meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
All It Takes Is A Goal

ATG 263: The Hyper-Optimizer's Trap with Dr. James Hewitt

All It Takes Is A Goal

Jon Acuff

Start, All, Over, Education, It, Finish, A, Do, Goal, Self-improvement, Soundtracks, Author, Takes, Acuff, Is, Speaker, Jon

51.4K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 66 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dr. James Hewitt spent years teaching Fortune 500 companies and Formula One teams how to optimize performance—while ignoring his own advice. Then he found a lump in the shower. In this fascinating conversation, James shares how a late-30s cancer diagnosis forced him to confront a hard truth: he wasn't superhuman. We dive deep into the science of human performance, from why heart rate variability matters more than sleep tracking to how your mindset about stress can fundamentally alter your phy...

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Let me ask you a quick question. How many years in a row have you set goals, but life got in the way?

0:09.5

Not because you lack motivation, but because you didn't have the clarity, consistency, or confidence to stick with it when things got busy.

0:19.0

That's exactly why I created the remarkable you community.

0:23.6

It's the only place where you get live group coaching from me, on-demand access to all my

0:30.5

courses in a community of people who actually care about finishing things together, not just

0:36.5

talking about them.

0:37.7

If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or feel like you're starting over every January,

0:43.6

this is where that changes.

0:45.6

And right now, you can join at the Founders Rate, which saves you $100 a year when you

0:51.3

joined by December 31st.

0:53.1

Go to Johnacoff.com slash community. Go to johnakeoff.com slash community.

0:56.2

That's johnacoff.com slash community. Let's build your most remarkable year together.

1:05.1

Very often procrastination is actually a manifestation of a fear of failure.

1:09.9

People will say, oh, it takes 21 days to build a habit.

1:11.9

The interesting thing is, is that that finding was based on how long it took people to get

1:16.4

used to their new face following plastic surgery.

1:19.0

If you want to build a new habit, the key is to prioritize, there's two types of perfectionism.

1:24.5

Other orientated perfectionism, which is where we think that people expect perfection

1:28.3

of us and self-orientated perfectionism, which describes expecting perfection of ourselves.

1:33.3

The number one thing you can do is to try to exercise some self-compassion. And the most simple way

1:38.3

that I can describe that is try to be the friend to yourself that you aspire to be to others.

1:43.3

Ah, that's good.

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 24 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jon Acuff, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jon Acuff and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.