Ben Wilson

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Hello, and welcome to How to Take Over the World. This is Ben Wilson. High agency. This is one of the major through lines of all the great leaders that we talk about on this show. They all have incredible agency. They take action. They're proactive. They happen to the world. The world does not happen to them, I think is the best way to think of what high agency is.

Hello, and welcome to How to Take Over the World. This is Ben Wilson. High agency. This is one of the major through lines of all the great leaders that we talk about on this show. They all have incredible agency. They take action. They're proactive. They happen to the world. The world does not happen to them, I think is the best way to think of what high agency is.

So today's episode is a principles-based episode where I'm going to share some of the ideas that I've been thinking about based on my recent reading. And high agency is one of those things that people are talking a lot about.

So today's episode is a principles-based episode where I'm going to share some of the ideas that I've been thinking about based on my recent reading. And high agency is one of those things that people are talking a lot about.

And also I've at the same time been thinking about because of some of the recent episodes I've been doing, especially Edwin Land, someone who was very high agency from a very young age. And so that came to the forefront. So on this episode, I'm going to be talking about how to be more high agency, what are the various components of it, how to think about problems in a more high agency way.

And also I've at the same time been thinking about because of some of the recent episodes I've been doing, especially Edwin Land, someone who was very high agency from a very young age. And so that came to the forefront. So on this episode, I'm going to be talking about how to be more high agency, what are the various components of it, how to think about problems in a more high agency way.

I think this is a major key for taking control of your life and accomplishing more. So hopefully it's of use to you. I'll also be previewing future episodes. And at the end, I share one idea for how to actually take over the world in current day, 2025, a major opportunity that I think is out there that people are not taking advantage of.

I think this is a major key for taking control of your life and accomplishing more. So hopefully it's of use to you. I'll also be previewing future episodes. And at the end, I share one idea for how to actually take over the world in current day, 2025, a major opportunity that I think is out there that people are not taking advantage of.

This is a subscriber only episode, so I'll be doing five minutes free preview, but then maybe it'll be ten. I don't know. We'll see where I cut it off. But then the rest of this 30 to 40 minute episode is going to be for subscribers only. OK, so let's start off with how to be high agency.

This is a subscriber only episode, so I'll be doing five minutes free preview, but then maybe it'll be ten. I don't know. We'll see where I cut it off. But then the rest of this 30 to 40 minute episode is going to be for subscribers only. OK, so let's start off with how to be high agency.

As a reminder, high agency is the ability and belief that individuals can take control of their lives, define their goals, and take action to achieve them rather than feeling powerless and blaming others, external factors. It's about actively shaping your own destiny and outcomes. Again, you happen to the world, the world doesn't happen to you.

As a reminder, high agency is the ability and belief that individuals can take control of their lives, define their goals, and take action to achieve them rather than feeling powerless and blaming others, external factors. It's about actively shaping your own destiny and outcomes. Again, you happen to the world, the world doesn't happen to you.

And I do think that like anything, certain people have a predisposition towards this to be high agency, but there's a lot you can do to learn it. I would compare it to being fit, right? Certain people are just born athletic. They're fast, they're strong naturally, but just about anyone can train their way into the top 2% of strength or speed. And becoming high agency is similar.

And I do think that like anything, certain people have a predisposition towards this to be high agency, but there's a lot you can do to learn it. I would compare it to being fit, right? Certain people are just born athletic. They're fast, they're strong naturally, but just about anyone can train their way into the top 2% of strength or speed. And becoming high agency is similar.

Like certain people are just born high agency, but there are definitely things that you can do to be more high agency. And once you do these things, it unlocks a lot in your life. I've seen this. I'll share a couple of personal examples as we go. So you look at someone like Edwin Land, five years old, his father comes home, finds him taking a part of the family phonograph, gets really mad.

Like certain people are just born high agency, but there are definitely things that you can do to be more high agency. And once you do these things, it unlocks a lot in your life. I've seen this. I'll share a couple of personal examples as we go. So you look at someone like Edwin Land, five years old, his father comes home, finds him taking a part of the family phonograph, gets really mad.

And he decides in that moment that he's never going to let anyone block him from doing an experiment ever again in his entire life. And sure enough, in his twenties, he ends up sneaking into the University of Columbia Laboratory at midnight. He props open a couple of windows during the day to conduct experiments because he's not a student there, so he can't use it. But he's high agency.

And he decides in that moment that he's never going to let anyone block him from doing an experiment ever again in his entire life. And sure enough, in his twenties, he ends up sneaking into the University of Columbia Laboratory at midnight. He props open a couple of windows during the day to conduct experiments because he's not a student there, so he can't use it. But he's high agency.

No one's going to stop him from doing what he wants to do. And that starts at age five. But it doesn't have to start that young. Steve Jobs has a great quote. He says, life can be so much broader once you discover one simple fact. And that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people who are no smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it.