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- 🧠Audacity is the cheat code
It’s not the smartest or most talented people who get what they want in life, it’s people who have the audacity to ask for more.
Reminder: You can listen to the audiobook version of “The Opposite of Settling” FOR FREE if you have Spotify Premium. No strings attached.
THREE mindsets to help you reflect, rebel, and reinvent…
1. Audacity is the cheat code
Science proves the more audacity you have, the more life rewards you.
Audacity. Asking for what you want instead of hoping someone offers it to you. Texting first without overanalyzing. Pivoting your life at 30, 40, or 50 because you know you deserve better.
Self-perception theory says the more you do audacious things, the more your brain decides that's who you are. An audacious person moves through life knowing good things will happen - not hoping they will.
The entire point of life is to be so wildly audacious that people can't decide if you're crazy or a genius.
Audacity is attractive. Research shows you can swing and miss and people will still recommend you and go out of their way to help you because boldness is rare.
Your life expands in direct proportion to what you’re willing to ask for.
Research from Stanford shows people are twice as likely to say yes to bold requests as you think. So ask for the big, unreasonable thing.
First you're delusional because you believe. Then you're audacious because you act. Then you're living the life you always knew was possible.
2. (Small) words are spells
I am fascinated by how language creates our reality. In my studies I’ve learned that the biggest drivers of emotional state aren’t large words like “betrayed,” “grateful,” or “anxious.” They’re the smaller words holding everything together: pronouns, articles, prepositions…
These function words make up more than half of everyday speech, yet we barely notice them. We obsess over replacing “failure” with “lesson,” but ignore the difference between “I am a failure” and “I failed at this.” The architecture matters.
Social psychologist James Pennebaker’s research found that tiny words like “I,” “me,” and “my” words predict psychological state more than emotional vocabulary itself. These small worlds constrict your world view.
“I ruined everything” vs “That decision had consequences.”
Same emotion. Different structure. Different trajectory. See the difference?
Articles matter too - “a,” “an,” “the.” When we’re overwhelmed, we speak vaguely: “Everything is falling apart.” But specificity changes the nervous system: “The presentation didn’t land, and the client pushed back.” Articles force edges. Edges make problems workable.
Mindset isn’t just about big beliefs. It’s about sentence structure. Consider the small words you use.
» if you want more, listen to episode 778 of the podcast.
3. FIVE underrated skills
Being happy alone is an underrated skill. The person who can sit with themselves and feel full instead of empty never settles for a relationship just to fill the silence.
Sensing when someone's energy is off is an underrated skill. People who trust their soul’s radar end up with smaller circles but bigger peace.
Trusting the delay is an underrated skill. The person who can look at a closed door and say “not yet ”instead of “never” ends up walking through a better one.
Moving to a city where you don't know anyone is an underrated skill. Something about it unlocks a version of yourself that your old life was too small to hold.
Trusting your gut over everyone's opinion is an underrated skill. Life has a way of rewarding people who bet on themselves instead of the crowd.
Some things I’m excited about…
Optimism can change your life
Optimism isn’t a mood, it’s a method. and it’s one you can learn and implement immediately because it starts with the most underrated but easily accessible tool we all have: our words.
If you’re interested in learning more about my “language of optimism” sessions for your company or community, visit this page.
Reminder…
You know what’s attractive? Being widely unchill about the things you love, because joy looks best unfiltered.
A theory…
I have a theory that when you act like everything you want is already yours, the universe starts clearing the traffic in front of you.
That’s it for today. See you next time.
- Case Kenny
