# 4010: [Part 1] How to Increase the Volume of Your Brain and Make Optimal Decisions by Benjamin Hardy Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/optimal-living-daily-personal-development-and-self-improvement-217043/4010-part-1-how-to-increase-the-volume-of-your-brain-and-make-optimal-decisions-by-benjamin-hardy Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/optimal-living-daily-personal-development-and-self-improvement-217043/4010-part-1-how-to-increase-the-volume-of-your-brain-and-make-optimal-decisions-by-benjamin-hardy.md Podcast: [Optimal Living Daily - Personal Development and Self-Improvement](https://stenobird.com/podcast/optimal-living-daily-personal-development-and-self-improvement-217043) Published: 2026-05-10T07:05:00+00:00 Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/OLD3524515138.mp3?updated=1778089155 Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/OLD3524515138.mp3?updated=1778089155 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/optimal-living-daily-personal-development-and-self-improvement-217043/episodes/4010-part-1-how-to-increase-the-volume-of-your-brain-and-make-optimal-decisions-by-benjamin-hardy Duration seconds: 630 ## Resource Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 4010: Benjamin Hardy challenges the belief that personality and intelligence are fixed, arguing instead that environment, expectations, and deliberate challenges can radically reshape who we become. Drawing from psychology and neuroscience, he explains how brain plasticity, intentional growth, and continually stepping into new roles can strengthen cognitive ability and lead to better decisions. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://medium.com/@benjaminhardy/how-to-take-ownership-and-change-your-brain-identity-and-future-252ffab07523 Quotes to ponder: "Who you are depends on the situation you are in." "If you do not create and control your environment, your environment creates and controls you." "Every next level of life will require a different you." Episode references: Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/optimal-living-daily-personal-development-and-self-improvement-217043/episodes/4010-part-1-how-to-increase-the-volume-of-your-brain-and-make-optimal-decisions-by-benjamin-hardy/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/optimal-living-daily-personal-development-and-self-improvement-217043/4010-part-1-how-to-increase-the-volume-of-your-brain-and-make-optimal-decisions-by-benjamin-hardy.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.