John Assaraf

Some kids are aggressive. Some, you know, might be a little meaner than others. Some are kind and passive. So we know we have propensities. But we also know that a child is not born with a self-image or beliefs that they're good enough, not good enough, too white, too black, too Asian, whatever. We don't have any beliefs. We don't have an identity. We don't have a fear of anything.

And we certainly don't have any knowledge or skills. You know, we might have, or not might, we have the propensity to maybe suckle on mom's boob, right, to get milk on a bottle, but that's a genetic, you know, millions of years of evolution, autonomic Part of our being.

And we certainly don't have any knowledge or skills. You know, we might have, or not might, we have the propensity to maybe suckle on mom's boob, right, to get milk on a bottle, but that's a genetic, you know, millions of years of evolution, autonomic Part of our being.

And we certainly don't have any knowledge or skills. You know, we might have, or not might, we have the propensity to maybe suckle on mom's boob, right, to get milk on a bottle, but that's a genetic, you know, millions of years of evolution, autonomic Part of our being.

So when we talk about neuroplasticity, it was only about 25 years ago, a guy by the name of Dr. Michael Merzenich, who's a friend now, discovered because we were able to look deeper into the human brain. And analyze a human brain in real time or through slicing a brain after somebody was dead, we can actually see that our brain has got cells. We know that.

So when we talk about neuroplasticity, it was only about 25 years ago, a guy by the name of Dr. Michael Merzenich, who's a friend now, discovered because we were able to look deeper into the human brain. And analyze a human brain in real time or through slicing a brain after somebody was dead, we can actually see that our brain has got cells. We know that.

So when we talk about neuroplasticity, it was only about 25 years ago, a guy by the name of Dr. Michael Merzenich, who's a friend now, discovered because we were able to look deeper into the human brain. And analyze a human brain in real time or through slicing a brain after somebody was dead, we can actually see that our brain has got cells. We know that.

I call them like marbles, like 75 billion marbles. And these marbles make connections. And we used to believe that we were born hardwired. These connections were already there. Right. They discovered that that's not true. We're creating connections from the time we are born. Every time we hear, see, smell, taste, touch, a parent says, you're really wonderful. You're terrible.

I call them like marbles, like 75 billion marbles. And these marbles make connections. And we used to believe that we were born hardwired. These connections were already there. Right. They discovered that that's not true. We're creating connections from the time we are born. Every time we hear, see, smell, taste, touch, a parent says, you're really wonderful. You're terrible.

I call them like marbles, like 75 billion marbles. And these marbles make connections. And we used to believe that we were born hardwired. These connections were already there. Right. They discovered that that's not true. We're creating connections from the time we are born. Every time we hear, see, smell, taste, touch, a parent says, you're really wonderful. You're terrible.

You'll never amount to much. You're going to become whatever you want. Money is easy to make. No, money is really hard to make. Only wealthy people are all thieves. We develop these beliefs and When we dive a little bit beneath the surface, we understand that a belief is nothing more than brain cells that have made connections that have then been reinforced.

You'll never amount to much. You're going to become whatever you want. Money is easy to make. No, money is really hard to make. Only wealthy people are all thieves. We develop these beliefs and When we dive a little bit beneath the surface, we understand that a belief is nothing more than brain cells that have made connections that have then been reinforced.

You'll never amount to much. You're going to become whatever you want. Money is easy to make. No, money is really hard to make. Only wealthy people are all thieves. We develop these beliefs and When we dive a little bit beneath the surface, we understand that a belief is nothing more than brain cells that have made connections that have then been reinforced.

And the reinforced brain cells become stronger. You talked about being an athlete. We've talked about you being a triathlete. And like, you know, when we run, when we lift weights, we are strengthening, whether it's our cardiovascular system, we're strengthening our legs, our shoulders, our chest, our glutes, whatever it is, we strengthen the muscles.

And the reinforced brain cells become stronger. You talked about being an athlete. We've talked about you being a triathlete. And like, you know, when we run, when we lift weights, we are strengthening, whether it's our cardiovascular system, we're strengthening our legs, our shoulders, our chest, our glutes, whatever it is, we strengthen the muscles.

And the reinforced brain cells become stronger. You talked about being an athlete. We've talked about you being a triathlete. And like, you know, when we run, when we lift weights, we are strengthening, whether it's our cardiovascular system, we're strengthening our legs, our shoulders, our chest, our glutes, whatever it is, we strengthen the muscles.

Well, what if we started to take a look at, let's say, self-image, how I see myself? What if we looked at it as, is that a muscle possibly, like a neuromuscle? And some people have a healthy, strong, empowering self-image. And other people say, you know, I'm not good enough. I'm not smart enough. I'm not worthy enough. Now, neither one is born that way.

Well, what if we started to take a look at, let's say, self-image, how I see myself? What if we looked at it as, is that a muscle possibly, like a neuromuscle? And some people have a healthy, strong, empowering self-image. And other people say, you know, I'm not good enough. I'm not smart enough. I'm not worthy enough. Now, neither one is born that way.

Well, what if we started to take a look at, let's say, self-image, how I see myself? What if we looked at it as, is that a muscle possibly, like a neuromuscle? And some people have a healthy, strong, empowering self-image. And other people say, you know, I'm not good enough. I'm not smart enough. I'm not worthy enough. Now, neither one is born that way.

And so somewhere along the way, we developed these patterns in our brain that got reinforced. Now, here's where this gets really interesting. when we're born, this thing called the neuroplasticity switch, all right? In our brain, we have like switches. We have the motivational circuit, turns on or turns off. Stress circuit, turns on or turns off. Fear circuit, turns on or turns off.