This is Brian Johnson. Along with my wife, Alexandra, and our awesome team, I created The en*theos Academy for Optimal Living. Here’s the quick story:

Part I: Giving Myself a Ph.D. in Optimal Living

After selling my last business (Zaadz), I decided to give myself a Ph.D. in Optimal Living. I couldn’t find a program that integrated everything I wanted to study: from old school philosophy and spirituality to modern day positive psychology, nutrition, creativity, conscious business and general self-development--all the stuff I think goes into creating an extraordinary life in the 21st century. So, I decided to create something myself.

I figured I’d get my master’s when I’d distilled 100 of my favorite optimal living classics into simple, smart, fun, inspiring and super-practical “PhilosophersNotes”--sharing Big Ideas from these great books in 6-page PDFs + 20-minute MP3s. I also had to create a profitable business sharing this goodness--demonstrating that we can get paid to do what we love in service to the world.

My dissertation requirement included teaching a class called Optimal Living 101 and publishing a book where I share the 10 principles of optimal living as I see them.

That took me the better part of four years. And, that’s Part I of the story.

Part II: Breakfast with a Warrior of Art

On May 12th, 2010, I was having breakfast with one of my favorite writers--Steven Pressfield. In addition to writing the screenplay for The Legend of Bagger Vance and a bunch of great novels, Steve wrote a classic book on winning the battle of the creative process called The War of Art. (My creative life has taken a huge leap forward every time I’ve read that book. It’s a must read. Seriously. Amazon it now if you haven’t read it yet. (You’ll thank me. :) My Note on it here.)

So, back to breakfast.

Steve and I were enjoying our steel-cut oats with strawberries as we talked about classic virtue and fun stuff like that when he asked me if I’d ever considered creating a university--a “modern Plato’s Academy.”

We chatted about that for a bit and I told him that if I ever did do something like that, one thing I’d do for sure is have HIM teach a class on creativity!! (How cool would that be?! :)

Long story a little shorter, Steve agreed that would be pretty cool.

Game on.

Part III: The en*theos Academy for Optimal Living

I got home, chatted with Alexandra about it all day and bought entheosAcademy.com that night.

The idea was (and is) very simple: We’ll help world-class authors/teachers share their wisdom on optimal living via virtual classes in ten different domains:

• Nutrition, Fitness & Well-Being
• Positive Psychology
• Creativity
• Leadership & Self-Development
• Relationships & Sexuality
• Parenting
• Meditation, Mindfulness & Spirituality
• Money & Wealth
• Conscious Business
• Politics, Sustainability & Activism

I started reaching out to some of my friends and favorite authors and teachers. We were thinking we’d launch with 10 classes in the Fall. That’s quickly becoming 25+. Exciting.

Bonus: Creating a Really Cool Business

All part of a longer conversation but we’re also really excited about creating a really cool business. In the words of Charles Eames on Herman Miller: "We want to make the best for the most for the least."

What does that look like?

Well, #1: We don’t want money to ever get in the way of you getting your wisdom on.

I’m honored and giddy to have the generous support of all of our Professors to make their classes available on a “Pick Your Price” sliding scale. And, if cash is super tight, you can get a scholarship to as many classes as you’d like.

Let’s Get Our Wisdom On!!

That’s more than enough from me. (You can probably tell I’m pretty excited about this. :)

If you have any ideas on Professors you’d like to see teaching please let us know! And, if you’d like to support us in spreading the love, we’d be honored. (If you’d like a cash high five thank you, please join our affiliate program!)

We really hope you love the courses and here’s to Optimal Living!