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Lessons - Reality Is More Flexible Than You Think (Scott) · Success Story with Scott Clary

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  In this lessons episode, we'll explore why reality is far more
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  malleable than most people realize. We're going to talk about how the world just
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  doesn't randomly reconfigure itself. It bends in response to those who apply
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  relentless energy and unwavering focus. This is one of my favorite ideas.
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  We're going to talk about how the barriers that you perceive as fixed
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  are just these collective agreements that are waiting to be challenged and why
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  people who reshape industries and build incredible businesses. They're not
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  just gifted with special powers. They simply refuse to accept artificial
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  limitations. This isn't about positive thinking. It's about understanding
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  that your perception about what's changeable directly determines what you can
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  change in your business and your life.
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  This week I discovered a quote by Mark Andreessen and I absolutely love this
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  quote and it got a lot of traction when I reposted it on social and this is
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  why I want to do a solo podcast on it. So I'm going to read you the quote
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  and then I'm going to go into why I think this idea is so important.
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  So the quote is the world is a very malleable place. If you know what you want
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  and you go for it with maximum energy and drive and passion the world will
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  often reconfigure itself around you much more quickly and easily than you would
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  think. I love this idea and it's turned out to be true in my life. It's turned
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  out to be true in many people's lives. Remember I interview and sit down with
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  some of the most incredible entrepreneurs on the planet and this idea that
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  reality is more flexible than you think. That's an idea that almost every
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  single person who you would look up to and say that person is successful.
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  That's an idea that they all believe and I think this is an idea that
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  separates people that are stuck or that are sort of just existing versus
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  people that truly believe that they have agency and control over their life
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  and their outcomes. And I think that the majority of people don't think that.
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  The majority of people don't believe this quote and this idea and I think the
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  majority of people believe that the world is fixed and they just accept
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  circumstances as just the way things are and they assume that their life is
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  as it is and they assume that industries can't be disrupted and they assume
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  and believe that systems are too entrenched to change and they see barriers as
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  permanent rather than temporary and everything in their life
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  in their in their in their relationships in their job and their careers and the
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  business are trying to build. And I have to make the argument and the point that
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  this mindset that the world is fixed is the single biggest limitation that's
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  keeping you from creating the life, the business and the impact that you're
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  capable of. Now I just read you a quote by Mark Andreessen
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  if you don't know who he is he's a founder of Netscape he is a legendary
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  Silicon Valley venture capitalist go look him up if you've never heard his name
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  but if someone like that believes this there's a lesson there and it's not just
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  some inspirational fluff it's really a fundamental truth about how reality
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  actually works and once you understand it everything changes so remember before I keep
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  going the idea is the world is a very malleable place if you know what you want
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  and you go for it with maximum energy and drive and passion the world will often
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  reconfigure itself around you much more quickly and easily than you would think that's the idea
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  let me give you some other proof that this idea is true so the first sort of proof is the reality
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  distortion field so what is this so this is an idea that's pretty similar to what Mark Andreessen
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  said but it didn't come from Mark Andreessen it came from Steve Jobs so when Steve Jobs first
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  told his team the impossible needed to be done in five weeks rather than five months and he did
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  this repeatedly but this was something that he always tried to do he told his team that the
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  impossible had to be done in a very limited time frame and the team pushed back team said you
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  whatever product improvement whatever feature we have to ship whatever goal we have to
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  hit it couldn't be done the timeline was unrealistic the limitations were too great jobs never
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  butched he always said don't be afraid you can do it and somehow they did and this was his style
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  of leadership and it happened so often that his team coined the term for it the reality distortion
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  field they meant it as a joke they meant it as a joke as in jobs had this ability to convince people
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  that the impossible was possible through sheer force of will but here's what they missed when
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  they were joking around the distortion wasn't in Jobs mind it wasn't everyone else's jobs simply
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  understood that most quote unquote impossible things are merely difficult things that no one has
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  been stubborn enough to solve yet and what his team viewed as bending reality was actually just
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  refusing to accept artificial limitations and the world is full of artificial limitations and
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  is more malleable than most people realize not because of magic but because the barriers we perceive
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  are largely constructions that are built from these outdated assumptions and no one has challenged
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  these artificial constraints that exist only through this collective agreement or limiting beliefs
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  about what's possible or permissible and when you push through these barriers with enough force
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  they often dissolve way more easily than you'd expect now the beautiful thing about this is that
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  to do this to push through these barriers permission isn't required and a lot of people wait for
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  permission and whether you realize it or not there's something that you want to build create or pursue
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  but you're holding back until someone gives you the green light and you're not alone because most
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  people wait for permission their entire lives permission to start permission to lead permission to
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  challenge this status quo they assume that success comes from following these established paths
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  and hitting predetermined milestones get the degree build the resume pay your dues wait your turn
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  but the people who truly reshape industries and ironically also reshape their lives don't just
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  wait for permission they take action while others are still waiting to be called on by who by no one
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  Sarah Blakely didn't ask the male dominated undergarment industry she could revolutionize
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  the shape where she just cut the feet off her pantyhose and created spanks Brian Chesky and Joe
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  Gebbia didn't ask hotel chains if they could turn spare bedrooms into accommodations they just put
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  air mattresses on their floor and create an Airbnb so you have to start to ask yourself what would you
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  do differently if you stopped waiting for someone to tell you it's okay to proceed think about it
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  really think what idea what project what career move would you immediately pursue because the most
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  dangerous form of self deception is believing that you need someone else's approval or authorization
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  pursue your vision the world is malleable but it's only malleable for those willing to start reshaping
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  it without this engraved invitation now in recent quote contains a critical qualifier that most
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  people miss he didn't say that the world bends for anyone with a wish or a hope and this is the
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  issue that I have with you know all the law of attraction woo woo bullshit it's because people
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  assume that when they hear these words or you know they focus on the right mindset they just think
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  about it enough shit's gonna happen shit doesn't happen if you think about it enough there's a key
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  part of that quote so he says the world reconfigures for those who pursue what they want with maximum
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  energy and drive and passion this isn't about magical thinking it's about applied force reality has
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  inertia it resist change but that resistance isn't infinite it's just enough to filter out the
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  uncommitted and this filtering mechanism is actually a feature it's not a bug it ensures that
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  the world only reconfigures around those who care enough to push through the initial resistance
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  when jankoom was building what's up he was rejected by facebook for a job five years later
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  facebook acquired his company for nineteen billion dollars the difference wasn't luck it was
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  persistence applied to a clear vision so the world will test your commitment before it yields it
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  asks how badly do you want this what are you willing to sacrifice how long can you persist when
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  results aren't immediate and your answers to those questions determine whether reality will
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  reconfigure around you or will reality just seemingly remain stubbornly fixed so I want you to
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  look at what you're working on right now look at all your current projects your current job your
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  current relationship your current life your current business where are you applying this casual
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  effort and expecting significant results where have you backed off at the first sign of resistance
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  because if you're honest with yourself you're gonna know exactly where that is and you're gonna
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  say ah that's why this idea isn't applying to my life and it's not about judgment don't ever
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  think it's about judgment it's about absolute clarity it's about clarity that the path that you're
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  on right now is giving you exactly the results that your current energy level deserves that's a
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  hard truth that's a real hard truth but that's listen truth aren't fun but they will set you free
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  right now there's a paradox in this idea as well there's something a little bit counterintuitive
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  about how reality bends resistance isn't evidence that you are going in the wrong direction
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  and you've heard this before but resistance is usually confirmation that you're pushing on
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  something worth changing think about it if you're attempting if what you're attempting would make
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  no meaningful difference the world wouldn't bother to resist systems only defend themselves
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  against genuine threats to the status quo and that resistance can show up in a variety different
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  ways it can be that it's hard to get customers to accept your idea it could be that you know people
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  are giving you a hard time for being too loud on social media whatever it is if you are disrupting
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  the status quo you will get resistance and the pushback that you're experiencing actually might
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  be the strongest validation that you're on to something significant and one of my favorite stories
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  that sort of confirms this is about Richard Branson so I was researching his early days when he
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  was building virgin Atlantic so every established airline and industry expert told him that he would
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  fail regulations in the airline industry are designed to keep newcomers out and existing players
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  actively worked to block his entry so this wasn't just bad luck it was the system protecting itself
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  now if Richard Branson interpreted this resistance as a sign he was on the wrong path virgin
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  Atlantic would have never existed so obviously we know that's not how the story ends so you have to
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  ask yourself what resistance are you facing right now that you have misinterpreted as a sign to
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  retreat rather than advance the obstacles in your path often aren't warnings they are filters
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  they are separating those who want change from those who demand it from those who will not
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  back down regardless of the amount of resistance they face you've heard the quote by Ryan
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  Holliday the obstacle is the way that is the absolute truth and if you don't believe if you don't
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  believe everything I'm talking about if you don't believe the mark and reason quote if you don't
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  believe the distortion reality feel the Steve Jobs you know what it's not going to impact me but
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  it's going to hurt you there is a hidden cost to believing in a fixed reality most people in this
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  world even some of the people listening to this are never going to experience how malleable the
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  world can be because they've internalized a fixed view of reality and this is a mental model
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  that creates a self fulfilling prophecy so when you believe change is extremely difficult
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  this belief reduces your effort and your expectations that reduced effort leads to minimal results
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  minimal results confirm your original belief and then the cycle reinforces itself the highest
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  price that you're ever going to pay for seeing the world as fixed isn't the opportunities you miss
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  it's the person that you will never become and when you believe fundamental change is nearly
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  impossible you naturally dial back your ambitions you quote unquote be realistic you set quote
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  unquote achievable goals you focus on incremental improvements rather than this transformative vision
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  and this approach guarantees that you will never discover what's actually possible and the
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  alternative it isn't delusion it is calculated audacity the willingness to test assumptions about
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  what can be changed rather than accepting them as fixed truths now I have to give you a formula
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  because it's great to talk about these ideas but I want you to really understand how to apply
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  them in your life because you're going to ask if the world is truly malleable can it really bend
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  to my will is there a formula for bending it to what I want to achieve to my vision and based on
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  studying those who have basically reshaped reality there is a pattern there is a pattern that works
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  so I'm going to give you five different ideas that I've seen across every single person who has
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  reshaped reality to various degrees first idea absolute clarity vague intentions produce vague
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  results the world doesn't reconfigure around fuzzy thinking those who successfully bend reality
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  can articulate exactly what they want with precision not just the outcome of the reasoning the
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  values and the non-negotiables this clarity acts as a focusing mechanism for their energy rather
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  than dispersing force across all these different ideas and targets the shiny objects syndrome they
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  concentrate it on specific points of leverage the second idea unwavering conviction the world
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  initially pushes back against anybody trying to change it this separates the casually interested
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  from the truly committed those who successfully reshape reality maintain their conviction regardless
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  of setbacks skepticism or the absence of immediate results and it's not blind stubbornness this
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  is belief grounded in insight it's seeing the possibilities that others miss because you examined
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  the problem more deeply so even when others say it's not going to work you know eventually that it
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  will third idea is disproportionate action the degree to which reality bends correlates directly
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  with the amount of force applied so those who reshape their world don't just work hard they work
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  with an intensity that makes others uncomfortable they take action at a pace in scale that seems
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  excessive to everybody outside just these casual observers really just think your nuts and this
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  doesn't mean burnout or hustle culture it means focused effort on what actually matters not spreading
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  yourself thin across a hundred small tasks the fourth idea is strategic positioning reality doesn't
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  bend equally in all directions it has weak spots places where less force can create bigger change
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  what does this mean those who successfully reshape their own world develop a sense for these
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  opportunities they position themselves where new trends unmet needs and their unique skills overlap
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  this allows them and lets them create an impact far beyond their direct effort sometimes this could
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  be called leverage sometimes this could be called ikigai but remember the goal is to work smarter not
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  harder so trends unmet needs and their unique skills that's where you should put your maximum
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  energy and force and the fifth idea is contagious energy no one bends reality entirely alone even
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  the most determined individuals they have limits so those who successfully reshape their world
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  they inspire others to join them their clarity their conviction their action they attract allies
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  they attract resources they attract opportunities and this turns personal force into this massive
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  team momentum so knowing that this is what you have to do I need you to make a decision that will
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  change everything in your life because the world has always been malleable to those who are willing
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  to test its flexibility from the right brothers proving flight was possible to Catherine Johnson
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  calculating the mathematics that put humans on the moon from Steve Jobs creating the smartphone
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  to Greta Thunberg mobilizing millions for climate action the people who reshape reality
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  aren't fundamentally different from you they have simply made a different decision about what's
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  possible and what's worth pursuing with maximum energy and this decision is available to you right
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  now so you can choose to see barriers as fixed or flexible you can choose to accept conditions or
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  to challenge them you can choose to work within existing frameworks or to create new ones your
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  perception of what's changeable directly determines what you can change so the greatest revolution
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  isn't external it's internal it's the moment that you realize that many of the limitations that
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  you've accepted exist only because everyone agrees they exist so where should you apply this
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  understanding that the world is more flexible than it appears I want you to start with the constraints
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  that you've internalized as fixed so for entrepreneurs this could mean the market is too crowded for
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  new entrants I don't have the right background or connections this problem is too complex to
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  solve quickly this is just how the industry works these are limiting beliefs these are constraints
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  each of these beliefs deserves scrutiny not blind rejection but careful examination
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  is this truly an immovable reality or is it simply a collective assumption that no one has
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  sufficiently challenged and then ask yourself what would I pursue if I truly believed in
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  dreams observations that the world would reconfigure around my energy and my vision not as a hypothetical
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  exercise but as a genuine question about what matters enough to warrant your maximum drive and
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  passion and the answer might scare you and it should anything worth applying your full force towards
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  should feel a little bit intimidating but remember the world is far more valuable than most
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  people will ever discover the barriers that seem solid they usually dissolve when pushed against
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  with enough determination so what are your next steps the ones that really matter theory without
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  action is just entertainment so this is what I need you to do right now identify one immovable I
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  put that in quotes immovable constraint in your business or your life that you've been accepting
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  without question just one tomorrow take a very specific action that assumes that this constraint
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  is flexible it doesn't have to be dramatic just a meaningful step that would make no sense
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  if the limitation was truly fixed maybe it's reaching out to somebody unreachable maybe it's
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  setting a deadline that seems impossible maybe it's proposing a solution that other people would
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  call unrealistic this single action it's not going to reshape your entire reality but it will
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  start training the most important muscle you have your ability to test rather than accept the
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  boundaries that others take for granted as Mark and Jason reminds us reality will reconfigure
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  itself around you much more quickly and easily than you would think the only question is whether
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  you're going to test this truth or continue living as if the world is fixed the choice is yours
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  and it changes everything