Borrow Someone Else's Diploma

Win More, Live Better Podcast

For those interested in my podcast, below are the latest episodes from the past week!

Guest Interview: 

Stephen Vogt (Major League Manager, Cleveland Guardians)

Solo Episodes:

• How to Use Nerves to Perform Your Best (7 min)

• The Cost of Pursuing Excellence as a Parent AND the Gift Within It (8 min)

• Thoughts Are Not Laws (12 min)

• How the Best Golfer in the World Responds to Mistakes (7 min)

• Let Go or Be Dragged (8 min)

The Blueprint Behind Will Smith’s Rise

When Will Smith decided to leave West Philadelphia for Los Angeles and transition from rapper to actor, he had a bold vision.

“I want to be the biggest movie star in the world.”

His manager, James Lassiter, loved his belief, but he also knew this wasn’t going to be enough to bring this to reality. Thankfully, becoming the biggest movie star in the world is a feat that others had attained already so they decided to study the greats.

Lassiter identified the top 10 highest-grossing movies of all time and asked, “What do these movies have in common?”

They discovered a few simple patterns:

• 10/10 had special effects

• 9/10 had special effects with creatures

• 8/10 had special effects, creatures, and a love story

So instead of trying to reinvest success, they decided to reverse-engineer it. When you look back at Smith’s biggest films:

• Independence Day

• Men in Black

• I Am Legend

• Hancock

• Suicide Squad

The same patterns emerge. Each had tons of special effects. They all had creatures. And the majority of them contained a love story (especially if you count the dog in Hancock).

When all of this is laid out, it almost feels too obvious. Too simple. But it also makes you wonder how many clues might be sitting right in front of us that we’re not using?

Borrowing Someone Else’s Diploma

I don’t know about you, but there’s been several moments in my life where I’ve had to remind myself that I’m probably not the first person trying to figure something out.

When something might be new to us, we might feel like we have to start from scratch, but what if the path you’re trying to build has already been built? Maybe there’s someone else who’s already completed it.

Of course, their context and circumstances might be different than yours, but that doesn’t mean you can’t copy their principles. This is what we can call “Borrowing someone else’s diploma.”

You don’t need to go back to school and relearn everything from the ground up. You can learn from the people who’ve already graduated. Someone has likely already made the mistake, paid the price, and earned the degree. And most importantly, they’ve probably left behind some clues too.

They’ve already paid the tuition. You just need to study their curriculum.

In fact, former UFC champion Frank Shamrock developed his own unique approach to this by applying what he called his “plus, minus, equal” system.

• A plus is someone ahead of you who you can draw inspiration and learn from

• A minus is someone you can teach and pour into

• An equal is someone at a similar stage as you who can push you and hold you accountable

Shamrock’s plus is a great illustration of borrowing someone else’s diploma. The key here is identifying the right person to study and the right example to learn from.

How to Apply This

So if you want to develop your own system for learning from others and borrowing someone else’s diploma, here’s a few things to consider and apply:

1. Target your “Plus” — Who has already achieved what you’re trying to achieve?

2. Track their Patterns — What do these individuals consistently do that drives their results?

3. Translate the Principles — You don’t have to copy everything you see. Find ways to apply these principles and systems within your own context and make them your own. This isn’t copying their exact path. Build your own system by learning from theirs.

4. Test It — Life only changes under the paradigm of action. Eventually, you have to apply what you’ve learned and pressure-test if/how it can work for you. The goal isn’t to become your “plus,” but rather use them to accelerate becoming who you are capable of.

Target. Track. Translate. Test.

Final Thoughts

You don’t get extra credit for doing it solo. There are people who have already solved the problems you’re trying to solve. Already built what you’re trying to build. Already become who you’re trying to become.

The question is whether you’re willing to study them.

You don’t have to copy their life or follow their path exactly. But I would invite you to understand the principles that got them there and apply them in your own way.

Because success does leave clues.

Inspiration for this Piece:

• Acuff, J. (2017). Finish: Give yourself the gift of done. Portfolio/Penguin. Chicago