What Actually Makes People Tick
If you already know this one, just play along. There’s a punchline …
Look around the space you’re in right now and try to spot all the red stuff. Do it quickly and then direct your eyes back to this blog post.
Got it?
OK … now try this without looking around again. You’ll be tempted to, but don’t. It will spoil the experiment. Read steps 1 and 2 below and then perform them without hesitation.
Step 1. Close your eyes and repaint your surroundings in your mind’s eye. Just do your best.
Step 2. Keeping your eyes closed, now try to remember how many blue objects there are in the room.
Type your result in the comments below.
Here’s what I predict: you won’t remember much or any of the blue stuff at all.
I’m pretty confident in my prediction. Why? Because this is a classic psychological experiment that illustrates an interesting facet of how the brain works. Because you first focused on the red stuff, your brain tuned out all the blue stuff.
So what?
Well, knowing this, and knowing how to apply it, kind of gives you superpowers. (More about that in an upcoming post. There’s some shockingly cool – and kinda bizarre – stuff I want to share with you soon. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming posts.)
Psychologists have distinguished thousands of these surprising observations about the mind. I find studying them to be extremely rewarding. Understanding them (correctly, mind you) can improve just about every area of your life.
For example?
OK … we’re all influencing each other all the time. Some of us are far better at it than others. Those who are better at it tend to simply have better lives. Better lovers. More sales. A more harmonious family life. It’s a huge mistake to neglect this skill set.
The good news is, it can be learned. How do you start? Well, there are thousands of books on the topic. And there are only a handful I would recommend. Robert Cialdini’s Influence is one of them. It’s an excellent and thorough scholarly work. You could spend months with it. Or you could master it in 5 minutes right here …
Simpleology Summaries: Influence <— download now (it’s free)
