Matt Higgins

Just talking philosophically, I'm obsessed about this idea of step change versus incrementalism. What I mean that is we have a societal bias towards incrementalism. In other words, I must have the lemonade stand before I have the lemonade drink, before I have the lemonade business, before I get to run that business. And those are unwritten rules that are actually weighing down on our ambition.

Just talking philosophically, I'm obsessed about this idea of step change versus incrementalism. What I mean that is we have a societal bias towards incrementalism. In other words, I must have the lemonade stand before I have the lemonade drink, before I have the lemonade business, before I get to run that business. And those are unwritten rules that are actually weighing down on our ambition.

But the reality is those rules are not as hard and fast as we're led to believe. And the reason why that's so important to think about is we find ourselves conforming to those unwritten rules and say, you know, if only I do this next thing, then I will be able to do the following thing I really want to do.

But the reality is those rules are not as hard and fast as we're led to believe. And the reason why that's so important to think about is we find ourselves conforming to those unwritten rules and say, you know, if only I do this next thing, then I will be able to do the following thing I really want to do.

But when you actually dissect that, it turns out that most of those incremental steps you believe you have to go along in order to pursue your true ambition are actually about convincing yourself that you have the credentials so you're not embarrassed by the audacity of saying, I want to be a business owner.

But when you actually dissect that, it turns out that most of those incremental steps you believe you have to go along in order to pursue your true ambition are actually about convincing yourself that you have the credentials so you're not embarrassed by the audacity of saying, I want to be a business owner.

I went to Harvard and got the certificate for eight weeks because now I have Harvard on my LinkedIn or whatever nonsense you've come up with in your mind to delay pursuing your ambitions. So I, for whatever reason, back to defiant little kid, pissed off about poverty, I, for whatever reason, have a bias towards step change.

I went to Harvard and got the certificate for eight weeks because now I have Harvard on my LinkedIn or whatever nonsense you've come up with in your mind to delay pursuing your ambitions. So I, for whatever reason, back to defiant little kid, pissed off about poverty, I, for whatever reason, have a bias towards step change.

And what step change means is pursuing something that doesn't follow the natural progression of the direction you're moving in. So, for example, let's use Harvard and we'll talk about charting. When I went to teach, I have an academic part of my brain that I crave to flex, but I never got a chance because of my upbringing. But I also wondered if that was bullshit and if that was an excuse.

And what step change means is pursuing something that doesn't follow the natural progression of the direction you're moving in. So, for example, let's use Harvard and we'll talk about charting. When I went to teach, I have an academic part of my brain that I crave to flex, but I never got a chance because of my upbringing. But I also wondered if that was bullshit and if that was an excuse.

I was like, could I really actually perform at the highest level? It's convenient that I sold flowers on street corners because now we'll never know. And no one would ever believe that that's a valid excuse, Matt. You were poor. Of course you went to Queens College. So point is, I could have taught anywhere, probably a different level institution, but to teach at Harvard Business School.

I was like, could I really actually perform at the highest level? It's convenient that I sold flowers on street corners because now we'll never know. And no one would ever believe that that's a valid excuse, Matt. You were poor. Of course you went to Queens College. So point is, I could have taught anywhere, probably a different level institution, but to teach at Harvard Business School.

is a very different thing. And even though I didn't have the credentials, and even though I have this crazy story, I didn't let that stop me from trying. And because I tried, I got there. So with Shark Tank, it really all began with an attempt to connect with my beautiful boy who was not interested in sports, even though I ran the Miami Dolphins.

is a very different thing. And even though I didn't have the credentials, and even though I have this crazy story, I didn't let that stop me from trying. And because I tried, I got there. So with Shark Tank, it really all began with an attempt to connect with my beautiful boy who was not interested in sports, even though I ran the Miami Dolphins.

But what he was interested was Mr. Wonderful's royalty deals. And we would watch the shows together and I would make fun of those deals. I'm like, that doesn't happen in real life. And he's like, well, how do you know? I was like, well, cause I'm like a shark. I invest hundreds of millions of dollars. Like I know this. And so I then had that epiphany.

But what he was interested was Mr. Wonderful's royalty deals. And we would watch the shows together and I would make fun of those deals. I'm like, that doesn't happen in real life. And he's like, well, how do you know? I was like, well, cause I'm like a shark. I invest hundreds of millions of dollars. Like I know this. And so I then had that epiphany.

One, I'm going to sit here with my son together. We're going to watch me on Shark Tank. And then two, that is the shortest way to prove to people that you are the best, right? If you end up as a shark on Shark Tank, people will presume a lot of things about you. Some of which may be true or not true.

One, I'm going to sit here with my son together. We're going to watch me on Shark Tank. And then two, that is the shortest way to prove to people that you are the best, right? If you end up as a shark on Shark Tank, people will presume a lot of things about you. Some of which may be true or not true.

and so i set the intention now there's no template for going on charting there's no internet application form there's no process and this is really important everybody listening you just have to make the next step the next right decision that brings you closer right and so the next thing i needed to do was how do i get to a producer who would give me 10 minutes and let me try to turn that 10 minutes

and so i set the intention now there's no template for going on charting there's no internet application form there's no process and this is really important everybody listening you just have to make the next step the next right decision that brings you closer right and so the next thing i needed to do was how do i get to a producer who would give me 10 minutes and let me try to turn that 10 minutes