you hold the power to define the contours of your world, so if you're ready, let's uncover how to shape it to your benefit, and the whole world's too.

you are what you think#

you are what you think.

have you ever wondered why some people accomplish extraordinary feats while others languish?

or why some people see possibilities while others remain blinded by limitations?

well, your mental structure, the beliefs, patterns of thinking, and assumptions about life that you carry with you, has an enormous influence over what you can achieve.

if you believe that intelligence is fixed, that you lack talent, that you're incapable of learning new skills, then you've structured your mind for failure.

you avoid challenges, give up easily when faced with setbacks, and chronically underestimate your abilities.

your mental blueprint is setting you up to fail.

on the other hand, if you believe that dedication and hard work trump talent, that anyone can change and grow with effort, that setbacks are opportunities to improve, then you've structured your mind for success.

you're primed to take on challenges, stretch yourself, and persist through difficulties.

in short, you've laid the foundation to thrive.

it's a tragic irony that even well-intentioned people can end up making self-defeating choices that hurt themselves or others.

mcmanus has witnessed this dynamic play out many times.

some people surrender dreams waiting for affirmation.

some keep waiting for the perfect time to start a new venture, putting their dreams on hold for years as they endlessly seek outside validation from friends and loved ones.

an otherwise responsible corporate leader may opt to maintain a dysfunctional status quo rather than make needed changes, just to avoid ruffling feathers.

in these cases, there's a disconnect between the person's conscious values and their behavior.

they become trapped in patterns of thought and action, at odds with their best selves.

people's limitations are so often self-imposed.

their minds set the boundaries of their lives.

but everyone has far more agency in these beliefs and mental patterns than they realize.

with deliberate effort, you can dismantle self-defeating cognitive frameworks and construct empowering ones that propel you toward your highest potential.

life, courage, and mushrooms what can we learn about life from eating mushrooms?

life, courage, and mushrooms#

mcmanus confronted this question while sitting backstage, waiting to give a television interview.

the guest preceding him was a trusted leadership expert who gave some pithy advice to young leaders.

he described how in the past, foragers would have to make a judgment call as to which foods were nourishing and which were deadly.

his advice was, never be the first to eat the mushrooms.

when it comes to foraging, as in business, let someone else take the risk, and then you can safely follow.

when it was mcmanus' turn to be interviewed, he couldn't help but express his reservations about this perspective.

he realized that while this advice does indeed mitigate risk, it's fundamentally flawed.

it begs the question, what if no one was willing to go first and try the mushroom, and no leader was willing to try new, unproven ideas first?

well, put simply, humanity would miss out on valuable innovation and advancement.

mcmanus respectfully challenged the previous guest's philosophy.

he declared himself proudly among the mushroom eaters, those willing to venture into the unknown first, without any guarantee of success or safety.

while they indeed take risks, mushroom eaters aren't reckless or oblivious.

they simply have their own set of priorities.

they deeply value the potential positive impacts over self-preservation.

they understand that their sacrifice may benefit the greater good.

if everyone plays it safe and refuses to eat the mushroom first, there's no future.

progress requires courage and a willingness to jeopardize your self-interest.

the same concept applies to leadership.

if you always wait for someone else to take the initial risk, essential progress grinds to a halt.

indeed, the one who goes first stands to reap significant rewards if they survive.

if you wait until others have proven something safe, you lose the competitive advantage of being first.

you need to have the same bravery toward the unknown in your personal life, too.

it takes courage to pursue your dreams and become the person you're meant to be.

in fact, it's important to bear in mind that sometimes, even your closest loved ones may discourage you from mushroom eating.

the people in your life will sometimes resist your dreams, because the future is uncertain and scary.

their doubts come from a place of caring, but may also stem from an inability to see past the status quo.

if you merely conform to others' expectations, you lose what makes you unique.

mcmanus gives an example of a former athlete who hated his stable job as a sports agent.

instead, he dreamed of getting into real estate, surprising those who assumed he'd want to stay in the familiar world of sports.

he also recalls bumping into a billionaire investor whom he'd pitched a business idea to 20 years previously.

both men remember the interaction clearly.

although the investor rejected mcmanus' pitch, he didn't believe it could succeed.

he also remarked on mcmanus' tremendous passion.

two decades later, the investor acknowledged that mcmanus had proved him wrong.

because he'd ventured forth as an early mushroom eater, the world benefited from his idea becoming real.

rather than accepting limitations imposed by others, as this story conveys, you need to define your own vision for the future.

if you wait for universal approval before chasing your dreams, they'll always linger out of reach.

indeed, collective progress depends on mavericks willing to step out onto the edge.

balancing balance#

balancing balance michelangelo, the great figure of the renaissance, had many qualities—artistic brilliance, unrelenting vision, and supreme mastery of his craft.

but there was one quality he didn't always have—balance.

when sculpting david, michelangelo became so consumed by passion for his work that all balance fell aside.

for days he went without eating, sleeping, or stopping, chipping and chipping away at the marble with single-minded devotion.

such intense focus may have tipped his life out of equilibrium, but it also produced perhaps his greatest masterpiece.

what can you learn from this?

the quest for balance can be misleading or at least incomplete.

you've probably heard from all directions that allocating equal time to work and relationships, health, and ambition is key to living well.

but this idea of balance can also restrain you from fully pursuing your greatest potential.

sacrificing too much at the altar of balance can leave life looking beige and bland, the jagged edges of your individuality rubbed smooth.

consider love.

what would it mean to love in a balanced way?

attempting to distribute your love evenly among people would not only be impossible, but would also miss the point.

when you truly love someone, they become the center of your world.

the relationship pulls the whole constellation of your life out of alignment.

can such a love really be balanced against lesser affections?

the deepest bonds with the most intense gravitational force refuse to be bound by balance.

to live with passion is to skew radically from an even keel, not to adhere to moderation.

as a young lawyer, gandhi was literally thrown off a train for refusing to leave the first class compartment, sparking his fight against discrimination.

enflamed by injustice, he spent his life campaigning tirelessly for civil rights and independence.

those who change the world often do so through furious conviction.

such fixation can appear as divine purpose from the inside or monomania from without.

but all too often, what's needed in life isn't more balance.

it's more alignment toward a greater intention.

if you feel exhausted, perhaps what you need isn't time off, but rather some time dedicated to finding your true purpose and motivation.

rather than seeking balance, then, strive for alignment between your intentions and your actions.

in seeking to balance life, you need to be careful not to bleach it of deeper meaning.

seeking harmony above all else can leave you playing muzak.

living with passion can mean careening wildly off-center, crashing against the guardrails of convention.

so be it.

whether it's career, relationships, or creativity, heed the call of your most inspiring love and let it pull you headlong toward your ultimate purpose.

too much or not enough?#

too much or not enough?

as you've just seen, the pursuit of balance can sometimes be misleading.

not everything deserves equal weight, and passionate people are rarely balanced.

nevertheless, there's a common cultural understanding that there can be too much of a good thing.

is this broadly true?

perhaps there are some things which you can't have too much of.

kindness is one such example.

contrary to popular belief, you can't be too kind.

you can be too deferential or too polite, but never too kind.

real kindness flows from abundance, not lack.

it heals and connects rather than harms.

small acts of dignity and respect ripple outward, uplifting others.

kindness is a quiet, gentle force rebelling against cynicism, one that makes the world more humane.

what else can't you have too much of?

hope.

despite the claims of some cynics, hope needn't detach you from reality.

rather, hope sees you through the darkness, and the light of hope spreads outward, inspiring others.

forgiveness, that staple of christian teaching, also defies moderation.

marriages and societies alike endure endless acts of forgiveness, the pardoning of inevitable failings and slights.

pour out forgiveness generously.

one day you'll depend on someone doing the same for you.

integrity can't be overdone.

the word is derived from integration and denotes wholeness and consistency.

to have integrity means that in some important sense, you're the same in every context, rather than allowing life to compartmentalize who you are.

your word is bond.

without integrity, the foundations of interpersonal trust crumble, and sinkholes form under whatever you undertake.

no one ever complains of excessive integrity.

even ambition, although much maligned, is something that can serve you well in abundance.

ambition simply means the desire and drive to accomplish.

gone awry it can wreak harm.

but ambition for the good of others, family, or society creates positive transformation.

ambition's opposite, apathy, does far more damage than misplaced ambition ever could.

evil feeds on apathy.

what the world needs is people with vision, caring, and integrity.

ambitiously compassionate people creating a better reality for all.

for those who embrace such virtues, who embrace kindness, integrity, hope, and forgiveness, goodness, truth, and beauty, limitless frontiers of exploration await.