Thread by @Tim_Denning

In 1972, Steve Jobs walked in on his girlfriend sleeping with a guy.

Steve became friends with him.

He taught him a philosophy that allowed him to convince anybody of anything. It's why they both became billionaires.

Here’s the philosophy: 🧵

Steve Jobs and Bob Friedland met after Steve came over to sell him a typewriter.

Bob had spent 2 years in jail for trafficking the drug LSD. They bonded over eastern mysticism.

• Jobs was introverted & shy
• Bob was insanely charismatic (red shirt)

Steve said Bob "turned me on to a different level of consciousness."

• Bob introduced him to a philosophy called "The Reality Distortion Field."

• Neither men invented it. The original concept came about 100s of years ago.

• It's been used by humanity’s greatest leaders to achieve the impossible.

Here's what The Reality Distortion Field does:

1. It's a lens to see the world through, so you reshape how you see reality.

It makes the impossible seem probable.

2. Truths are much more subjective. So you become more open-minded.

3. It lets a human bend reality in impossible ways to match their desires.

4. It's like a personal force field. It blocks out your:

- Fears
- Doubts
- Distractions
- Negative thoughts

With these limitations removed, you can escape what holds average people back.

Apple employee Bud Tribble was the 1st person to discover Steve used The Reality Distortion Field

Steve wanted the team in 1982 to ship a new product from start to finish in 10 months.

"We've hardly even started yet. There's no way we can get it done by then."

Steve: "I know," he whispered.

Steve wouldn't accept any other answer than the crazy shipping date of January.

Bud: "In his presence, reality is malleable.

He can convince anyone of practically anything. It wears off when he's not around,

But it makes it hard to have realistic schedules."

The reality distortion field Bud says is:

• an indomitable will
• a charismatic rhetorical style
• an eagerness to bend any fact to fit the purpose at hand

It gets more wild...

- If one of Steve's arguments failed to convince you, he'd quickly switch to another.

- To mess with your head, he'd adopt your worldview even if he disagreed with it.

When Steve left the room this powerful force of nature disappeared.

Here's how to harness the power of The Reality Distortion Field:

1. How you see events shape events more than events themselves.

Setbacks can be reasons to give up or opportunities. You decide.

• Change how you think about problems.

• Let optimism guide you when pessimism wants to rule you.

2. Become an unrealistic badass

Take your 5 year goals and make them happen in 5 days. People's timeframes are too long.

• Adopt a sense of urgency
• Make deadlines shorter
• Refuse to accept limitations

3. Let your thoughts change your reality

Your inner dialogue affects everything. You can change the conversation.

• Analyze your thoughts

• Are you happy with your thoughts? Or do they sound like a conversation with a madman?

Every extraordinary goal and outcome in life starts as a tiny seed in the mind.

4. Master the art of persuasion & psychology

If you don't know how humans think, you'll default to what you selfishly want & think.

Steve started out shy but he realized he needed to learn to persuade to get anywhere in life.

Because you can't achieve much alone.

• Learn sales
• Study books on human psychology

Final Thought

Steve Jobs took The Reality Distortion Field philosophy Bob taught him & built the trillion-dollar Apple business.

That's how powerful it is.

Use this philosophy in your life to achieve extraordinary goals.

The most powerful way to use the reality distortion field is with writing.

I used it to access personal freedom and no longer get ordered around. You can too.

Get my free email course to get started writing online: timdenning.com/startonsocial-…