Well, I hope you’re great. And I wanted to hop onto Instagram Live to do what I believe will be a relatively quick Instagram Live on the science of elite performance and exponential leadership.
So I believe philosophy is very important. I believe what I call tacticology is very important when it comes to exponential impact and elite productivity. But let’s also make the conversation grounded in science whenever possible. And I want to offer you three insights from my work that will help you upgrade your productivity, especially in this time with so much negativity and so much distraction.
I think you are faced with what I call a GCA, a Gargantuan Competitive Advantage
right now, because so many people are so negative. So many people in the pandemic have no
energy. So many people are addicted to the news. So many people are addicted to comfort food. So many people are consumed by just watching TV or videos all the time. It’s a great time to create your masterwork and to release your music into the world. And
that’s what I would love for you to do, because then it makes me feel good that I’m serving you. And it helps me feel like I’m living in a more positive, more beautiful world as well. And so we all win, don’t we?
I’m going to get right to it. The first concept is called “hedonic adaptation”. Hedonic adaptation. The first time I read it was in a book called The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky. Sonja Lyubomirsky is one of the preeminent researchers in the field of positive psychology. I believe she wor ked with Martin Seligman, sort of thing, the grandfather of positive psychology. And I really encourage you to read The How of Happiness.
Anyway, there is this term, “hedonic adaptation”, which very simply speaks to the phenomenon of the human being to be excited by something new until we become familiar with it and it becomes our new normal. Hedonic adaptation. Let me give you an example. So you buy a new car, or you buy a new bicycle. You’ve wanted to get this mountain bike ever since you were three years old and you’re full of aliveness when you buy it. And then you ride it and it’s wonderful. And you see it parked against the wall and it fills you with delight. After weeks and months, you see other people with the similar mountain bike, or it becomes familiar. And the shiny newness of this new bicycle really wears off.
And it happens with a new job. It happens in a new relationship. It happens if you buy a new
house, or get into a new apartment, or buy a new watch, or buy a new handbag. Hedonic
adaptation.
And this, I believe, is the fundamental reason why, for most people, nothing is ever
enough. We buy what we’ve always wanted, or we achieve what we’ve always dreamed of, and
then hedonic adaptation clicks in and we want more. Now, how am I relating hedonic adaptation to productivity? Well, it’s if you always want more, then you’re going to be a consumer versus a creator. Fundamental distinction. The people who achieve industry dominance, those people are not consumers primarily. They are creators.
But you look at many people who are stuck, who are stalled. They’re always buying, they’re
always consuming. They’re never creating. So the first piece of science to think about, hedonic
adaptation. You want to be aware of it. So then you say, “Oh, I see. The very nature of buying
things means I’m never going to be fulfilled, so I’m not going to create happiness by buying
things.” That will not only save you time and energy, which will boost your productivity, it’ll save you a lot of money.
The second scientific idea that I refer to a fair amount in my work, for example in my online
mentoring program, The Circle of Legends, is what I call the 3 Layers Deep Theory. The 3
Layers Deep Theory. First time I heard about it was from a Harvard, I believe, physician named
Nicholas Christakis. He’s written a wonderful book called Connected. And essentially, what he says is you are influenced not only by your circle of friends, but by their friends and by the
friends of your friends’ friends. Isn’t that incredible? I call this the 3 Layers Deep Theory.
So please don’t only be very vigilant to the nature of your friends, obviously, through the power of another scientific phenomenon called “emotional contagion.” You’re going to pick up the energy of your first circle of friends. If they’re victims, you’re going to think like a victim. If they’re unhappy, you’re going to feel unhappy. They’re giving away their power to the pandemic, or the disrupted, degraded global economy, you’re going to feel that. But you’re not only influenced by your first circle, your friends. You are also influenced by the friends of your friends and by the friends of your friends’ friends. Isn’t that incredible? So just think about those influences.
Third and final piece of science I want to offer to you, myelination. You can Google it and study
it. But I believe this is the hidden secret of genius. Myelination. So if you look at any practitioner, any expert, the practice, the skill of choice, whether it’s hockey, chess, writing, business building, handcrafting, cooking. And by the way, thank you for all of the people who watched me cook yesterday. I made a spaghetti aglio e olio, and I think I’m going to start sharing a bit more of my personal passions on Instagram. I’ve always tried to make it around the work, but I cooked this pasta yesterday and a lot of people enjoyed it. So I promise I’ll do more of it.
But if you look at any person who practices a skill, over time, they keep practicing the skill to the point where they build a neurocircuit towards that skill in their brain. But here’s the part I want to make. If you keep on practicing a specific skill versus being a master of many things, if you stay monomaniacally focused on that one skill, painting, business building, chess playing, cooking, that over time, a fatty substance called myelin will start to wrap around the circuit responsible for that area of practice. Whether it’s hockey, whether it’s chess making, whether it’s cooking.
And myelin, neuroscientists are saying, causes that specific neurocircuit responsible for the skill to operate in an upgraded way. And this is why Wayne Gretzky, for example, the great hockey player said, “I don’t skate to where the puck is. I skate to where the puck is going.” You see, the great artists, the great entrepreneurs, the great humanitarians, the great painters, these people all had what I call advanced perception. But their advanced perception was not a genetic gift.
And I’ve been saying this for year, after year, after year. Their advanced perception, their other-worldly ability to see possibility that no one else could see was not some blessing from the gods of genius denied to the majority. It was just they practiced so much that they set up this neurocircuit and then they kept on practicing while everyone else is just diluting their focus doing too many things and not willing to practice. And so these people on the path of mastery got to a place where the circuit in the brain was myelinated, which you can do and I can do if we stay focused and practiced for many years. And that allowed them to achieve their mastery.
So three ideas I’ve offered to you in these past, I don’t know how many minutes, but hedonic
adaptation, the 3 Layers Deep Theory, and myelination. And I talk a lot about it in my other
courses. Many of you are in those online courses. But here’s what I wanted to do. If you look at
my main feed here on Instagram today, I’m doing something super special. I recorded an audio
program called The Victory Over Difficulty Anthem.
Are we not in a world of difficulty? Stores are closed. People are losing their jobs. People are suffering. Massive upheaval. And yet there are time-honored principles and tactics that you can use to actually accelerate your happiness, your service to the world, your productivity, your leadership, and your impact.
And if I were you, I would be all over trying to figure out what those ideas are. I’ve taken those
ideas on how to achieve victory over difficulty, put them in an audio book. This is not like a five-minute audio book. I always try to offer heavyweight content. This is, I believe it’s about an hour-long audio program. Again, if you’re just joining us, The Victory Over Difficulty Anthem.
It’s my hot new audio program. And here’s what you might find interesting. I’m giving it to you
completely free as my way of saying I’m with you, as my way of saying we’re all brothers and
sisters on a little planet, as my way of saying I love you for following my work and spreading the message and helping me get The 5AM Club out to the world.
So here’s what I want you to do. I want you to go to my main feed. It’s just my Instagram. And
you’ll see the cover for The Victory Over Difficulty Anthem. And there’s a link in my bio, a link in my bio here on Instagram. Some people say, “Well, I can’t find the link.” Just go to my bio.
There’s a link. It’ll say The Victory Over Difficulty Anthem. Click on it. And you’re going to be
able to get my new audio program for free as my way of saying thanks and my way of doing my
best to encourage you during these difficult times.
I’m going to go to some of your comments here. “Adventure.” Avish, thank you. “Loving your,”
and then that ends, so I don’t know what you’re loving. But someone else, “Embrace, embrace.
Dance, yoga.” “I just started reading The 5AM Club.” Awesome. I hope you love it. And for
everyone of you around the world who has made The 5AM Club such a massive phenomenon, I say thank you so much.
You probably know I spent four years writing The 5AM Club. So much of my life went into it. It took so much out of me. And to see every day all of these comments about people whose lives are being transformed by The 5AM Club means the world to me.
Please keep sharing the book, telling your family, telling your coworkers about it so we get this message out. It’s a great method to help people stay positive and strong and productive in these difficult times.
Meladi Zapata is asking me a question in Spanish. I don’t speak Spanish. [Spanish 00:12:13].
So why is my information in English? Well, my books are in Spanish and I don’t speak Spanish.
So I speak in English. And we are going to be translating my videos into Spanish much more in
the future. Arthur, Samir, “Thank you for your advice about writer’s block. I’m now a published
author.” Samir, I remember that. I think it was an Instagram Live. And we all face writer’s block.
The key is just keep moving forward. Keep writing. I don’t want you to think, like anyone who’s
watching, please don’t think I get up and the words just flow. Some days it’s easy. Some days it
is so hard. A lot of you were asking about my new book. I’ve just finished writing it. I’ve spent 10 months on it this year. It’s now at HarperCollins. It’s in the copyediting stage. I think this book is going to blow your mind. I hope it does. And it will be, well, I’m not supposed to say when the book will be out. So I’ll just simply say I finished writing my new book. It’s at HarperCollins, it’s being copyedited, and I’m going to review it for a couple more times, make a few tweaks, but it’s mostly done. And then hopefully it will be getting out to you. And thank you for all the interest in my new book as well. And Samir, congratulations on writing that book.
Alifar Sadiki, “When is the new book coming out?” I’ll simply say my new book is coming out as
soon as possible. We are rushing to get it out, but we also want to maintain the quality so it
reflects the highest of quality and it’s a heavyweight work for you. Thanks for asking. Azim
Verani, “Love from India.” To all my Indian followers, I just want to say thank you so much for all the support and I hope you’re safe and healthy. Unleash The Knowledge says, “Thank you,
unleashing the knowledge every day.” You’re very welcome. I love doing this, by the way. 25
years in the field and I think I’m just getting started. I’m having so much fun. Even when I’m not having fun writing my new book, I’m having fun.
Alga says, “You changed my life.” You changed your life. Maybe you read my book. Maybe you
watched an Instagram Live. But I gave you the information and then you did the heavy lifting to change your life. And that’s an act of heroism because it takes a lot of courage to challenge
your winning formula, challenge your habits, challenge your mindsets, challenge your heart
sets, and then go out there and do the work to change.
I have a lot of energy today. I think it’s because of that pasta. I usually don’t eat carbs.
By the way, if you want to see how I cooked pasta spaghetti aglio e olio, it’s a very simple dish,
pretty hard to make, very inexpensive. It’s just spaghetti, olive oil and garlic. Very, very
inexpensive dish. And I know some people use chili. I know some people throw in anchovies. I
used pecorino cheese because it gives that flavor. But it’s a very simple dish. If you’re
interested, you can go to my Instagram feed and see. I did a cooking video yesterday because
maybe you know, but I also in the future want to do an 11 seat restaurant in a very hard-to-find village where I’m going to cook for whoever comes to this little restaurant. And I want to paint as well, and I have all these new ideas. So I think it was the carbs that gave me all this energy today.
Anyway, Alga, you changed your life and I honor you for that. Colombia. Tereo931. “Thank you
for Colombia.” To all my Colombian readers, you’ve been with me for years. I say muchas
gracias. And thank you so much for following me. Who else? We’ve got, “Greetings from
Argentina.” I miss Buenos Aires very much. So thank you to all my Argentine readers. San24
Palmeye, “I love your book, The 5AM Club.” Thank you.
Tom CoolJ. “What’s your best practical advice during this pandemic?” Wow. This, Tom, this is a
great question. What’s my best practical advice during the pandemic? I assume you’re talking
about to stay strong. Number one, use the news as a tool to help you navigate the pandemic,
but please don’t let the news scare you. There is a lot of good in this world. There are a lot of
good things happening. There’s less pollution in the world. A lot of us are waking up mentally,
emotionally, spiritually. A lot of us are now rewiring our priorities, Tom, because of the
pandemic. A lot of us are doing work that matters now versus busy work. A lot of us
are reconnecting with our family. A lot of us are doing Zoom calls with our friends. There are so many blessings that are happening from the pandemic. And yes, our brothers and sisters are sick and suffering, but I think we must also recognize the reality but train our focus on the
opportunity. So that’s the first thing I’d say.
Second thing I’d say, Tom, in terms of how to navigate the pandemic, get up early and exercise.
Simple. It will rewire your psychology, your neurocircuitry, your neurobiology, your
inflammatory response, your immune response. Third thing I would say is, I know a lot of us are gravitating towards comfort food. Honor the need, but don’t be overwhelmed by the need because your nutrition is medicine and good nutrition will keep your immune system strong. It’ll affect your moods. Hippocrates said food is medicine. So I’d say, thirdly, honor your diet. Eat as clean as possible.
Fourth tactical idea to navigate the pandemic well. Do not succumb to victimhood. Be really
careful who you talk to. A lot of people are so scared right now. They’re pouring their toxicity all over you. And that will affect your creativity. It’ll affect your immune system. It’ll affect your neurobiology. It’ll affect your inflammatory response.
Fifth tactic. I’m trying to get into nature every day. And I’ve been talking about this for years. I
wrote a book in 1998 called Who Will Cry When You Die? Talking about forest walking, talking about the power of being in nature. Get out to nature every day. It’ll do things for your
neurobiology, again, for your immune response. It’ll make you feel better. So that’s, I think, the
fourth tactic. Fifth tactic to navigate the response well. Meditate. Spend time in solitude. Before the pandemic, we were all traveling. We were all out there. We were all busy. We were doing meetings. I was doing keynotes across the world. Now, I’ve been grounded. So I’m spending even more time in quietude, even more time praying, even more time in solitude, even more time alone. And as an introvert, I’ve always spent a lot of time alone. I think I’ve done my best work because I spend a lot of time alone. But the fifth tactic is savor the beauty of solitude. I call them The 3 S’s in my work. Solitude, silence and stillness.
Okay, guys, it’s been a real pleasure. Make sure you go to the link in my bio. You can look at
my main feed. I am giving away a brand new audio program called The Victory Over Difficulty
Anthem. This is not an introductory level. This is not a lightweight program. It’s a heavyweight
piece of content that’s worth a lot. And I’m giving it to you at no charge whatsoever to support
you, to encourage you, to say thank you for reading The 5AM Club and telling everyone about it. Thank you for being here with me on Instagram Live.
Many of you have followed me for years and I don’t take that loyalty lightly. And I’m working
even harder to produce even better content that really serves you. I want to say stand strong. I want to say we’re in a pandemic, but good things are coming. It’s a time of rich opportunity. It’s time to build yourself. It’s a time to do beautiful work. It’s a time to serve the world in your own unique way. And it’s time to find the blessings in the everyday. And it’s a time to be more loving and kind. So thanks for being with me. And I’m going to talk to you soon. Take great care. Bye