Stephen Bartlett

And you have optimism because it looks great, but it's uninformed because you have no idea what it entails. So then you dive in and you say, okay, I'm going to pursue this thing, whatever it is, baking cupcakes, or I'm going to do lawn mowing, or I'm going to do crypto trading, whatever. Okay. Second step is you get into it and you're like, oh my God, I don't know.

There's so many things involved in this and this is significantly more complicated than I expected. So then you become an informed pessimist. You now know that it's hard or significantly harder than you expected. The third stage is you have your crisis of meaning or the valley of despair. So you're continuing to do this stuff. It's continuing to not work. And you keep working.

There's so many things involved in this and this is significantly more complicated than I expected. So then you become an informed pessimist. You now know that it's hard or significantly harder than you expected. The third stage is you have your crisis of meaning or the valley of despair. So you're continuing to do this stuff. It's continuing to not work. And you keep working.

There's so many things involved in this and this is significantly more complicated than I expected. So then you become an informed pessimist. You now know that it's hard or significantly harder than you expected. The third stage is you have your crisis of meaning or the valley of despair. So you're continuing to do this stuff. It's continuing to not work. And you keep working.

And it keeps not working. And so this is the step. And this is the point of truth. And this is the cycle where the paths of the entrepreneur split. And the vast majority of people take this next step, which is they then say, you know what? There's that thing over there that my other friend's doing. Maybe I should do that instead. And so then they hop back to uninformed optimism.

And it keeps not working. And so this is the step. And this is the point of truth. And this is the cycle where the paths of the entrepreneur split. And the vast majority of people take this next step, which is they then say, you know what? There's that thing over there that my other friend's doing. Maybe I should do that instead. And so then they hop back to uninformed optimism.

And it keeps not working. And so this is the step. And this is the point of truth. And this is the cycle where the paths of the entrepreneur split. And the vast majority of people take this next step, which is they then say, you know what? There's that thing over there that my other friend's doing. Maybe I should do that instead. And so then they hop back to uninformed optimism.

And then they go, boom, to informed pessimism. And they just go around and around and around. And they live the same six months for 20 straight years. Now, the other path from the valley of despair is sticking with it.

And then they go, boom, to informed pessimism. And they just go around and around and around. And they live the same six months for 20 straight years. Now, the other path from the valley of despair is sticking with it.

And then they go, boom, to informed pessimism. And they just go around and around and around. And they live the same six months for 20 straight years. Now, the other path from the valley of despair is sticking with it.

And so then you become an informed optimist because now you understand, you still understood all the bad stuff, but you also understand the good stuff and how to avoid the bad and maximize the good. And then once you're there, you stick on that path long enough and you end up achieving what you originally thought was really easy and fast.

And so then you become an informed optimist because now you understand, you still understood all the bad stuff, but you also understand the good stuff and how to avoid the bad and maximize the good. And then once you're there, you stick on that path long enough and you end up achieving what you originally thought was really easy and fast.

And so then you become an informed optimist because now you understand, you still understood all the bad stuff, but you also understand the good stuff and how to avoid the bad and maximize the good. And then once you're there, you stick on that path long enough and you end up achieving what you originally thought was really easy and fast.

And so that cycle, this is more or less the Alex Ramosi life story, which is why I can so intimately describe each of the steps, is that I call that loop and that the person on the other side, the woman in the red dress, which is probably my favorite part of the Matrix movie, which is Neo, who's the main character, is in a program to teach him one thing.

And so that cycle, this is more or less the Alex Ramosi life story, which is why I can so intimately describe each of the steps, is that I call that loop and that the person on the other side, the woman in the red dress, which is probably my favorite part of the Matrix movie, which is Neo, who's the main character, is in a program to teach him one thing.

And so that cycle, this is more or less the Alex Ramosi life story, which is why I can so intimately describe each of the steps, is that I call that loop and that the person on the other side, the woman in the red dress, which is probably my favorite part of the Matrix movie, which is Neo, who's the main character, is in a program to teach him one thing.

And so he's walking through the crowded streets of what looks like a New York City with Morpheus leading him. And he's drawing on about something that he's supposed to learn. And he says, Neo, were you listening to me? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress? And Neo was looking at the woman in the red dress as Morpheus is talking. And then he says, look again.

And so he's walking through the crowded streets of what looks like a New York City with Morpheus leading him. And he's drawing on about something that he's supposed to learn. And he says, Neo, were you listening to me? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress? And Neo was looking at the woman in the red dress as Morpheus is talking. And then he says, look again.

And so he's walking through the crowded streets of what looks like a New York City with Morpheus leading him. And he's drawing on about something that he's supposed to learn. And he says, Neo, were you listening to me? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress? And Neo was looking at the woman in the red dress as Morpheus is talking. And then he says, look again.

And he looks back at the woman in the red dress, and it's Agent Smith with a gun pointed at his head. And in that moment, he's like, freeze. And he explains that... You're either one of us or one of them. And they are the people who are sentinels sent to destroy us.