Beyond Bumpers.
...and The Need For Speed
Ever wish that you would just get to your goals faster?
I get it.
Everyone struggles with the "need for speed." But it's not the speed that you want. You can move really fast in a big circle. Or worse, in the wrong direction. Try this:
Close your eyes and imagine moving toward your goal quickly.
You aren't just moving fast, you're closing the gap between where you're at now and where you want to be. There is a vector component; a direction. You aren't imagining speed, you're imagining speed + direction...
...You are imagining velocity
...You are imagining collapsing the time to target
...and you are mistaking it for speed.
And that's what we're all ultimately trying to do:
Collapse Time.
Before we can Collapse Time we need Certainty that we are headed in the right direction. We also need to know we aren't heading right into a brick wall or into a minefield. Certainty is the most efficient path forward, with the highest probability of success, and it's individual to you.
Thus, before we can have Certainty, we must have Clarity. Clarity on who you are, where you are, where you want to be, and the type of route you want to take.
Google Maps is a great example.
It cannot give you directions without a starting location or desired destination. Then, it maps out multiple routes and lets you choose which one you want to take. The fastest one? The one that avoids highways? The one that makes a pitstop at your favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant? It gives you an opportunity to incorporate your preferences.
Most importantly, it adjusts when new information is revealed. It re-routes. That function exists because Google Maps knows that things change and following an outdated plan is silly. After it has Clarity, Google Maps can give you the highest level of Certainty that you get to where you are trying to go. And it does so while maintaining your preferences.
So the sequence of getting somewhere reliably is:
Clarity --> Certainty --> Collapsing Time
In that order. You cannot have one without the thing that precedes it. So how do we IMPLEMENT this? First, I change the language to make it easier to sort through the action or behavior steps:
Clarity to Bumpers, Certainty to Velocity, and Collapsing Time to Force Multipliers.
Bumpers --> Velocity --> Force Multipliers
First, avoid the bad things. Don't go backward.
Second, get closer to your destination which each move you make until you are on track to get there in an appropriate amount of time. If you increase velocity without bumpers, you are likely to blow yourself up/take yourself out of the game.
Then, if you choose, you can find leverage to get there much faster. If you find leverage, but you're pointing in the wrong direction, you get further away from what you want, faster.
Here are the most actionable resources I know of for each:
Bumpers
Bumpers, or Clarity is step one. It's getting clear on where you're at and where you want to be. It's also getting clear on the things that are not serving you and building a system to get you on track. Think of it as the "you are here", the "desired destination" and the "avoid this stuff" part.
Resources:
Bumpers Book: A short book sets the foundation for Bumpers. I've set the price as low as Amazon will allow me to set it
Bumpers Accelerator: A six-video mini-course that is an extension of Bumpers with some tips and tricks to get started. You get it for free with the free digital copy of Bumpers above.
Dan Nicholson's Solvable Problem
The Dangers of Data: Counterintuitively, one of the biggest risks to us NOT blowing ourselves is believing we are data-driven.
Velocity
Velocity, or Certainty, is the process of getting what you want, on your terms. It's being strategic so that our decisions are getting us closer.
Rigging The Game Book: Dan's book is basically our bible on Certainty.
Certainty Commandment 1: Closer Over More
Learning And Intelligence: Learning is actually a force multiplier, but understanding intelligence and how to increase it will keep you on track/increase velocity.
Function Over Form: One of the biggest risks to maintaining our Velocity is getting stuck on Form over function. We see this with new tech like crypto, AI, and new platforms like Threads and Tik Tok.
Force Multipliers
Force multipliers WILL NOT help you if you haven't done the work that precedes them. They might give you a nice little dopamine hit, but you will end up further off track than ever when you come down from your little emotional high.
Leverage, or collapsing time, has two parts to it.
The first is identifying or creating leverage in known ways. Spotting asymmetry to the upside, and tools and strategies to get more output for the same amount of input. These are the things that can be observed and measured.
Leverage resources:
Force Multipliers:
Everything above revisited frequently and applied consistently will become a force multiplier
Force Multipliers: That is the name of the newsletter I send on this platform. You can see most of them here:
The Guardian Tier of the Guardian Academy. Built on the "Live To Learn, Give To Earn" Framework the Guardian Academy is designed to tease out the emergent properties of Guardians. The process of becoming a Guardian requires someone to do the prework. To become a Guardian one must earn their way in or be endorsed by an existing guardian
The CCA: The CCA was built specifically for business owners and entrepreneurs ready to tap into what makes them extraordinary. First, we install an operating system to identify and engineer leverage in their business and personal lives. Then, the events and office hours are designed to expose them to an ongoing way of thinking and provide proximity to the top 1% of the top 1%. CCA is invite-only, if you feel like I would endorse you, you can apply.
CCA Certified Advisors: These are individuals that have been certified in the Certainty Operating System, specific to their domains.
The second is the emergent properties.
Emergent properties are things that cannot be measured or observed. "Purpose" is an emergent property. Exponential and full potential are emergent properties. These are the things that lie dormant inside of you that, if awakened, will create something far greater than the sum of its part.
Emergent properties can only be awakened by exposure, proximity, and access. This is why the highest performers, playing at their peak potential spent time in small circles. It's these circles that tease out the emergent properties.
Emergent Property Resources:
The Guardian Tier of the Guardian Academy. Built on the "Live To Learn, Give To Earn" Framework the Guardian Academy is designed to tease out the emergent properties of Guardians. The process of becoming a Guardian requires someone to do the prework. To become a Guardian one must earn their way in or be endorsed by an existing guardian
The CCA: The CCA was built specifically for business owners and entrepreneurs ready to tap into what makes them extraordinary. First, we install an operating system to identify and engineer leverage in their business and personal lives. Then, the events and office hours are designed to expose them to an ongoing way of thinking and provide proximity to the top 1% of the top 1%. CCA is invite-only, if you feel like I would endorse you, you can apply.
There are other groups of extraordinary humans that have a track record of teasing out emergent properties. Dr. Jeff Spencer's events, Genius Network, and Strategic Coach to name a few.
Next Steps:
Bookmark this page and revisit it when needed.
I will add to it as I find things that might be helpful. I will replace things with better alternatives when possible.
Onward.
Nic