F*ck Your What...?
Level 1...and That's Okay.
Future Guardian, what if we said…
…“f*ck your calculator”? Because recently Commandment One made a post titled exactly that: F*ck Your Calculator. And you know what? It’s worth expanding upon. It’s profound in the sense that it provides an example of the adaptive dilemma1, things that move2, learning and intelligence3, engaging the field and so many other Guardian principles - and then gives us something repeatable and portable that encapsulates them all.
F*ck your calculator.
Here’s the TL;DR: If an app, calculator or technology tells you that a certain behavior will lead to specific outcome it’s the best estimate that tech can provide given the information available. Think of it like a hypothesis. Whatever outcome that specific behavior leads to is the reality - the result. Some examples.
A spreadsheets says that if you book 100 calls, 20 will show up and you’ll close 4 of them. That’s the estimate.
You book 100 calls, 13 show up and you close 2 of them. That’s the reality.
An app tells you that if you take an extra 2,000 steps and eat 2,500 calories a day you’ll lose .75 lbs a week. That’s an estimate.
You take an extra 2,000 steps and eat 2,500 calories a day and lose .2 lbs. That’s the reality.
It’s okay when reality does not meet the estimate or the hypothesis - that’s why the scientific process exists. We should expect our estimates to be wrong most of the time (unless you have a crystal ball tucked away somewhere, in which case you have no excuse to be wrong, ever). For those of us without a functional crystal ball, it’s reasonable to expect that we will need to make adjustments based on reality.
Key words: based on reality.
It would be nonsensical to form a hypothesis, test it, have it proven wrong and then continue to operate as if it was proven to be true.
The first step is always a guess. The smaller the step, the less risk there is in guessing. That’s why we bias micro stepping.
Every subsequent step should be in informed by the reality- not the calculator. The calculator is not custom to you, the reality is. The reason(s) your reality did not perfectly meet the apps estimation are unique to you - and the adjustments will be, too.
Which is why you must engage the field.
It’s the only data that is relevant and accurate to you and for you, right now.
You Know More and Are More Than You Think
"I thought I needed someone to coach me in hiring or needed someone to help me solve this problem. I didn't, I just needed to engage the field. I had all the tools that I needed, I didn't realize it."
Andrew Junak PT, DPT, OCS
Founder, Peak Physiotherapy and Performance
One of the reasons we built the Arena and the Guardian Tier the way we did is because we’ve spent enough time with many of you to know that you are far more capable in some areas than you realize. Why do we make you engage the field before giving you the answer?
Because you’re smart AF and you already know the answer - or at least have the ability to figure it out with a little contact with reality. And we believe that you should give yourself, not us, credit for it. That’s important because if you don’t realize what you’re capable of on your own, you’ll never be able to step into your greatness.
There are times you will engage the field and run into something you can’t figure out on your own. And that’s okay. But like Andrew, in the quote above, you’ll surprise yourself with answers more than you think. “If I do X, I will get Y” is an estimation.“I did X and Y happened” is data.
By engaging the field, first, you’ll have real data available when you seek help or support.
Each step of the way, you’ll have a better understanding of what you already knew, what you were able to figure out on your own and what you needed help with. Further, you’ll have a better understanding of why something worked or didn’t work. In other words, you’ll develop a high level of self-efficacy.
What does that mean for you? I don’t know. We can’t know what it means for you until you engage the field.
So. We’re going to keep beating this dead horse.
F*ck your calculators.
Engage. The. Damn. Field.
To be clear, you don’t have to enroll in Guardian or the Arena to engage the field. You just have to have a structure to engage, get feedback, adjust and repeat. The process we recommend is right here.
If you did want to join the Arena, get on the waitlist. Enrollment will be opening later this week before the Arena session. You can also use the comments below. Hell, a pencil and a notebook is a great option.
You get it. Go do the thing, get the data, adjust and then do it again. And again. And again.
In The Wild
Scott Perry continues to Engage the Field - and getting shout outs for doing so. You can see his publication here.
Scott Perry | Creative on Purpose
Dave Montore got a personalized thank you package in the mail for engaging the field. Proof that by helping yourself can, indeed, be helpful to others.
Sean Anthony launched his new publication, Email Rainmaker - which is already generating meaningful revenue for him - after the last Arena session.
Email Rainmaker- is engaging the field by writing about writing in his publication Growing Trees, and using Substack's Notes to engage and nurture community and relationships for the growth of the TGA network. It’s great writing about writing great.
Vivica, co-host of the unofficial Guardian Academy interviews has also launched a new publication called All In A Day’s Pay here.
Actively engaging the field has led to us making drastic changes and updates to the Master Roadmap and the first six articles in it. If you have the time, we recommend circling back to review them.
Hope to see you join us soon.
Live to Learn Give to Earn
Guardian Academy
PS. The Arena continue to evolve thank to the active participation of Arena members and Guardians. Enrollment is opening this week, the waitlist is here. Hope to see you on the other side.
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If you’re ready to get real about getting results, it’s time to engage the field!