high-charge brain state task, took one person with optimized brain states just three days using AI tools. The same task for a previous book of identical length, when AI tools were not available, required two people working for 10 days and cost nine times as much. That's a 233% increase in speed and a 90% reduction in costs. We're seeing similar transformations across many professional fields.

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The success cycle your four-step AI edge system Achieving the type of results I've shared isn't about working harder. It's about aligning your brain's natural patterns with AI's capabilities. This is where the success cycle transforms everything. Just as elite athletes use sophisticated systems to optimise their performance, our four-step system helps you thrive in the AI era. Step one measurement your brain state analysis. Map your brain's energy patterns to reveal your biggest opportunities for transformation. Step two planning your strategic roadmap. Match each task to the right type of energy and identify where AI tools can enhance your capabilities.

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Step three optimization your daily rhythm design. Structure your day to maintain peak energy for what matters most professionally and personally. Peak energy for what matters most professionally and personally. Step 4. Automation your excellence engine. Develop triggers and systems that make optimal performance automatic, using AI tools to enhance rather than drain your energy. The results More quality recharge time, less routine and mundane work and significantly more hours in your peak state, doing the energising, high-impact thinking that makes you feel at your best. Sarah's experience shows the power of this system Within weeks of starting the success cycle she shared. I was consistently finishing my most valuable work by early afternoon. Ai tools handled routine tasks during my medium charge periods, while I saved my high charge hours for strategic thinking. Best of all, I had real energy left for family time in the evenings. But creating this transformation starts with understanding something fundamental about how your brain works. In the next chapter, you'll discover a simple story that helps you to begin controlling these complex patterns the story of your lighthouse brain.