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A
In this Lessons episode, discover how success leaves clues, and action is the antidote to endless information consumption. Learn how to deconstruct, emulate, analyze and repeat the habits of high performers. And understand why directing attention is the key to turning ambition into achievement. You know, there's Alex from Mosi speaks about this, and I. And I, he. He paints a really good picture. Like when you. When you have nothing to lose, it's like going to the casino, and the only option is to stay the same or to win. So why don't you just. Why don't you just keep gambling if the only option is to win? Like, the upside of doing things differently is infinite. So taking shots at entrepreneurship, building your own business, being more creative, like going against the grain, there's unlimited upside. I think there's a compounding problem, though, and I'm curious about your opinion on this, because I have strong opinion. I think there's a compounding problem that when you look at the potential upside and the people that have done it in air quotes and been successful, people have a hard time deconstructing the path that it took them to get there. So they're like, yes, I get that there's upside, but I get that I'm making 100, 150,000 bucks in my 9 to 5 right now. And the path is opaque. It's just blurry. I can't see it. And I don't know if you have a strategy or if it's something people are born with. I seek it out purposefully now in my own life, but I try and reverse engineer how people got there because that makes it psychologically a little bit less scary.
B
Yeah, for sure. And as I've said, success leaves clues. There was something in my last book, which was called Creative Calling. There's a framework called Dear D E A R. Deconstruct, emulate, analyze and repeat. You deconstruct the lives that you see other people leading. I wonder how to use Alex Hormozi. Well, he's very clear. He told you how he did it. The reality is you can find out largely in this world that we live in today, a lot of the attributes, the risks, the understandings that people that you look up to, respect, admire, you can deconstruct their lives. I did that originally with photography, with artists. I look at all the artists in the 70s, 80s in New York. I love, you know, Robert Washenberg, Andy Warhol. How did they build their career? What did they do it? I read books. I, you know, watched documentaries. I just devoured information about them. You can do that again today. It's even easier on the Internet or, you know, following someone's career, listening to their podcast. You can deconstruct the steps that anyone else took. You emulate them. Start, you know, you have to act like a pro before you are them. You have to act like the person that you want to be before you are them. You have to. What are the habits that the people that you aspire to be like have built? Can you build those habits and then analyze what is getting you closer to your goals and what is taking you further away from them? Do more of the things that are making you closer to your goals and do less of the things that are pulling you away from them. And then you repeat the things that are working. This is a very, you know, it's a very available system to us. And yet where we stumble is in the. The attention. Our attentions. The first chapter of my new book, Never Played Safe, is about attention. Because rather than being very intentional about following someone who's doing what, you have a vision for yourself, you might want to do something like that and taking action in the same way they've done it. We get trapped watching endless videos of not just them, but anybody who's like them. And we believe that that's getting closer to our goal. And the reality is that we. It's like 10% planning, 90% action. You cannot achieve any of this stuff from the couch. And so to the person that you fictitiously, you know, oriented us around at the beginning of this question, the person who is in a 9 to 5 and making 100 grand, no judgment at all. But if you find that you are seeking something beyond where you're at right now, it's not what are you watching, what are you thinking about, it's what are you doing, what action, what steps are you taking? And I would encourage you to look into your. If you don't even know what kind of business you want to build or you don't know what your next career move is, have you experimented? Are you actually doing stuff? Are you playing in the areas that are interesting to you? Because that's where the best stuff is. That's where you have been aligned in your past. Those are the areas that are worth exploring. And the cool thing is when you do things that you love, the world happens for you, not to. You get more energy, not less. You know, it's like a tractor beam for those Star wars nerds out there towards the best shit. And yet the world would have you believe you have to intellectualize all this stuff. Do it from the couch. Your mind has been hijacked because you're endlessly scrolling looking for more Alex Hormozy. Rather than, you know, trying to base instead of trying to be a second rate him, what about a first rate you? In the thing that you want to be, do or become, there is a you, you.
A
You touched on something. I've thought about this a lot. It seems like of course there's different audiences we're speaking to, but the audience that is listening to this is probably not an audience that has an issue trying to consume more information because they're listening to this podcast. Right? But it almost seems like we're over indexing on just knowledge. It's almost in vogue to just learn shit. Listen to podcasts on 1.5x too. Like how fast can I listen to as many podcasts as I possibly can? Or how many books can I read every single week? And it's, it's just funny how these, how people just, they, they want to do everything except do the work. It's like everything else, but doing the work totally well.
B
And this is, you know, again, the way that the, the pattern that this book is presented is a pretty simple one. And that I have again deconstructed what has worked for me and where I have gone wrong, has worked for many of my friends and peers and the highest performers in the world. And what has gone wrong for them and essentially landed on the fact that there are seven tools that naturally reside within us, that this. And that's the cool thing. We don't have to go looking for them. They're already there. That will help us find this alignment. And I mentioned attention. I'll go back to it again. Like at some point, this, the endless scrolling, the endless information consumption, that is a hijacking of your attention, not you directing it towards action. Right? That is. And that is a absolutely fundamental thing. You cannot, you cannot. None of the people that you respect, admire or appreciate got what they have in life, learned the lessons, were able to, you know, create the success and most importantly, the fulfillment that they feel through thinking about was. It's all through doing right.
A
No. 100%. I'm curious, out of, out of those seven traits, which one did you personally have the most trouble with manifesting or living?
B
Both. I think our intuition is the thing that we, it's the most powerful thing that we know the least about. The weird crazy thing is if you pay attention to actual science around intuition, it's becoming pretty compelling. The results about the understanding of the rational mind, instead of that being the most impressive default mode to the human being, we actually find that the rational mind is sort of slow and prone to errors. And that intuition, it incorporates the rational mind plus a bunch of other stuff. And the reality is that we have, you know, trillions of cells in our body and they all have, there's memory within all of those things. This is why it's a gut feeling. You feel these things in your body and not in your head. Now the cool thing is that the highest performers they have developed, they have attuned to trust their intuition. And this is not to say that intuition is always right. However, if you are wondering where you ought to be going in your life, if this is something that is in line with your values or not, this is usually not a heady experience. It is a head, heart, gut, body feeling. It's a whole sort of body alignment. And you know, when my, when my family, for example, was saying, oh, you're smart and hardworking and talented, you should be a doctor or a lawyer or whatever, of course, as you know, the impressionable 16 year old, I mean, was like, okay, cool, what do, what do you like? Hardworking, talented, okay, that's what they do. And yet I knew that in my bones from day one. And yet hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan years off track, only to find myself partway through that journey realizing that I knew all along that this was not the right thing. And you can, you know, copy and paste that into a hundred different areas of our lives. And yet, if I told you that what, what did you really, really want as a kid? This is why my number one journal entry is what do I really want? I'd soft. I often journal on this for 30 days straight and you get 1% smarter and more accurate. And it's a fascinating exercise when you start to be able to tune into that intuition and listen to it and trust like this business partner that this business dealer, that it's, it's a pretty powerful thing. So for me that was a big one mostly because the world, the people who love us and care for us are, you know, want again, the illusion of safety for us. And yet knowing that it doesn't exist, how do we, how do we strengthen that muscle within us? So to me, again, being able to direct your attention. Fascinating quote from Andrew Huberman, the, the professor at Stanford. He said attention is the most, I think it's the most important deciding factor between success and failure in any endeavor. It's the most important thing in any line of, like, pursuit, the ability to direct your attention. And yet here we are, you know, stuck on our devices, scrolling endlessly. So in the book, I'm very specific about how you can get better at developing your attention, how you can get better at listening to your intuition. And again, I just default to the people who so many of us respect and admire, either in our personal lives that we actually know, or our parasocial lives. The people that we see on the Internet that we respect and appreciate. I'm telling you, they are world class at these attributes.
A
Thanks for tuning in. If you found this valuable, don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode. And if you want to dive deeper into this conversation, check out the links in the description to watch the full episode. See you in the next one.
B
J.
Episode: Lessons - Creating a Life That Doesn't Require Escape | Chase Jarvis - Creative Entrepreneur
Release Date: April 2, 2025
In this enlightening episode of the Success Story Podcast, host Scott D. Clary engages in a profound conversation with Chase Jarvis, a renowned creative entrepreneur. The discussion delves into the principles of achieving success by deconstructing the habits of high performers, emphasizing the importance of actionable steps over mere information consumption.
Timestamp: [00:00]
Scott opens the conversation by highlighting the concept that "success leaves clues", suggesting that by observing and analyzing the pathways of successful individuals, one can replicate their achievements. He references an analogy shared by Alex from Mosi:
A [00:00]: "When you have nothing to lose, it's like going to the casino, and the only option is to stay the same or to win. So why don't you just keep gambling if the only option is to win?"
This sets the stage for discussing the infinite upside of entrepreneurship and creativity, juxtaposed with the challenges of understanding the obscure paths to success many face.
Timestamp: [01:38]
Chase introduces the DEAR framework from his book Creative Calling, breaking down the steps to emulate high achievers:
B [01:38]: "DEAR stands for Deconstruct, Emulate, Analyze, and Repeat."
Chase emphasizes the accessibility of this system today, thanks to the internet and various media, making it easier than ever to study and learn from top performers.
Timestamp: [05:15]
Scott raises a critical point about the modern obsession with knowledge acquisition:
A [05:15]: "It seems like we're over indexing on just knowledge... how people just want to do everything except do the work."
He observes that the constant consumption of information—whether through podcasts, books, or other media—often leads to paralysis by analysis, where individuals fail to take actionable steps toward their goals.
Chase agrees, highlighting the imbalance between planning and action:
B [05:55]: "It's like 10% planning, 90% action. You cannot achieve any of this stuff from the couch."
He urges listeners to shift focus from passive consumption to active experimentation and engagement in their areas of interest.
Timestamp: [07:15]
The conversation shifts to the significance of attention and intuition in achieving success. Chase references his book Never Played Safe, emphasizing attention as a critical factor:
B [07:15]: "Attention is the most important deciding factor between success and failure in any endeavor."
He critiques the modern habit of endless scrolling, which hijacks attention away from productive actions. Instead, he encourages listeners to direct their focus towards meaningful activities that align with their goals.
Chase also discusses the power of intuition:
B [07:25]: "Intuition is the most powerful thing that we know the least about... the highest performers have developed, they have attuned to trust their intuition."
He shares a personal anecdote about recognizing his true passions despite external pressures, underscoring the importance of listening to one's inner compass.
Timestamp: [07:25]
Chase elaborates on the seven tools inherent within individuals that facilitate success. While all seven are vital, he highlights intuition as the most challenging yet crucial trait to harness. He encourages practices like journaling to enhance self-awareness and strengthen the ability to trust one's gut feelings.
He also mentions insights from Andrew Huberman, a Stanford professor:
B [10:15]: "Attention is the most important deciding factor between success and failure in any endeavor."
This reinforces the idea that directing one's attention purposefully is paramount in the pursuit of success.
Timestamp: [05:15] & [07:25]
Scott and Chase discuss the psychological barriers that prevent individuals from taking action. Scott points out the irony of overconsuming information without translating it into meaningful work. Chase responds by emphasizing the importance of direct action:
B [05:55]: "You cannot achieve any of this stuff from the couch."
He encourages listeners to experiment and engage actively in their fields of interest, suggesting that passion-driven actions naturally attract opportunities and energy.
Timestamp: [11:12]
As the episode wraps up, Scott reminds listeners to subscribe for more insights and to engage further by accessing additional content through provided links.
A [11:12]: "Thanks for tuning in... if you want to dive deeper into this conversation, check out the links in the description to watch the full episode."
Chase leaves the audience with a final thought on the importance of actionable steps and trusting one's journey.
This episode offers a wealth of insights for entrepreneurs and business professionals aiming to translate ambition into tangible achievements. By focusing on actionable strategies and harnessing inherent traits like intuition and attention, listeners are empowered to create a life driven by purpose and aligned with their true passions.