Written by a human, for humans, always.
There used to be many different things that impressed me...
That today really mean next to nothing to me.
For instance...
People who have written books.
Now...
Is it an accomplishment to write a book?
Yes.
But...
What does it really mean for someone to write a book?
For some people...
It can be a distillation of an individual's life's work with the goal of pushing the boundaries of an industry.
Those can be amazing books.
At the same time...
A book can also be written as a marketing tool...
Designed to get clients by teasing some form of secret...
That the author does not truly possess the answers to...
Written by a ghostwriter who also does not have the answers...
But knows how to make the writing pretty...
Or worse, AI that creates unverified hallucinations...
While also having been written in a weekend and published to Amazon...
In collaboration with a group of authors who did the same process...
Who all comment and give new authors a 5-star review...
Driving that new book into becoming a "Bestseller".
These types of books are designed far more frequently than most people realize.
All this to say...
Just having written a book does not impress me anymore...
Just as having a certain degree does not impress me...
Or a certain type of recognition.
Many people have all sorts of things that are designed to prove they know something...
But the real question...
Is whether they actually know something.
What I often find with these same types of individuals...
Is the need to prove themselves.
They engage in "Proving Behavior".
Perhaps they wrote a book, and then begin to go online and put comments on other people's posts to "correct" them...
Often while having missed the point of the post in the first place.
Or they will give a talk and use complicated psychobabble...
As a way to sound like they know far more than they really do about a subject.
They might show off their recognition with the expectation that others will buy their products or services...
Simply because they were recognized.
But...
If you actually look closely...
Proving Behavior actually reveals something about the individual engaged in it...
They know less than they appear to know...
Sometimes knowingly...
Sometimes subconsciously.
But beneath it all...
The reason that they are engaging in that Proving Behavior...
Is because they lack confidence.
They are trying to "Prove" to others that they know...
But it is that within behavior that they end up revealing that they really do not know.
Someone who truly knows things...
Has no need to prove it.
Sure, they might have written the book, got the degrees, or received the recognition...
But none of that really matters to them...
Because they are so engrossed in the act of doing.
They really do not have the time, energy, and sometimes the patience to engage in proving behavior.
When others try to "prove" against them...
The person who actually knows things might roll their eyes or get frustrated because they do not have the bandwidth to care about what the Prover is doing...
They have real things to take care of.
In some cases...
A real Knower will pose a question that is designed to force a Prover to think, or cause them to realize what they do not really know...
But that only happens if they are generous enough to engage in the first place.
It leaves the Knower with the question...
"What are you trying to prove?"
Here is what is important to understand...
The Knower does not need to explain what they understand...
But they often are happy to.
The Prover often needs to explain what they know...
But they really need to actually dig deeper into their work.
Others need to pay attention to the behavior of those they interact with...
And opt to find people who actually know and are not trying to prove anything.
You can ask someone to "prove," of course...
But you will see a distinction between these types of individuals...
Where the Knower would prefer to stop talking in theory and begin work in practice, often trying to push away from what they could use to "prove" themselves...
Because they really do not need to prove themselves...
While the Prover will usually dive more deeply into their Proving Behavior to attempt to persuade you they know something...
Because they really do not know as much as they should.
I know this because I have been a "Prover" in the past...
Who, although I did good work in what I did, still lacked confidence in how I was seen.
Today though...
I have lost all patience with Provers.
Even when I find things I disagree with as I read and research different things in the world...
I really could care less about "Proving" that I disagree with it...
Because I already know that what they are saying or doing or teaching will not work...
And eventually...
People figure out when things do not work...
Causing them to go searching for people who actually do know something.
That is what the Prover fails to grasp...
They often engage in Proving Behavior because they are worried that they will lose something - profit, followers, recognition, etc. - if others do not "see" them a certain way.
But...
What really causes them to lose out on what is important is the fact that they are not solidified in their abilities enough...
And when that happens...
They end up losing out to those who truly know.
The Knower is not worried because, at some point, the results speak for themselves.
Importantly...
Not short-term results that can be "hacked" by band-aid solutions or psychophysiological-exploitative marketing strategies...
(i.e., getting client "testimonials" immediately after an event designed to get people excited, but before they are able to apply what they learn for any significant period of time)...
But results that are consistent with a long track record of success that continues to last for months and years later.
So...
What are you trying to prove?
Stop trying to prove it, and go become so good that you become undeniable.
Are You Ready to Go Beyond Leadership?
Tired of Broken Algorithms and AI Slop?
Excited to Dive Deeper into Psychophysiological Mastery?
Want to Change The World?