👉 Access The 4% Files Treasure Map HERE To Get A Detailed Recap & Summary Of This Series!

👉 Access all of the bonus material from the 4% Files right here

. . .

In April 2018, I left the cow poop-smelling college town of Whitewater, Wisconsin (Population 15,000)…

And walked into a $25,000/yr mastermind room in Tempe, Arizona, filled with 7-, 8-, and 9-figure impact-driven entrepreneurs.

I was a 22-year-old college senior and by every traditional standard, I didn’t belong.

Yet somehow, I manifested a way to be there… and my life changed almost instantly.

One of the biggest upgrades came during the very first session when I found myself sitting next to Dr. Benjamin Hardy.

At the time, his blogs were being read by 100M+ people as the #1 writer in the world on Medium.com and he had just published Willpower Doesn’t Work.

Today, he’s an organizational psychologist, New York Times bestselling author, and co-founder of scaling.com supporting people in realizing impossible goals.

That day marked the beginning of me going deep with Ben’s body of work that would fundamentally shift the trajectory of my life.

But the real tipping point for me came when he released 10x Is Easier Than 2x in 2023.

It was that book — and the 6-week challenge Ben hosted for it — that catalyzed some of the biggest moves that got me to where I’m at today:

Re-branding to Beyond Curious® and hosting my first ever live event
Hiring my amazing Executive Assistant, Kevin, who has saved me thousands of hours and helps to amplify my work
Connecting to my future self and vision, building my Curiosity Island™ community, and setting the vision to celebrate my 30th birthday by hosting a live Curiosity Island event (which is now 44 days away)

So when I poured the 334+ hours of recorded content on the show to find the best of the best, it was a no-brainer to include one of my interviews with Ben.

In this episode, we cover:

How to shift your perception of time so that your future self guides your decisions instead of your past.
How to leverage “impossible” goals as a TOOL to come up with teleporting pathways to achieving your vision
Why your vision is a DRAFT… and how evolving your vision with better information is a sign of growth, not failure.
How thinking at 10x or 100x might surface invisible beliefs and identity structures you weren’t consciously aware of that are keeping you stuck
How to edit your past from the lens of your future to free you from old stories that no longer serve you

As with every episode in the 4% Files, this one is a potent one that I’m confident will make a big difference!

Show Notes Generated With The Help of AI!

00:00 - Introduction to Beyond Curious and today's guest, Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Brandon introduces the fifth installment of the 4% Files series and explains the goal of surfacing the most transformational content from over 334 hours of podcast conversations. He previews today's featured guest, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, whose work has played a pivotal role in Brandon’s own personal transformation.

00:54 - Introducing the 4% Files Treasure Map & orientation to the series

Brandon shares a helpful resource for new and returning listeners called the “4% Files Treasure Map,” providing a high-level overview of how the series is structured and how best to navigate the episodes.

01:52 - Dr. Benjamin Hardy on the power of impossible goals

A powerful quote from Dr. Hardy kicks off the episode: “To actually go for a seemingly impossible goal, you can’t do more, you actually have to do less.”

02:05 - Brandon’s first encounter with Dr. Hardy at Genius Network

Brandon recounts how, at age 22, he landed in a $25,000 mastermind group and was serendipitously seated next to Dr. Hardy, marking a major inflection point in his life.

03:38 - The 10x Challenge: Catalyst for major life transformations

Brandon shares how participating in Ben’s six-week 10x challenge led him to rebrand his podcast to Beyond Curious, host a live event, hire his executive assistant, and start the Curiosity Island community.

05:05 - Five transformational themes explored in this episode

Brandon outlines the core themes listeners will hear discussed in the episode: shifting perception of time, leveraging impossible goals, evolving your vision, 10x/100x thinking, and editing your past through the lens of your future self.

08:07 - How Ben’s partnership with Dan Sullivan was born

Ben describes the 10x leap that started when he pitched the idea of “Who Not How” to Dan Sullivan after a Genius Network presentation, leading to three co-authored bestsellers and a transformation in his career.

13:24 - Michelangelo and the art of 10x mastery

Ben explains how studying Michelangelo inspired the 10x concept in the book. He draws parallels between Michelangelo’s relentless pursuit of mastery and the stripping away of non-essential effort to achieve greatness.

18:26 - 10x versus 2x: The philosophical and strategic differences

Ben contrasts his and Dan Sullivan’s “10x is easier than 2x” model with Grant Cardone’s version of 10x, focusing on depth over brute-force activity. Their 10x model is about doing less but better—shedding 80% of what doesn’t serve.

25:30 - Editing your past through the lens of your future

Ben unpacks how your past and future are both drafts, and how you can reframe your past stories based on who you are becoming. He shares powerful examples of this, including a conversation with his adopted kids.

33:24 - Brandon’s personal system for tracking 10x jumps

Brandon reveals his “Spreadsheet of Life” and how he tracks his 10x jumps using a self-built tool. He reflects on the evolution from being a “sidekick” to owning his own narrative and leadership role.

38:12 - Revisiting and rewriting the same stories with new insight

Ben shares how he revisits past experiences, like his parents’ divorce or moments of professional frustration, to upgrade the meaning through his current understanding—highlighting the healing power of continuous reframing.

43:35 - Defining your own 10x and embracing qualitative leaps

Ben encourages listeners to define 10x on their own terms—whether that means more income, more peace, or less stress—and explains that growth can come from qualitative, not just quantitative, change.

44:08 - Need vs. Want: The path to true freedom

Ben dives into the difference between doing things out of “need” vs. “want.” Operating from pure want, he explains, is the essence of freedom and essential to 10x transformation.

49:29 - Brandon asks about changing your vision: Vivid Vision vs. Drafts

Ben thoughtfully addresses the idea that vision is not “set in stone” and shares how evolving your vision with new information is a sign of maturity—not failure. He discusses the concept of goals being for learning, not just achieving.

54:35 - 100x Thinking: Surface hidden commitments through radical expansion

Ben introduces the idea of thinking 100x as a technique to reveal hidden limiting beliefs and outdated identity commitments. It’s a powerful tool to go beyond what's currently imaginable.

Links & Resources:

4% Files Treasure Map – Referenced by Brandon for navigating the entire 11-part series
Genius Network – The mastermind community where Brandon and Ben first met:
Dr. Benjamin Hardy’s Books:
Willpower Doesn’t Work
Personality Isn’t Permanent
Be Your Future Self Now
Who Not How (with Dan Sullivan)