The Problem: Too Much Specialization

We’ve been taught that specialization is the way to get ahead. We’re told that we should become “the best at this or that.” We should become “the person” when it comes to one specific topic.

This specialist mindset has seeped into breathing community. We have all these different methods that people specialize in, hoping to stand out as the best breathing coach for this condition or that sport.

Heck, I’m known as “The Breathing Diabetic” because I started out wanting to be that person.

But I’ve discovered that the true way to make an impact and really help a lot of people is not by being a specialist.

It’s by becoming a generalist.

The Solution: Become a Breathing Generalist

Robots are Specialists. Humans are Generalists.

An alternative approach to becoming “the best” is becoming unique. Becoming more you. And counterintuitively, the way to do that is to become a generalist.

What Exactly is a Breathing Generalist?

A breathing generalist is someone who understands how the breath can be used in every aspect of life. They have an expansive library of knowledge and experience they can draw from to help people use their breath to achieve their goals.

(Note: I provide several real-world examples below so you can see this in action.)

Paradoxically, Generalists are Regarded as the Best Experts

Look at Andrew Huberman, Marie Forleo, Tim Ferriss, Oprah, Steve Jobs, Rangan Chatterjee, and on and on.

They are all expert generalists. They study a broad range of topics, allowing them to help a broad range of people.

“Wait, is Nick saying I’m going to be breathing’s version of Oprah?”

Of course not : )

But we should learn from these people and use their approach in our breath coaching.

And if this sounds a bit too ambitious, it’s not.

It’s Precisely the Approach We Need Most

If you’re anything like me, you recognize that breathing is arguably the most powerful tool we have to enhance all aspects of our lives. And it’s getting more popular by the day.

A paper published in Nature Scientific Reports in 2023 even stated:

“Research on breathwork could be likened to that of meditation, which received an unprecedented surge in scientific exploration two decades ago. We may be at a similar cusp with breathwork and anticipate considerable growth in the field.”

This means we have a tremendous opportunity (and responsibility) to help share this information in ways that resonate with the broadest audience.

Becoming a Breathing Generalist is How We Do This

Get Started Right Now

In just 30 minutes a week, you’ll become irreplaceable.

How to Become a Generalist in 3 Steps

Here are three simple things you need to do to become a generalist and make yourself irreplaceable.

1. Short-Term Specialization

Wait, didn’t you say we’re becoming generalists? Yes! But, the way to do that is through short-term specialization.

We’re not going to scratch the surface of topics and then act like an expert. We’re going dive deeply into a lot of topics, but in the shortest amount of time possible. We use the science of learning to accelerate this process.

2. Integration & Skill Stacking

This is the magic sauce. Generalists use short-term specialization to integrate and stack ideas from seemingly disparate sources. This makes our impact that much greater —> 1 + 1 + 1 = 12.

You’ll integrate and stack topics to make them more useful to people in your unique and irreplaceable way.

Examples: You might stack slow breathing with meditation and light movement. Or alternate nostril breathing with resonant breathing and walking. Or, you’ll recognize that something athletes do would be helpful in trauma, too

I can’t emphasize this component enough. There’s no telling what you’ll come up with. The only certainty is that you’ll start making connections no one else could possibly make (because you’ll see things through your life experience). And this will make you unique and make your message resonate profoundly with people.

3. An Open Mind

This comes from #1 and #2. Conversely, it can lead to #1 and #2.

But either way, once you start making connections, you’ll be more excited than every to study random topics.

• Philosophy? I’m in! I bet I’ll find something that will help me coach better.

• A book about the ocean? Why not! I bet there is something I can use that no one else has thought of.

• An article about AI? I bet there’s a breathing lesson in there somewhere.

You get the idea. The more you become a generalist, the more you start making connections everywhere. Everything will be an opportunity to grow.

The Best Part: Shared Growth

The more coaches that become generalists, the better. You should encourage every breath coach you know to do the same thing. This isn’t some secret to help you beat out the “competition.”

This is shared growth.

The new idea you come up with will differ from the one your fellow breath coach comes up with. If they grow their audience, it exposes more people to breathing, which has a ripple effect of growing all our audiences.

The more breathing generalists there are, the more we all succeed in our mission of helping people breathe better.

This Might Be Sounding Like a Lot of Work

It is, and it isn’t.

If you’re passionate about breathing and the generalist perspective resonates with you, then you can start now. Start reading more books. Start studying different breathing methods that go against your way of thinking. Start integrating novel ideas from different topics into your coaching sessions.

The problem, of course, is time.

You’re trying to land clients, post to social media, run a personal business, etc. It’s hard to read and learn all day, much less make connections, organize all your notes, and create a massive database of resources so you can find exactly what you need, when you need it.

The Solution:

The Breath is Life Learning Center

The Breath is Life Learning Center is a one-stop shop for becoming the ultimate breathing generalist.

I read books and science articles, pull out the most relevant information, summarize it, and organize it for you (and for me—I’m on the same journey as you!).

It Takes Just 30 Minutes a Week to Become Irreplaceable

I make the whole process super simple for you:

1. Read or listen to the weekly 411s (~20 min/week)

2. Read the daily 1%s (~30-60 seconds/day)

3. Combine the ideas with your unique background and perspective.

4. Apply and share them with your clients and students.

That’s it.

How Joining the Learning Center Will Make Your Life Better

☑︎ Saves You Time (over 40 hours a month)

You can think of me as your personal breathing philosopher. I read books and scientific papers, extract only the best ideas, and then organize them into easy-to-understand stories for you.

Not only that, but I also put it all online, record audio, and give you PDFs (meaning they’re yours forever).

The Math

A Book 411 takes, at the very minimum, 12 hours to create (you get two new ones every month, so that’s at least 24 hours a month I save you). Science 411s vary but take at least 6 hours each (that saves you a minimum of 12 hours a month). When you add in all the wisdom in the TB1% you get daily, it comes out to more than a full work week I save you every month, and this is a super conservative estimate.  

That’s 40+ hours you can use sharing the content, working with clients, and growing your presence.

☑︎ Saves You a Lot of Money 

The cost of the books in the Learning Center significantly outweighs the joining price. Not to mention that your time is money. Every minute you spend reading, organizing your notes, and trying to find the most relevant things to share is a minute you’re not helping people. Moreover, I’ve been told by well-respected coaches that the information I share is more informative than formal teacher training for some methods.

Of course, the Learning Center doesn’t replace them. But if you want to learn about a technique without getting certified, this is the absolute cheapest place to do it.

☑︎ Improves Your Health and Personal Practice

The Learning Center is action-oriented. Every Book 411, Science 411, and TB1% has a wisdom nugget you can apply today. These small changes will add up to better health and a more robust personal breath practice.

☑︎ You Become More YOU

“Paradoxically, it takes time to become what we already are.” – Rick Hanson, PhD

Unless you’re a neurosurgeon, people don’t care if you’re “the best.” They simply want you. They want your unique perspective and your irreplaceable mix of knowledge and experience.

That’s exactly what the Learning Center helps you do. By exposing you to a TON of information from various sources, you’ll pick and choose the concepts that resonate with you, integrate them into your way of thinking and teaching, and stack them with other unique skills you’ve learned.

You’ll discover who you are and become more you.

Here’s Exactly How It Works

The 3 Core Learning Rooms

How It’s Delivered to You

The Learning Center comes packed with tons of practical information. It’s there waiting for you. You can immediately integrate it into your coaching, teaching, or practice. (Browse the Book 411s, Science 411s, and TB1%s.)

Then, each week, I send you a new Science 411 or Book 411 on Friday at 4:11 a.m. Eastern.

Science 411s Are Our Inhale

They turn on the analytical side of our integrative and skill-stacking approach. These are how you show your clients and audience you’re dedicated to using science-backed tools in your practice.

Book 411s Are Our Exhale

They turn on the creative side. They’re fun and full of timeless wisdom you can start using immediately. They show your audience that you pull the best info from various experts to make things as practical as possible.

Then, You Get a New Edition of The Breathing 1% Every Day

The Breathing 1% is how we compound the wisdom.

You get a bite-sized nugget of wisdom every single day so we can synthesize and compound everything we learn.

A Lifetime of Knowledge and Growth for a Low One-Time Investment of $197

This is a membership that offers a lifetime of knowledge.

It’s a never-ending library of wisdom, and right now, it’s being offered as a low one-time investment rather than a recurring payment.

It’s less than you’ll pay (or paid) for your certification. But it’s going to make that certification actually pay off for you by helping you share the power of the breath with more people.

Regular Pricing:

$14.99/month

$149.99/year

One-Time Payment Offer Available Right Now

You’re risking nothing when you sign up. You’ll either be blown away by all the content, or you get your money back.

Why You Should Join Right Now

Don’t Shrink from Becoming Your Best Self

The law of diminishing intent says that the longer you wait to do something, the less likelihood there is of you doing it.

So, you can say to yourself, “This sounds pretty awesome. I’ll save it and come back to it later.” Then, you’ll naturally forget about it, keep doing the same, and get the same results.

Are You Going to New York or Washington?

Or, you can make a modest, one-time $197 investment in yourself, change how you approach things, and change the entire trajectory of your career.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear has a fun thought experiment. He says to imagine a pilot leaving LAX for New York. If, at takeoff, that pilot took off heading just 3.5 degrees south—literally unnoticeable—they would end up in Washington, D.C. “A very small shift in direction can lead to a very meaningful change in destination.”

Similarly, when you sign up for the Learning Center, there will not be some dramatic overnight change. But, with time, all the short and impactful lessons will aggregate and compound, and you’ll end up on the other side of the country.

Test Out the Learning Center for FREE

Sign-up below to get exclusive access to 2 free Book 411s, 2 free Science 411s, and 10 free editions of The Breathing 1%.

When you sign up, you’ll also get a 5-day mini email course on becoming a generalist:

Day 1: The Four Career Paths of a Generalist

Day 2: The Most Efficient Way to Read Books

Day 3: How to Find Science Papers Worth Reading

Day 4: How Do I Know Which Books and Papers to Read?

Day 5: Become More You, Become Irreplaceable

Watch this Video to See Exactly What You’ll Get When You Join the Learning Center

FAQ: Are You Saying I Shouldn’t Become a Certified Breathing Coach Under a Specific Method?

No, not at all. Becoming a certified coach is a must. You should find a program that resonates with you, study it intensely, and start helping people.

But this is only the beginning of your journey. Once you have a legitimate certification, people will treat you like an expert—which you are. But, you’ll quickly learn they expect you to be an expert in all aspects of breathing.

This isn’t My Opinion: It’s a Reality of Being a Breath Coach

No two nervous systems, hearts, or minds are the same. People will come to you with different issues, concerns, questions, and goals. To help them, you’ll need a lot of tools under your belt.

Of course, you won’t have all the answers. And you certainly won’t be in a place to teach them everything they need to know. But when you show them your depth and breadth of knowledge, refer them to the right resources, and help them achieve the outcomes they’re after, you’ll become invaluable. You’ll become irreplaceable.

It Will Also Help You Reach More People

Growing an audience is challenging. You might do podcasts, make social media posts, or give presentations. This requires a wide range of knowledge.

For instance, if you’re asked to give a presentation, you’ll find that the audience comes pre-loaded with questions they want to ask that have nothing to do with your talk.

This is just part of having a cool niche like breathing.

To stand out, you need to be prepared for this. You need to have studied so much that you can intelligently answer questions or refer people to the right resources (crucially, this includes saying “I don’t know” with a ton of confidence because you know you’ll be able to find out).

Then you know that happens? The next time they have a random question about breathing, they’ll come to you. The next time that organization is looking for a speaker, they’ll ask you to come back.

You’ll Also Have More Ways to Truly Help People

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”

- Haruki Murakami

If you’re a certified breathing coach, everyone else certified in that method knows the exact same things you do. (This is excellent—it’s the entire point of a certification.)

BUT it also means you’re replaceable.

However, if you’re certified in that method and study broadly, now you have something no one else has. It’s not quantifiable. People simply recognize it from talking to you, hearing you on a podcast, reading your work, or following you on social media.

They know intuitively that you’re a [fill-in-the-blank] Method Coach. But they also know that you’re just genuinely passionate about breathing and an expert they can turn to whenever they need help with anything breathing related.

This makes you irreplaceable.

What If You’re Not (and don’t plan to be) a Breathing Coach?

Even better!

If you found this page through a pure interest in learning about the breath, you’re already a generalist. You’ve probably been nodding your head the the whole time.

So, I don’t need to convince you of the value of this approach. You’re already living it. The Learning Center will just make your life a thousand times easier when it comes to acquiring breathing knowledge.

What About Yoga Instructors, Health Coaches, Mental Performance Coaches, and the Like?

The Learning Center will give you an even bigger opportunity to help those you work with. Although breathing might not be the primary interest in these disciplines, it will always play a part of helping people become their best. Additionally, I read and share information from all kinds of topics. I apply it to breathing, but the concepts are universal: You can apply it to whatever you teach to broaden your impact.

A Few Examples of Info You’ll Find on the Learning Center

Meet Your Instructor, Fellow Learner, and Fellow Breathing Generalist

Here Are a Few Accomplishments I Owe to Being a Generalist

Professional Career as an Atmospheric Scientist

• Visiting Student Intern at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL)

• Ph.D. Funded by a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship

• Post-Doctoral Researcher at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (awarded 2016 Best Publication Award in the Computational Exposure Division)

• Physical Scientist at U.S. Air Force: Won several quarterly awards and took first prize in our local Iron Man Competition (generalists can apply their philosophy to physical training, too)

Professional Career as The Breathing Diabetic

Here are a few things I’m proud of, but see the “real-world examples” section below for more details.

• Oxygen Advantage Advanced Instructor

• Level I Pranayama Teacher

• Written weekly newsletter for 4 years straight

• Walked 100 miles to raise awareness around breathing and chronic disease

Praise for Nick

Get Started Now

Real-World Examples of a Breathing Generalist

I’m not boasting or acting like I have it all figured out. But, all I can do is share real-world examples from my life so you can see how the generalist approach can work. I can’t guarantee your results; I can only guarantee that this approach will help you become unique and irreplaceable in your own way.

Books

My story and research were both featured in Patrick McKeown’s latest breathing book, The Breathing Cure. We worked together and I provided many seemingly unrelated references (true generalist style) to support the power of breathing for diabetes.

Consulting

Being a breathing generalist sets you up to consult with large companies. I can’t name names, but I’ve been able to work with some of the biggest breathing companies in the world. This includes providing expert advice, creating content for apps, giving presentations, and writing blogs. When you have a breadth of knowledge (and, most importantly, show people you can find information), companies will hire you to do research for them.

Building Courses

I’ve been hired to build several breathing courses, ranging from general information about breathing, building an ideal daily breathing routine, certifying breathwork coaches, and for diabetes specifically.

Blogging

I estimate that I’ve written over 300 blogs in the past 4 years. About 30 of them were paid. The rest were for fun. But, of course, these built my audience. The first place I go for content when I need to write blogs is the Learning Center.

Presentations

I’m not some sought-after speaker. But, I have been fortunate enough to give presentations to a wide variety of audiences. As one example, a recent presentation I gave to a community of senior citizens resulted in the following feedback: “Rave reviews all around; thank you for spending time with us and our members.”

Everything I presented came from the Learning Center. It wasn’t a specialist talk. It covered everything from heart health to spirituality. Therefore, it resonated with a broader audience, resulting in positive feedback.

The best part? I was invited me back for two more talks (and these get me a small paycheck).

Emails

I’ve answered hundreds of direct emails. I get asked all sorts of questions—it honestly blows my mind how diverse the topics are. I can’t find any “trends” to pursue because people are different and need different things.

I don’t know if helping these people has made me any money. But that wasn’t the point for me. It’s amazing to get to genuinely help people and change their lives with the power of the breath. I have honestly cried while replying to some of these emails. It’s one of the most rewarding things I do.

Social Media

Everyone knows there’s no formula for social media growth. The algorithms change and there’s no way of knowing what will work.

We do know that consistency, creativity, and a unique perspective help. Sounds a lot like being a generalist, huh? I’ve been able to grow to over 11K followers on Instagram posting about breathing. That blows my mind. I know there are way bigger accounts, but I’m blown away and proud of that much support.

And it’s all because I post a diverse range of topics that people don’t expect from a breathing account.

Testimonials from Current Learning Center Members

“I think it's amazing what you offer, I'm learning so much and it's given me the courage as a new instructor to get out there and share this wonderful knowledge. It's the best thing I've done is sign up. Thank you!!!”

Learning Center Member

“I love it! Thanks for all the magic you share!”

Learning Center Member

Have More Questions Before Signing Up?

Email me at nick@thebreathingdiabetic.com. I’ll get back quickly.