Transcript

Testing #1160 · From Chad

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When it sounds too bad to be true, there's a story behind
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that. This is your daily message from
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Chad #1160 to upgrade your mental game today by telling
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yourself a better story. Because the most important story
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you hear is the story you tell yourself.
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This message is dedicated to Jason Sloan on his birthday.
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Happy Birthday Jason. Here's the upgrade.
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You think you're too smart to be fooled, but upgraded thinking
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knows you don't get fooled by lies, you get fooled by facts
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arranged to frighten you. Here's the story.
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In 1997, a 14 year old named Nathan Zoner walked into a
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science fair with a project called How Gullible Are We?
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He handed 59th graders a warning about the chemical dihydrogen
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monoxide DHMO. This chemical is colorless,
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odorless, tasteless. It kills thousands of people
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every year, mostly by accidental inhalation.
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It's found in the tumors of terminal cancer patients.
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It's used in nuclear power plants and in cruel animal
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research. Companies.
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Dump it in our rivers and it's still legal.
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He asked the students what should be done about it. 43
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voted to ban it. 6 weren't sure. Only one saw what was going on.
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In 2004, a California city in Orange County scheduled a
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council vote on banning this substance after a paralegal
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convinced city officials of the danger.
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In 2013, two radio disc jockeys caused a panic in Lee County,
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Florida, when they announced this chemical was coming out of
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their taps. The local utility began
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receiving calls about the water being unsafe from residents.
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A utility spokesperson had to send an e-mail to all the media
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outlets that there was nothing to be concerned about and the
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county's water supply was safe. You see, the chemical DHMO,
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dihydrogen monoxide, is also known as H2O.
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It's water. Every single claim was true.
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Water does kill people who inhale it.
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It is in tumors because it's in everything.
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And nothing was a lie. And that's the whole trick.
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The listeners weren't stupid. They were doing what humans do.
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They read the frame instead of the facts.
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Nobody gave them a comparison. Nobody gave them a baseline.
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Nobody said compared to what similar sentences are being run
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on you every day. Maybe not about water.
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It may be about the economy. It may be about your competitor.
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It could be about your kids school, a health trend
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supplement, or a city initiative.
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There are all kinds of stories out there aimed to get your
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attention. Real facts, True facts, selected
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and stacked until the ordinary thing looks like a monster.
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The uncomfortable thing about the DHMO hoax is that the cure
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isn't blanket disbelief. It's good to be skeptical, but
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not cynical. Cynicism is just gullibility
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taken to the other extreme. You're still letting a rule do
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your thinking for you. Separate the nonsensical from
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the plausible by being more methodical, more voracious for
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insight, and more patient with details than everyone else.
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You don't have to be a genius, just more diligent than most.
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The ancient prophets gave their students wise advice.
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Test the spirits. So dihydrogen monoxide is not
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dangerous and you should drink more of it.
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But the way that whipped up people's fear is probably
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happening with something else on you right now.
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There's something you actually care about, a technology
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narrative, some story that caught your ear and elicited
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your fears. The cure isn't to disbelieve
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everything. The cure is to slow down and ask
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the question. A six year old asks why, and
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maybe it needs to be asked again.
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Two rounds of why would have killed that petition in the
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hallway. 2 rounds of why would kill most of what scares you
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today. The better story to tell
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yourself is I ask why twice before I believe it Once.
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Tell me a story of when you almost got fooled up.
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From chadsmith@gmail.com. Send someone a text and ask them
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what's something everybody believes that you've stopped
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believing. You can get a free copy of my
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book, The Most Powerful Story in the World by going to from
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chad.gumroad.com. The transcript of this message
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and hundreds of others are always available at
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www.fromchad.com.