This transcript is from a motivational talk that presents a simple model called the “Five to Thrive”: the central concept is personal state (mental/emotional), which is controlled by three internal levers—physiology, focus, and language—and supported by two outer elements: a compelling future (why) and identity (who you must become). The speaker explains how changing posture/physiology or shifting focus and language can rapidly change feeling and behavior, gives practical exercises (posture, questions, spoken incantations), and makes specific claims about physiological effects (e.g., hormone and risk-tolerance changes) to illustrate impact.
Questions this video answers
About 20% increase in testosterone level.
Stress hormone goes down by about 25%.
Risk tolerance goes up about 33%.
Chapters
Five things. I call these the five to thrive. Let's jot them down. It's a little symbol. We'll make it really simple for you. It starts with a triangle. And in that triangle in the center of that triangle, I want you to write the word state. Because what controls your whole life is the mental, emotional state you're in. If you're in a pissed off state, it doesn't matter what's going on, you're not going to maximize your ability. If you're in a playful state, you're going to act very differently. So what is the state? What are the emotions I want to feel? And whether you feel it or not is controlled by three things. To start with, the first thing at the base of that little triangle, physiology. It just means the way you use your physical body, you want to embody the kind of energy, the kind of movement, the kind of gestures, the kind of intensity that would guarantee you to follow through. So you've got to bring a physiology, not just the thinking, to the table, right? And again, we teach this in great depth, but think of it this way. You have a different way of using your body if you're depressed than if you're excited. When you use your body a certain way, you're going to feel a certain way. I look at the way there is your body and you can see while you're down, how many discovered that when you're in a high energy state, your body tends to lift up. And when you're in any kind of a painful state, you tend to drop down and tighten in some way. So you can just change your body and instantly change your biochemistry. If you stand like this for two minutes with your hands on your, you know, on your hips like this, shoulders back, remember breathing fully, within two minutes, you'll see that massive increase, 20% increase in the testosterone level released in your bloodstream. Your stress hormone goes down by 25 and your risk tolerance goes up 33% means you're more than willing to take a risk. So part of what controls your state is your physiology. The other thing that controls it, the second thing is what you focus on. Whatever you focus on, you will feel. If you focus on the worst scenario, the world's coming to an end. You will feel like the world's coming in. If you picture it, if you imagine, if you think about it, if you're supposed to meet somebody for dinner and they don't show up and you go, oh my God, what if they were in a car accident? You'll suffer like they were In a car accident, you'll feel it. Your experience is controlled by your physiology and your focus. In other words, what you feel can be changed that fast if you make a radical change in your body or a radical change in your focus. Focus equals feeling. Let's go back to physiology just for a moment. Can your physiology, your state, not only affect you, your state affects other people's states, too? Like people say, oh, this person liked me. Well, you oftentimes walk into a state that induces that. If you want to change your life, if you want to get on the path, the number one thing is putting yourself in the right state. How do you do it? Quick change in your physiology. Radical change. Somebody comes to walk on the fire, they're scared to death. I can't, I can't, I can't. I go. If I said, get it, get it again, I couldn't do it there. Stand tall, put your shoulders back, scream, yes, yes, go. And they go. Two seconds ago it was impossible. Now they do it. So your physiology and your focus are like gears that can get you on the path and accelerate the tempo that you make change with. The third one is the pattern of your language. Words equal meaning, and meaning equals emotion. If somebody does something, and after they do it, you go, that person is disrespecting me, or that person is challenging me, or is that person coaching me? Or are they loving me? If you use disrespecting, you're going to feel very different than if you think they're loving on you. And we all have certain words that we use regularly that put us in a lousy state. Whenever we're uncomfortable, we use a word and sometimes make it worse. What are some words that describe negative feelings that you overuse? Pissed off, angry, sad, Worried. And what are some new words you might replace them with that might make you laugh or smile or soften it a lot? Certain words will change your life. Here's what else will change your state just by changing your focus. How can you change your focus? Ask a better question. Ask and you shall succeed. If you say, how come I can never lose weight? Well, if you ask a lousy question, you get a lousy answer. Your brain's going to go, because you're big, right? But if you say, how could I lose weight and enjoy the process? And you keep asking that, you might go, wow, I used to play racquetball when I was a kid, and I wasn't even trying to lose weight. I enjoyed myself. And I was, maybe I should play Racquel. And you come up with a better answer. Better questions create better answers if you really wanted to. How many of you could think of something right now that you could be proud of in your life? Something you pushed yourself to do, or something you did with your kids, or something you've done that you're proud, proud of, or could be if you focused on it. So whatever you focus, you're going to feel. So you got to train yourself to focus in new ways. Again, this is why we do all the things we do, is to get this to be a habit. Focus and physiology, those two together. And then it's the words you use, the words are shaping you. And then what goes around this that makes the dashboard are the two other things. Because I call this the five to thrive. Physiology first, focus second language third. Then we put a little circle around it and on the top we write create a compelling future. It's the reason to use your skills. But then if something happens really rough in your life, sometimes you lose why to do this. So you need a compelling future. Like I said, anybody can deal with a difficult today if they have a compelling tomorrow to deal with. So you got to have why, the big why, what you're after. And then at the bottom, the fifth element of this process is you need an identity that shapes your choices. Who do you need to be to go to the next level? And who are you really at the level of your soul? What I really need to know is, okay, what's that person's physiology like? If they got habits of lousy physiology, it's the first place we start. Exercise will take you out of depression immediately. If you do it, it'll change your biochemistry, it'll change your blood sugar. You got diabetes, the first thing you need is a little exercise. It'll start to change your blood sugar. Physiology is first. And then what do we need to focus on? And then what's the language? Do I got a compelling future and have I strengthened my identity? You can change those five in seconds and they'll start you or move you to the next level of your path. But if you tell a lie big enough, loud enough, long enough, over and over again, you believe it. Once you believe it, it's self fulfilling. So how do we change it? Well, the way I did with me, remember I told you about my run, is I did these incantations. I spoke words out loud with total focus, with a strong physiology. Speaking out loud over and over again. No. More and more healthy every day and every. I'm getting happier and happier and each Time. It created variety in my body. But I would do that for hours and days and weeks until it just became me. And I still do. Before I go on stage, every time I do this thing with my body on stage, even this little environment right here, simple, I'm sitting and so forth, I still want to give you my best. And so I do this little incantation. I now command my subconscious mind to direct me in helping as many people as possible today. I give me the strength, the emotion, the persuasion, the humor, the brevity, whatever it takes to show these people and get these people to change their life. Now, I have done that since I was 17 years old. I used to do it for two hours in the car, driving at the top of my lungs, going to meet somebody I was going to influence so I could get them to change their life. People who drive in their cars beside me, I look like a serial killer screaming at the top of my lungs in my Volkswagen. But remember what I said? Successful people do what the failures won't. Failures all learn this and go, I understand it. I tried it. Successful people say, I want to do this 500 times a day like Steph Curry. And then you go, aren't they a genius? Aren't they lucky? No, they did the work. That's why in the path, you've got to do what's hard and slay your dragons. Repetition, that does that. But the more emotion, less repetition. If you have enough emotional intensity, you can wire yourself faster and again. That's why we create these kinds of environments to make things like this happen. Sam.
