Hello, Unstable Geniuses,
Today, I want to introduce you to two books that will change the way you think through a few short stories. Grab a coffee and get that like button ready.
01Belly or Back First?
The year is 1968.
The Summer Olympics in Mexico are in full swing, and the high jump record stands at 5’8″. To push the limits of human achievement, the bar is raised to a record 7’4″. This was a personal insult to a man named Dick Fosbury a relatively unknown athlete at the time. He did something no one had seen before. He turned his back to the bar and cleared it! Setting a new world record. Until that moment, every other athlete had gone over the bar belly-first.
Dick Fosbury thought the opposite of what everyone else believed and put his plan into action. That shift in thinking reinvented an entire sport. His method, known as the Fosbury Flop, is still used today.
What goals in your life require inverted thinking?
02Never Mind the Bollocks
It’s the 1970s, and two unknowns decide to take on the established fashion juggernauts with a clothing line that was considered 30 years ahead of its time. They opened a store called Nostalgia of Mud And promptly went out of business! One unknown named Vivienne Westwood became a global fashion icon and the other unknown named Malcolm McLaren started a band called the Sex Pistols. What would have happened if they had chosen not to challenge the establishment?
Would they have ever discovered who they really were? I guess we’ll never know.
What moment are you waiting for to do something you’ve never done before? Maybe it’s time to take that risk and find out who you really are!
03The Book
If you’re looking for more inspiration around taking risks and doing the thing that has you shaking in your boots, with a lump in your throat and sweat on your forehead, I highly recommend the late Paul Arden’s book “Whatever you think, think the opposite“. It’s short, filled with incredible artwork and photos, and genuinely a fun and thought-provoking read.
It’s one of the reasons I’ve finally come out of my shell, thrown caution to the wind, and YOLO’d, as the fellow kids say. I’m loving every minute of it and doing things I never would have even attempted before.
04I dont like the idea of cutting people
A young Michael Crichton was on his way to becoming a highly specialized doctor after earning a fellowship at Harvard. But somewhere along the journey, he asked himself if he actually liked the idea of cutting people open day in and day out. His brain answered “no,” and he decided to become an author instead. The rest is history. Sunk costs be damned. Michael faced a cul-de-sac and chose to quit.
05You quit too early
Mr. Universe, better known as Arnold Schwarzenegger, said that people who train successfully pay their dues for the first minute or two and get all the benefits at the end. Unsuccessful trainers pay exactly the same dues but stop just a few seconds early.
When you push through the pain, when it hurts the most and every inch of you is screaming “No,” that stress and breaking point force your muscles to grow. That’s when you start to look like Mr. Universe. Arnold faced a dip and pushed through it.
![Seth Godin's "Dip"](/images/posts/we-become-what-we-think/seth-godins-dip.jpg "Seth Godin's "Dip"")
What’s your dip, and do you have the willpower to push through it?
03The Book
Seth Godin in his book “the dip“ explains how to recognize when you are in a dip that you need to push through and when you are in a cul-de-sac where it’s time to throw in the towel.
The book teaches you how to ask the right questions to figure out your next step. Using anecdotes, relatable stories, and research-backed evidence The Dip will help you overcome that critical moment in your journey and get back on track before you scream..
“I quit my job for this.”
I read this book at a critical point in my life when I was convinced my future was destined for mediocrity. What I failed to realize was that I was facing a dip in my journey, and change was just around the corner, if I pushed through. I changed careers, became an entrepreneur, started this newsletter, freelanced for some of the biggest brands on the planet, learned a new language, and even learned to swordfight. Everything I never thought I was capable of. Read the book and overcome your challenges or quit and start something new. It’s one or the other. There is no going back.
07A new concept
This is a new section that will appear in some of my newsletters. Here, I’ll briefly introduce one concept that can help you become a better you. So, let’s get into it. Einstellung Einstellung is a cognitive trap where existing knowledge, habits, and experiences cause the brain to approach problems in a familiar way. This can block better solutions from being discovered. It’s one reason why some famous problems have been solved by people outside the field, people who had no direct interest in the problem but stumbled upon the solution at the right time.
Maybe you need some outside perspective or maybe an outside perspective needs you?
