Third world prison

Learn: Be-Do-Have Framework, Third World Prison Test, Pluralistic Ignorance

Read: 3 min

Hola from Playa Del Carmen, 

The human brain is a problem-solving machine. 

Give it a problem and it kicks into solving mode. Heck, don’t give it a problem and it will find one to ruminate on. 

During our leisure time alone (not counting work), we process 34 GB of information a day. That’s the equivalent of 100,000 words or 175 newspapers. 

So we clearly don’t need MORE information. Instead, we need a better way to distill information into insights and small actions. 

That’s the exact purpose of this newsletter. 

Now time for your 3 seeds of the week. 

🧠 BE → DO → HAVE

Most people get stuck thinking: HAVE → DO → BE.

We think we first need to HAVE something (money, expertise, website) to DO something significant (start a biz, pursue passion, write) to finally BE who we truly want (fulfilled, entrepreneur, author). 

But in reality, things work in the exact opposite order.

We first need to BE someone willing to DO what it takes in order to HAVE our desired results.

Here's a personal example for my own writing:

BE - someone who writes consistently and is a relentless learner

DO - write this weekly newsletter, blog posts, and study copywriting

HAVE - (eventually) unique writing style and ability to connect with and inspire people through words.

But what if you’re not sure what you want to HAVE? 

Let's keep it simple. The 80/20 is in the BE and it all starts with identity. 

If you identify as someone who’s a constant learner and thrives off feedback and improvement…. You can combine that with anything you DO and therefore HAVE anything you want. 

☎️ Third World Prison Call

"High agency" is simply the ability to make things happen, regardless of circumstance.

It's resourcefulness on steroids. And maybe the best personality trait you can develop.

Jeff Bezos captured it beautifully with a single question, “If you’re stuck in a third world prison and have one call to help bust you out—who do you call?”

Low agency people get stuck with resistance ("they said no")

High agency people create luck with persistence ("they said no, but then I found another way")

What type of people do you surround yourself with?

🤷‍♂️ Pluralistic Ignorance 

Pluralistic ignorance is the (incorrect) belief that our own opinions are different from the majority. So we go along with what (we think) others think. 

Which can lead to big problems...

• Many Germans privately thought Hitler was a barbarian, but they pretended to support his policies because they mistakenly assumed their views were unique.

• Studies show college students believe their peers expect them to binge drink alcohol. Yet individually that is not what they want. This results in excess boozing (and dancing on elevated surfaces). 

The point is, we're not all that different.

If you have something on your mind, speak up.

Instead of blindly conforming to what we think others think… just talk to people and find out.

And if your gut feels uneasy about something, it's probably right.

Brazos, 

Mitchell 

Ps. The right way to open a can