Principles for Success “Be Radically Open-Minded” | Episode 7

- [Narrator] Principles for Success,

an ultra mini-series adventure in 30 minutes,

and in eight episodes.

Episode seven, be radically open-minded.

(calm orchestral music)

Taking risks and occasionally being ruined

wasn't acceptable, and neither was not taking risks,

and not having exceptional results.

I needed an approach that would give me

the exceptional upside without also giving me

the exceptional downside.

When I discovered it, it turned out to be my holy grail.

To get it, I needed to replace the joy of being proven right

with the joy of learning what's true.

(birds chirping) (tranquil orchestral music)

This need prompted me to seek out

the most thoughtful people I could find

who disagreed with me.

I didn't care about their conclusions,

I just wanted to see things through their eyes,

and to have them see things through my eyes,

so that together, we could hash things out

to discover what's true.

In other words, what I wanted most from them

was thoughtful disagreement,

going from seeing things through just my eyes

to seeing things through the eyes of these thoughtful people

was like going from seeing things in black and white

to seeing them in color.

(orchestral music builds) (birds chirping)

The world lit up!

(lion growling)

(wings flapping)

That's when I realized that the best way

to go through the jungle of life is with insightful people

who see things differently from me.

Think about the five step process I described earlier.

As I said, because we are wired so differently,

not everyone can do all the five steps well,

(screaming)

but you don't have to do them all alone.

You can get help from others

who are good at what you're not,

who are wired to perceive things you can't.

All you need to do is let go of your attachment

to having the right answers yourself,

and use your fear of being wrong

to become open-minded to these other views.

(tranquil orchestral music) (birds chirping)

In this way, you could point out the risks and opportunities

that you would individually miss.

I found that taking this radically open-minded approach

and believability weighting people's thinking

significantly increased my probabilities

of making the best decisions possible.

This enabled me to ascend to greater heights

and greater challenges.

In the past, I would have always wanted to do

what I myself thought was best,

but now I sought out the strongest independent thinkers

I could find, I still do.

There is nothing better to be on shared mission

with extraordinary people who can be radically truthful,

and radically transparent with each other.

This approach led me to create a company

with a unique idea meritocracy,

operating in a unique way that produced unique successes.

In an idea meritocracy, you get the best of everybody.

Everyone thinks independently,

then we work through our disagreements

to get at what's best.

However, not every opinion is equally valuable,

and we had to learn to distinguish between good ideas

and bad ones to get the best decisions.

In other words,

we needed to believability weight people's thinking.

But that's another story I will explain

in my work principles.

Right now, there are many wonderful opportunities

and dangerous risks surrounding you that you don't see.

If you saw them free of the distortions produced

by your ego or your blind spots,

you would be able to deal with them more effectively.

If you could acquire this ability,

and with practice you can,

you will radically improve your life.

In episode eight, I will conclude our short journey together

with a few practical thoughts

so that you can begin your own journey

toward whatever you want.