Stephen Collar

Don't ever, ever, ever speak your goal out loud unless you were absolutely, like if I say it out loud, my word is my bond is going to get done no matter what. And it's not even about as much about integrity or honesty or all those things that matter. It's about the fact that if I set a goal and I don't accomplish it, I'm training my brain that it's okay to not accomplish goals.

Don't ever, ever, ever speak your goal out loud unless you were absolutely, like if I say it out loud, my word is my bond is going to get done no matter what. And it's not even about as much about integrity or honesty or all those things that matter. It's about the fact that if I set a goal and I don't accomplish it, I'm training my brain that it's okay to not accomplish goals.

And your brain is an energy efficient engine. Once you start not accomplishing your goals and your brain goes, oh, it's okay if you don't accomplish your goals, I don't even need to generate the energy. So if you break your word to yourself, every time you set a goal and you don't keep it, you're breaking your word to yourself, you're training your brain. It's okay to fail. It's fine to fail.

And your brain is an energy efficient engine. Once you start not accomplishing your goals and your brain goes, oh, it's okay if you don't accomplish your goals, I don't even need to generate the energy. So if you break your word to yourself, every time you set a goal and you don't keep it, you're breaking your word to yourself, you're training your brain. It's okay to fail. It's fine to fail.

That's just fine. And after a little while, your brain goes, oh, you're not going to succeed anyways because you just say this shit. It's not real. We're not even going to bother getting in the fight. It works the same way. You understand the neuroscience of mindset, right?

That's just fine. And after a little while, your brain goes, oh, you're not going to succeed anyways because you just say this shit. It's not real. We're not even going to bother getting in the fight. It works the same way. You understand the neuroscience of mindset, right?

If you have a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset, when they look in the brains of people who have fixed mindsets, when things go wrong, they don't learn from their mistakes because the brain doesn't even turn on the learning machinery because why waste the energy? If you've got a fixed mindset that you can't grow, you believe your talent is innate. There's nothing you can do.

If you have a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset, when they look in the brains of people who have fixed mindsets, when things go wrong, they don't learn from their mistakes because the brain doesn't even turn on the learning machinery because why waste the energy? If you've got a fixed mindset that you can't grow, you believe your talent is innate. There's nothing you can do.

You can't grow from this. So your brain just stops producing the energy completely. This is Carol Dweck's work. And we also discovered if you have a fixed mindset, it blocks flow for the same reason. So these are two of the things that we've discovered along the way. People with regular gratitude practice and people with a growth mindset have way more flow.

You can't grow from this. So your brain just stops producing the energy completely. This is Carol Dweck's work. And we also discovered if you have a fixed mindset, it blocks flow for the same reason. So these are two of the things that we've discovered along the way. People with regular gratitude practice and people with a growth mindset have way more flow.

So I always tell people, we talked about the challenge skills balance, right? there's actually a number. So Csikszentmihalyi put a number on it. With a Google mathematician, they were like, when your challenge is 4% greater than your skills, that's the sweet spot for maximizing flow and focus.

So I always tell people, we talked about the challenge skills balance, right? there's actually a number. So Csikszentmihalyi put a number on it. With a Google mathematician, they were like, when your challenge is 4% greater than your skills, that's the sweet spot for maximizing flow and focus.

So, and Tommy, you were talking about this earlier, you and I both set these impossible goals, like really crazy, big, high, hard goals, but you chunk it down. So what's in front of you today- It's 4%, right? 4% to 5%. In fact, my favorite story is Alex Honnold, who everybody knows from Free Solo, right? So I like the Half Dome story.

So, and Tommy, you were talking about this earlier, you and I both set these impossible goals, like really crazy, big, high, hard goals, but you chunk it down. So what's in front of you today- It's 4%, right? 4% to 5%. In fact, my favorite story is Alex Honnold, who everybody knows from Free Solo, right? So I like the Half Dome story.

So 10 years before he climbed El Cap, he Free Soloed Half Dome in 2012. So Half Dome, Yosemite, it takes about most climbers about a day and a half to climb it. They bring portal edges. They sleep on the side of the wall. Alex Free Soloed it. So no portal edges, no ropes. You fall, you die. Everything's through the roof. Most people take about a day and a half to climb it.

So 10 years before he climbed El Cap, he Free Soloed Half Dome in 2012. So Half Dome, Yosemite, it takes about most climbers about a day and a half to climb it. They bring portal edges. They sleep on the side of the wall. Alex Free Soloed it. So no portal edges, no ropes. You fall, you die. Everything's through the roof. Most people take about a day and a half to climb it.

As I said, Alex climbed Half Dome in an hour and 22 minutes. It's like the rough equivalent of running a four minute mile in 43 seconds. Like that's essentially what it's the, in my, like if you say, Steven, what's the craziest, most impossible thing you've ever seen anybody do? That's the one. I mean, maybe there are others, but like for my money, that's the thing that I look at.

As I said, Alex climbed Half Dome in an hour and 22 minutes. It's like the rough equivalent of running a four minute mile in 43 seconds. Like that's essentially what it's the, in my, like if you say, Steven, what's the craziest, most impossible thing you've ever seen anybody do? That's the one. I mean, maybe there are others, but like for my money, that's the thing that I look at.

I'm just like, but if you ask Alex, How did you do it? Like, how the hell do you do these impossible things? He'll say the same thing. He'll say 4% plus 4% plus 4% day after day, week after week, year after year for a career. That's how you do the impossible. That's always how you do the impossible. There's no other formula. This is how we're designed to work.

I'm just like, but if you ask Alex, How did you do it? Like, how the hell do you do these impossible things? He'll say the same thing. He'll say 4% plus 4% plus 4% day after day, week after week, year after year for a career. That's how you do the impossible. That's always how you do the impossible. There's no other formula. This is how we're designed to work.