Ryan Foland: Yeah, it’s interesting you point that out. It’s the power of understanding how to utilize your brain’s software, right?
Tom Bilyeu: Definitely, man. And that the ability to go really deep and focus on one thing is how you gain mastery. It’s how you get great. That to me is an obsession.
Ryan Foland: What is trick to better using our human technology?
Tom Bilyeu: To me it’s really about acquiring real skills. You should be learning, learning, learning. If you’re in college the mode is learning. It’s about skill acquisition, knowledge acquisition. It’s not about being out and talking about it first. Here’s the thing. You need to become capable of the extraordinary. Talking about something isn’t going to serve you or your audience. Yeah, I would say head down, do the work, build something that matters, and the rest will take care of itself.
Ryan Foland: Okay, so that’s number one. That’s number two top tip for tapping into your superhuman potential?
Tom Bilyeu: You have to build real relationships. You just have to be willing to put in the work and go deeper than just the surface communication, but I’ve met some extraordinary people online that have then made contact in real life. It’s actually pretty amazing the kinds of relationships that can start over Twitter or start socially. For instance, Steve Aoki, the DJ, he and I had learned about each other online first before we ever connected. There’s just a lot of people like that. Jason Silva is another great example, and I don’t know if your listeners know who Jason Silva is, but man, if you don’t, go deep.
He’s the host of Brain Games and just an incredible human being and a really good friend, but that all started online. When you get these relationships in person and can really begin to develop something that’s more real, then you can build something lasting. Even just having the ongoing communication of sharing things. Jason Silva, for instance, just an incredible articulator via social media. His ability to use the technology to put out ideas … He’ll go on a tirade and just put 10 clips from movies that really impacted him, which actually made me feel closer to him even though it wasn’t aimed specifically at me. There are really cool ways that I think people can express themselves and connect, especially online. Be a human first. Be real, connect, and build relationships.
Ryan Foland: Do you have any additional advice on how to better connect with people?
Tom Bilyeu: Most definitely. The key thing is find a way to add value to somebody’s life. First of all I only reach out to people that I have an authentic interest in, like I’ve really connected to their content or just their views on life. Once I can approach somebody from a genuine place of appreciation, especially if we have stuff in common, that becomes very, very easy for me. Reaching out a lot of times, trying to figure out what’s meaningful to them, especially if you’re reaching out to somebody that has a big following.
Figure out what it is that they’re trying to do with their community, figure out how you can add value. A lot of times it’s just commenting. It’s sharing their stuff. It’s commenting on it. It’s helping other followers in their community, which to me at Impact Theory, that’s just such a huge thing for me, when the members of the community are helping each other. When I see that I’ll reach out to the people that are helping the other people and just thank them. If you’re trying to get on my radar, helping other people in the community is like #1.