Enter the cult of extreme productivity | Mark Adams | TEDxHSG

In this talk Mark shares a dramatic and powerful system that takes productivity thinking to whole new and terrifying level, allowing a person to achieve almost any goal they set themselves with rapid speed. The secret to this type of exponential success? Bin your ‘affirmations’ and ‘goals’ and instead embrace fear as your friend by making irreversible decisions. Instead of hapless resolutions members of the "Lock-In" cult contract with themselves in a way that they cannot escape from (without suffering brutal consequences). The “Lock-In" system harnesses our most primal evolutionary instinct - to avoid pain - and uses it to radically supercharge our lives. Many of the most successful people in history have used its phenomenal power to create extraordinary success. Think you're hardcore enough? Then enter the Cult of Extreme Productivity Mark Adams is Vice President and Head of Innovation at VICE, which has come from humble beginnings as a print magazine to digitally transform into a 5 billion dollar youth media empire. In this talk, Mark describes the cult of extreme productivity that he became part of alongside his brother. The cult is all about making irreversible decisions that make “manifesting” your dreams the only option because not achieving it would create indescribable suffering. This is the second time Mark has done a TEDx talk. The first time his talk was banned. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@Toby-ef8kj]

Once when I was supposed to be doing homework I spent 3 hours watching videos on how not to procrastinate

[@shinwookang4379]

I have never disliked a TEDx talk so much. From the moment he starts talking he oozes creepy car salesmen using shock statements and exaggerated movements to pretend he is dynamic. Ugh

[@Abzman96]

OH SHUT IT! Your just here for the comments and likes.

[@reholland9270]

Me, right noe

[@AyushSingh-qx6mi]

Damn i can relate i woke up at 6 am and its 1pm and i am just preparing to study😂😂 .

[@pascualgutierrez8859]

@@shinwookang4379 teyeyyeyes

[@jordyvandeven3954]

Procrastinating is basically stealing from your future self.

[@alexandriagachuhi7718]

Well said

[@midashelps933]

jordy van de ven yea but what has he ever done for me tho?

[@ThMnCompwnnt]

I've actually deduced this when I was really high once

[@lifeisneverthesame910]

burn out is common problem for everyone..

[@vladimirvostic4732]

600th like :)

[@karthikeyanbalasubramanian8142]

"If you embrace the fact that its more terrifying to fail than to succeed, you will achieve insane things" Nailed it !

[@MarcLloydZ]

Wow thats an amazingly good quote. “If you embrace the fact that its more terrifying to fail than to succeed, you will achieve insane things”

[@TheHahashishi]

Well yeah... Who doesn't fear failure more than success? It the fear of failure that holds so many people back from success.

[@EricMulhern]

​@@TheHahashishi Yeah I don't know... in my personal experience I've found that the fear of success, of how my world would transform and become completely alien to me should I succeed, is far more terrifying than the idea of failure. That's why I procrastinate or don't follow through with projects I've started. I'm comfortable in being who/how I am, and it's the idea of change that terrifies me. So a solution in line with what this guy is recommending would be to impose a consequence to failure through contract that will result in an equally terrifying transformation to your life. It doesn't have to be something like 'my friend will beat me up should I fail'. I know personally that my fear of physical pain is not nearly so high as my fear of success (though, perhaps that consequence would be effective for a minor goal, one that's not deeply rooted to my sense of self-worth). But, what if you set the consequence for yourself that if you failed some major goal, you would have to sell off all of your possessions and move to a different country? Now that could be interesting...

[@soberanisfam1323]

@@TheHahashishi right? Id wager fear of failure is more common than fear of success

[@Orgbeeka]

U might succeed but I doubt you would sincerely be happy or content

[@lordvoldemort1985]

This man is literally so proud of the fact he went out last night

[@NewPhone-vj4sc]

Ikr

[@krismargett]

something, something,... road-cone, something

[@hanoipro4831]

You know what, he might go out tonight as well. You wont recognise him at 2am. He is WILD.

[@rodnovillo7266]

Bars are closed. Covid! El virus!

[@ThexAgentx]

Ya'll need to learn to read between the lines here. There's a reason this was banned. I'll spell it out for everyone because clearly this went over a lot of heads. 1.Make a contract with another person. 2.Set a goal. Set a punishment. 3.If one does not achieve goal, the other person inflicts punishment. Fear of punishment > fear of not achieving goal At the end when he showed his bruised face, it was obvious he failed at a goal and his punishment was to get beat up. So basically he's saying make a promise to beat your friends up if they don't achieve their goals. Sounds fun.

[@mustafaakbari8816]

WhoGaveYouTheCoordinates Thanks 20 min wasn’t all that a waste now that I got it.

[@WilsonKubwayo]

WhoGaveYouTheCoordinates psychology proves that this theory don’t work at all... do you still speed knowing that getting caught you pay penalty fees, and eventually ruin your driving record? Do you still sin knowing that someone it’s wrong? Humans don’t behave that way and if they did, philosophy claims that you are not your real self because you are acting out of fear instead of acting out of virtue because you believe that’s what you must do. There is a difference doing things right and doing the right things. So your interpretation is not valid and is poorer than the talk itself.

[@KumeOzoro]

His interpretation is valid because it isn't even an interpretation. It's a repetition of what the speaker said. And it does work and has worked for ages. This is the same concept in Napoleon Hill's "Mastermind Alliance"; except that Hill didn't hammer on the punishment aspect.

[@gregoryscott3858]

Wilson Kubwayo -> People speed because the consequence is generally 'nil', the vast majority of speeders neither get caught nor pay any fees. If it were *guaranteed* that some truly undesirable outcome were to occur, e.g. if your car immediately reported your speeding to authorities who would then confiscate your vehicle... virtually nobody would speed. The legal system and its punishments does not prevent people from committing crimes or unwanted behaviors because the system is neither consistent, predictable, or sufficiently draconian to do so. There are good reasons for that --- most people do not want to live in under an omniscient, omnipotent, brutal authoritarian system --- but if we *did*, you can be assured everyone would very compliant and very productive. The point is, if we understand, accept, and correctly leverage the psychological realities of our built-in risk/reward system, we can essentially force ourselves to overcome our self-defeating habits.

[@kelzangtobgyel3887]

To be more specific the idea of consequences exist of course but the thing he is suggesting is dangerous. You mustake the consequences very grave, and very close to the present. Scare yourself so badly that you have to.

[@Phi792]

Summary: Find someone who punches you in the face if you fail.

[@rish_gupta]

Absolutely! Or realise that the one punching will be "Life"!

[@lynshaecamp3172]

😂😂😂😂

[@MrNouraiz]

Am I the only one seeing that deamon looking thing in the background? (right side), like at 9:28

[@nimisha6584]

@@rish_gupta that's going to be the end of me

[@julius43461]

Das Spargel, I actually like the idea, but it would be hard finding someone like that.

[@UMullerOfficial]

Problem: procrastination. Solution: exorcism.

[@dabeasmac]

U. Miscka Muller Bwahahah!

[@zitapuskas2772]

You are funny! :)

[@GiGi-fd6om]

Right?! That is what he touched on. lol. How does he get paid to do talks like this?

[@Quinn_Davis]

@@GiGi-fd6om It's a metaphor that describes the inner battle of knowing you need to vs not wanting to, due to some form of instant gratification that can be had in the present.

[@Janacobb12]

If you can explain it simply, then you understand it.

[@slrd_spiritual]

This was like watching an extreme race car spinning out of control at 180 mph and then miraculously getting back on the track and then finishing in first place.

[@ghostliver]

Did it actually cross the finish line or is it still racing tho?

[@snaps4kappu]

Seriously man, until 14ish minutes I was meh. And when he said you maximize so much on one moment that u completely take from the future - future person you take from is yourself. Bam - it made sense.

[@aikenodubitan5256]

Well said!

[@viniciuslongo4622]

Hahahaha great analogy for this video

[@slrd_spiritual]

@Nourai El-Ziftawi [Student] i can kind of see that. this is definately not a "one off" moment for him lol. good to see he found some kind of traction. life is not easy for misfits

[@ComfortKM]

Summery: The reason why we aren’t as productive as we want to be isn’t because we lack information. Rather, it is because we fail to act; which, in itself, is the result of one’s complacency in the current moment. The solution... One must leverage fear by ensuring that the stakes are too high for one to stay perpetually complacent. EXAMPLES: • Doing something for someone who is dying. (Fear of Time) • Promising a group of people to meet at a certain time. (Fear of Social Consequence) • Paying a lot of money for something before using it. (Fear of Loss) • Signing a contract detailing legal duties and consequences. ( Fear of Authority /Restriction)

[@championn2294]

world is a better place because of you, thanks

[@singhprabhjinder]

Exactly.. it seems such a simple thing but if we can truly implement this simple wisdom, we will be much better off.

[@RAVI100th]

thanks, you made the talk meaningful to me.

[@samhenden]

From reading other comments, it seems that many people didn't understand these ideas and missed the point of the talk. This could be a very helpful comment. The part where he said that his Nan died before he could make the tapes hit home for me, my Nan has asked me to produce some CDs for her sister in early preparation for her funeral, which still could be many years yet. I have always acknowledged the fact that , simply put, procrastinating is bad. I have never really thought about the consequences, or why we fail to be productive, and your concept of leveraging fear of consequence is certainly something I will think about next time I am doing nothing.

[@nik8099]

Doing something out of fear is nothing new. Cults and religions have done this for thousands of years.

[@sairam332]

1. Continuous consumption of productivity/selfhelp literature is a trap. 2. Motivation, will power etc etc is BS 3. Information overload is not going to help The only way of getting more done is actually doing it now. Not after reading 100 books on productivity

[@greggeverman5578]

Bout the size of it, bub. Though I do actually think that info does help to an extent.

[@pedrobarbeira8729]

@@greggeverman5578 will power is a thing, its just a very hard thing to achieve to an extent that's actually relevant. But yeah. Try taking a cold shower every morning for a week, you'll quickly see how those 5min will change your day quite significantly. The hard part isn't really doing, is staying consistent with it

[@greggeverman5578]

@@pedrobarbeira8729 Yeah... For sure.

[@tham3lmml]

What is BS?

[@Shannxy]

@@pedrobarbeira8729 Agree, discipline is a skill that can be learned and improved the more you do it

[@se7ensavage707]

This was great. People only change if they truly, want to. Best to remember: Each day that you don't go get what you want, is another day you'll be without it.

[@xspataro]

READ THIS before you move on to the next video because of the negative comments. I liked the title, clicked, started watching while reading the comments, and saw everyone complaining about the video not delivering value, so I closed it. A minute later I decided to use my own judgment and reopened it. It turns out, yes, this guy doesnt zero in on what the title is promising, but he didn´t have to. The talk is full of gold nuggets, its up to YOU to really understand the depth of some points he made, and look into the lock in thing he talked about. The rest of the video is leverage and perspective, which is really valuable. These people complaining were looking for an instant gratification silver bullet solution. Great talk!

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

Nuggets, yes. I wouldn't call them "gold", however.

[@xspataro]

That would depend in the extent you use them to leverage your own behavior. They could definitely resonate more with some people than with others.

[@emancipatellamas348]

And I'm seeing far too many positive comments on an empty video by a typical self-help hack who is trying to cash in on a really old concept. Maybe high school kids and students will find this new, but the whole contract thing has been around since forever. Welcome to the club, I guess...?

[@Sparkluv]

I looked at the comments hoping someone had more insight on the LOCK-IN concept but was so surprised by the negativity. It was one of the better talks I’ve seen. Maybe I’ll read some books about it... lol

[@vichomangiola]

@@Sparkluv It actually seduced me with the idea of being part of what I presume is that lock in thing, a group of people willing to make this kind of contracts 1313

[@matexxo4004]

Did he just procrastinated his way out of the talk's subject?

[@TravsTattoos]

Haha I was thinking the same thing

[@sammyb774]

He's describing a mindset one must adopt that not doing the thing you want to accomplish is not only untrue to yourself, but a contractual obligation to your own success, the failure of which would result in real physical cpnsequences to your personhood. It is an extreme example of a carrot and a stick where the carrot is everything you've ever wanted through self sacrafice (ironically) and the stick is the complete destruction of your identity.

[@bphifer]

Mate Xxo not sure how the solution is any different than will power

[@AmateurContendr]

I liked it but it felt incomplete. Like a problem- solution essay without a complete solution part.

[@gauravsobti11]

He is like a cheat motivational speaker. Now I know why his previous talks didn't air. This one shouldn't have as well. And the nana story seemed fake as well.

[@yazeedtawalbeh1878]

This guy is a genius! I am not sure if anybody noticed this but the very first thing he did in this talk was that he sat a punishment for himself so he can finish the talk on time (when he said that there will be a red light on his forehead and somebody is going to kill him). Saying that was very random at the beginning of the talk, but it made sense at the end of it.

[@cocoapey]

I already have anxiety from not accomplishing things and I don’t really know how to befriend fear to make me more productive. It feels like fear just gives me pressure, not the push. Maybe this works for other people, but not to me unfortunately. I also believe in positive reinforcement.

[@philipenoc8188]

Agree! it's just a matter of choosing what suits you. :)

[@hugolols55]

You need Andrew tate

[@joelvarelajr6495]

YOU CAN DO IT!

[@CasuallyMatthew]

when he said "its you versus you" that literally hit home. This is so true. Thank you.

[@lifeinspiration9574]

If you embrace the fact that it is more terrifying to fail, than to succeed, you will achieve insane things! Love this quote!

[@japhetcatacutan9705]

as a student of Stoicism, the emotions takes us away from being rational being. Fear, for example is something that subjectively drives you or block you in the path of progress. Having said that locking-in yourself for a certain contract will cause you to be more prone to disappointments and psychological trauma in the near future. The fact that setting goals is necessary for us to progress, we really don't need to suffer and force our life in to something that makes us fear of being a simple human. What you're talking about upgrading, constitute into a lot of failures rather than successes in life. Curiosity, mindfulness, and discipline still works for me rather than fear.

[@julius43461]

Japhet Catacutan, It all sounds nice, but how does curiosity helps with anything? I tried these but none of it work from my experience. My conclusion is that some people are just more capable of delaying gratification and reacting to consequences that are far into future. Personally, unless something is in front of my nose, I am not able to react to it. This is how all other animals operate, even the most intelligent ones. I used to believe that some people can create motivation and willpower out of nowhere, but I'm beginning to suspect that is not true. It may very well be that all people relay on environment to do things, it's just that some need harsher consequences.

[@alicebichanga3621]

what if you just have no discipline?

[@Cookiemonster-qr5rv]

Stoics do not suppress emotions but accept them as a fact of life. Fear is unavoidable. What you can change is how you respond to your fears (or irritation, joy, disgust, etc). Stoicism is about knowing one self and living in according to one's nature.

[@salvodazes]

I agree with this. Discipline is a transferrable and learnable skill that can be reused for anything. "Go big or go home" ideologies like this might work in some cases, but risk heavy burnout and mental issues. I completely changed my habits by learning discipline for one field, and then applying it to other fields in time. All the while keeping my empathy for others and being kind to myself. I feel like this talk advocates against one extreme, while advocating for another. The answer is never in the extremes, in my experience.

[@anutuyi3507]

This guy spoke the truth. The fear of the negative consequences would push you to do what you're supposed to do. Absolutely correct! fear is definitely far more effective than inspiration or self-control or will power. Yes! an eye opener.

[@Kazebeat]

I think he makes an important part about understanding your ideal self and having a vision for what that could be. There's definitely something to be said about manifesting the future version of yourself. I have a vision board, which is something I would have never thought of doing a couple years ago. The thing that got me started on self-motivation was fear. Fear of becoming old and realizing that I never tried to chase the things that I love. We CAN have a good relationship with fear. There's stoic quote I love that says something along the lines of "it is best to live a life with an uncertain outcome than to experience the anxiety that arises from living a life of no purpose" I just quit my job 5 months ago to sell my music online. Im working 70-80 hours a week but I've never been happier. I hope someone can read this and be inspired to use that fear to propel them forward in chasing their goals!

[@saraparker4082]

I could listen to this man all day. He has such high energy and a great sense of humor

[@crystalcharee57]

Summary: Fight Club but IN FAVOR of capitalism.

[@cristiancarrasco9371]

HAHAHAHA

[@hehehehohohohohoho31]

fight club is already in favor of capitalism though

[@jungleman50]

Absolutely loving this reaction, glad to see someone like-minded haha

[@AdobadoFantastico]

@@hehehehohohohohoho31 How can you possibly believe that? did you read OR watch fight club? The whole premise is that capitalism emasculates men by focusing them on consumption over the development of their own character(that's why they don't measure wins/losses in fights) and that being a worker bee in the system destroys human connection(separating them from other men trying find themselves. Tyler Durden explains this stuff super explicitly. The end of the story indicates that the only way out is to either die or to destroy the system. In the movie there are other bombs that go off. Technically different ending from the book, but still the same point because he destroys the financial institutions required for capitalism to operate(by tracking capital), also destroying the museums which keeps track of who won/lost in history.

[@miguelvotrejr]

HUAHAUHUHAUHAU this is genius

[@renzhizilong486357]

"If you embrace the fact that its more terrifying to fail than it is to succeed, you will achieve insane things!" The most important quote from the video.

[@AnaLu07]

Oh,yeah, i achieved panic,anxiety and depression by the age of 17.

[@tlock77]

Life is a combination of not caring if you fail (keep going/try again & again) and caring if you fail (knowing what you need to do & do it without excuses but with also considering just how you'll have to deal with & face your very real challenges... which might be much, much harder than others, but you're going to do it anyway)! It's pretty crazy.

[@Funwinxpixee]

This talk in one sentence: Action has a far greater impact than learning

[@andreaangel959]

"Personal decisions are now the leading cause of death." I'm gonna be chewing on that one for a while.

[@wanderings6429]

Let's not make any more decisions from now

[@denisemcdougal6445]

That resonated with me

[@MarcoSanderCoaching]

Time-blocking is the key. It has improved my productivity dramatically. Also, I start by planning the non-work / fun / inspiring things. Then I plan the work related stuff. Everything is in GMail and digital. And I just get reminders and don't have to remember what to do 😊

[@rossholmes7366]

Excellent talk!! There will always be people looking to find a quick fix video to solve their life problems. This is completely filled with gold nuggets and It's all about how you interpret what this dude is saying. I really think he did a great job

[@egregius9314]

Where is part 2, where he explicates his story with examples, and tells you the 'how'? I know this is the whole talk, but it feels cut off at the point where the meaty bit was supposed to start.

[@ghostliver]

yup, it almost sounds like somebody went "alright, wrap it up buddy"

[@FictionFaction]

ted has a 20min max format. i need to scour the dark web now

[@asbu2297]

You are right. All that he said made sense but he did not completely explain the solution. Obviously when he said contract, he meant it metaphorically. I am still longing to know the solution. I searched him on KZbin but couldn't find anything relevant to the topic.

[@freakyfreak7777]

I'm thinking the how is why his talk got banned.

[@qncsc]

i had the exact same epiphany: in one of the last sentences, i thought that should be the first and now he can begin!

[@javanchandler6176]

Locking in the idea that you will NOT be the same version of yourself in a month so you do things you know you’d appreciate a month from now to make it better but keeping the sense of control towards the beast that ultimately triggers procrastination. Knowing yourself and being your best mate serves.

[@Zukeenyx007]

Things that really hit home with me. Living completely in the moment, at the cost of your future self. This summation dulls the edge a bit, but during the video, as I reflected on myself, it was very profound. Chasing self-help videos / resources easily becomes a trap, further propagating the idea of a better "future self," "Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face" The sobering moment of reflection here is immensely amusing to me.

[@jfaquinojr]

6:30 "I've read every one of those books..." 8:59 "I've never done me any reading didnt do me any harm..."

[@heikg]

He's bsing trough the talk

[@anandbalivada7461]

Dude 8:59 was clearly him being satirical 😂. Before that he said "I'm not saying don't read"... followed by a change in his accent which obviously reflects the stereotype of someone who doesn't read stuff (I think it's a cockney accent....NOTE: I am NOT perpetuating this stereotype)

[@kyrileontiou7098]

You dont need more information, you know what you have to do. Take action, dont do things that will damage yourself tomorrow. Lock - in your critical self and make the thing you have do painful if you dont do it. Dont go for immediate pleasure e.g. smoking. You just take from the future you.

[@Casedilla73]

And it is more terrifying to fail than to try and succeed.

[@billmalcolm4291]

My mind has blue balls.

[@qncsc]

make a contract. LOL.

[@MrAndrew201]

Glad im not the only one.....or that would be weird....right?

[@billmalcolm4291]

Andrew Iannaccone well, it’s not like we came together...or at all

[@OufTarek]

copy pasting another comment: Ya'll need to learn to read between the lines here. There's a reason this was banned. I'll spell it out for everyone because clearly this went over a lot of heads. 1.Make a contract with another person. 2.Set a goal. Set a punishment. 3.If one does not achieve goal, the other person inflicts punishment. Fear of punishment > fear of not achieving goal At the end when he showed his bruised face, it was obvious he failed at a goal and his punishment was to get beat up. So basically he's saying make a promise to beat your friends up if they don't achieve their goals. Sounds fun.

[@dannynghiem7804]

My balls was hot.

[@annekaplan7247]

Fear of failure is basically the root of my anxiety problems. I mean yeah, it's helped me achieve a lot but it's definitely not something I would suggest for success or peddle as a cure for procrastination...

[@BullseyeHTX]

Anxiety comes from not being able to force yourself to do what you have to do as well, it goes both ways

[@aikenodubitan5256]

Haha! Peddle? I like the use of that word in this context! 😁😁

[@cathmaguica]

Same. I used fear of failure for years until I got in college. Eventually I faced failure like any others and it really destroyed my will and burned me out. Using this method will work but it still comes with risks and consequences over time since it’s not a healthy mindset in a long run.

[@sutemati]

set yourself something that you can fear so hard that you wont let it happen, i.e. bring yourself into situations you cant leave at all. Use your fear to your advantage is the key of what he said (to everyone that didnt get or try’s to procrastinate out of the real meaning of what he said)

[@DustinMillerPolyInnovator]

8:35 "listen to audiobooks at 3x the speed, but it doesn't change anything." that hit a little too close to home!

[@lukeyj15]

Literally watching this at 1.5x

[@codyellsworth7927]

Nice to hear someone view fear of failure the same as I -- the most important motivator. There are plenty of motivators, but I've found fear of failure to always (somewhat coercively) push me towards great success.

[@columbus7290]

This guy has such an amazing stage presence

[@brandonlemonds7593]

We get it man, you were drinking last night.

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

LOL! Boom! Mic drop...

[@Mushroom321-]

Brandon Lemonds bizarre, seems like he could've been takin off the stage. Surprised..

[@illbethesky]

Its like he still thinks telling everyone how much he drinks makes him one of the cool kids at his age.

[@gazay7777]

Lol I read this comment RIGHT as he said 'you can tell I've been drinking last night'

[@ultravioletpisces3666]

I think he means "this morning"

[@loricica89]

He said what he need to say, his talk is not incomplete. Lock in productivity, me vs me, the yetzer demon...What spoke to me was the part about being lazy now steals from future me, from the ideal self that I project into the future. Like Dan Ariely said, “We all think that in the future, we are wonderful people. The problem is we never get to live in that future. We always live in the present.” Its up to us to find a drive, but i think being kind to yourself and not being a tyrant helps. Do something you know you gotta do to get where you wanna get and also treat yourself a bit.

[@JohnHobitakis]

This is the best explanation here, now his rambling makes sense.

[@annadstar777]

Lore Iuhas Great!!!👏 I agree! His speech is complete. Those who didn’t understand it just didn’t listen well...or some people just do not understand a lot of things...

[@annadstar777]

karotofel If you ask the question then you don’t understand...or didn’t listen the talk 🤷‍♀️

[@tiaansea3319]

We are confused bunch of Homosapiens.

[@StevenDavisREI]

He said at the begining "in 18 minutes a red dot will appear on my head, ill be shot and..." that gave him a time limit, if he wasn't done in 18 min, the person he signed a contract with would kill him. He had 100 slides, he didn't finish what he wanted to say but he did as much as he could in 18 min.

[@stefan_popp]

What he talks about is a well known concept of making it impossible for you to fail in your future goal. Prepare for the fight when you're rationally thinking and know how weak you are going to be when the battle situation comes. The Odysseus analogy is pretty explanatory: For example, if you want to get up instantly in the morning, without snoozing, place your alarm or phone at the other end of the room so that you have to physically walk there. You'll hate your last-evening-self for that but you'll achieve your goal. Works for pretty much everything if you can get friends/family to lock things away from you until you have fulfilled a previously agreed on criterion.

[@toastedclosure2770]

i tried doing the alarm thing for months... just went right back to bed

[@ishmamnaveel2020]

Stefan Michael Popp great explanation is there a book that explains this method in further detail by which I will know exactly and precisely how to apply it

[@MsJassi13]

then, according to him, you would have to do something that would make you fear going to bed. Like having your brother beat you up real bad if you do it, or cause yourself other trouble that you'd fear. You could give private information to someone and if you fail the contract they'd release it to everyone you love etc.

[@greggeverman5578]

Interesting.

[@greggeverman5578]

@HerrNilssonTheMonkey :) I get you.

[@StellaBlueMama]

I got more from this talk than I have from MANY over a looooong while. So good.

[@VivanteMixes]

on the extreme end of the spectrum, his concept boils down to "strap a gun to your head and if you dont complete every task you need to do to become the person you want to become/need to become then have it automatically trigger. this fear will overcome your fear of failure and thus you will succeed in conquering your anxiety" however, this creates more anxiety. constant fear of failure or else game changingly large unbalanced punishments creates anxiety because you are adding more pressure than you previously had and if you crumble under the pressure it will set you back even further. i understand doing this sometimes is ok, to be a dictator to yourself but you also have to learn how to be nice to yourself. and if i had to choose which thing society needs more now, more pressure on ourselves or less pressure on ourselves id say it depends on the individual and learning balance between the 2 is key, not picking one. There are people who think too much about the future and not enough about the present as well. in my opinion, these 2 selves are neighbours, friends, roommates, siblings, they should not be seen as enemies with their own motives, they should be seen as companions who have the same goal: to take care of each other. and if they work hand in hand with each other you can achieve anything.

[@riley8705]

its not about fear of failure the contracts are action based not results based so as long as you took action to do do something the contract isn't broken. The entire thing is to help you get over anxiety of taking action by giving you a greater fear of not taking action.

[@noah9663]

omg you are just a soft little girl, go watch powerpuff girls now please

[@ethicalphytophage]

He makes a good point about making a contract with yourself, and being accountable to someone else. Making fear your ally is also a useful idea. I get the feeling that his talk was incomplete though. Using only fear of not completing something to get things done can have serious repercussions on how one views life, and how tightly wound up you can become. I'm not taking this talk as sound advice, but I am taking it as excellent food for thought. By the way, I was turned off by the beginning, since he appeared a little full of himself.

[@curioussoul6059]

Sorc Erer I agree, if you make fear your primary motivation, you may even end up drinking so much that you can't even deliver a paid speech without talking about your consumption xD

[@brian_ball]

TedX aren't paid.

[@professional_sandbagger]

It wasn't incomplete. Just remember, not all communication is verbal. The last picture tells the tale he didn't orally communicate.

[@greggeverman5578]

Some good points my fellow Canadian.

[@julius43461]

Sorc Erer, The more I think about it, the more I think fear is the only thing you can use for achieving something great. What else are people who start new risky businesses doing? They are using fear to propel them, and only after they succeed will they say that they overcame their fear. That is exactly how we are meant to live our lives. Just imagine if you had to live like humans lived for thousands of years, fear would be constantly there to remind you of what you have to do every day. When we look at successful people, we cannot imagine them being vulnerable and afraid while they were creating their success. Yet, that is exactly what most of them were.

[@allisonsadventures235]

Very entertaining and delivers a strong message. Being held accountable is critical for change. Too many people love to feel motivated but never take action on it, because there is no accountability.

[@chargeit2thagame]

This is the most important video in the history of mankind

[@larsmees4952]

"Do something your future self will thank you for" -Someone

[@myeditorfriend8566]

A long time friend of our daughter and us, Dave, was a daily columnist at a local newspaper. From childhood to the present time, he was seriously overweight and has a bad, underlying self image, despite being a published cartoonist. His publisher gave him a challenge, drop 100 pounds in a year (from 350) and the publisher would give Dave two tickets to a seven day cruise of his choice. It was a reward Dave and his wife really wanted. Dave wrote about his challenges, successes, and failures. One year went by. Dave managed to reduce his weight to 349. Dave revealed his failure to his readers but Dave was used to humiliations. I told Dave what would have worked: His publisher failed to couple a penalty to the offer, such as Dave paying for two cruise tickets for the publisher and his wife. That would have worked because Dave could not afford such an expense on his columnist's salary.

[@itcouldbegood]

“If you embrace the fact that it’s more terrifying to fail than it is to succeed, you will achieve insane things”.

[@hanskraut2018]

I like the honesty of this video and the realisation it will hopefully bring some people how hard it is to "dont feel too bad doing stuff you should do over time"

[@8881gus]

Best approach to decision making/taking action/choices in the now is to picture your future self on your death bed making the decision in the present, for me puts a lot of things into perspective. Kinda relates to resolving the disconnect he was referring to between your current self and the one that bears the consequences in the future. Doesn't make sense that present you living in the now that doesn't bear the long term consequences entirely makes the decision. Applies to everything from should I be eating unhealthy food/drink to climate change.

[@gillyvail]

the irony of being hungover, and repeatedly telling us that, whilst at the same time talking about limiting yourself is completely not lost on me

[@sidefringespartan]

I think it's more about the fact that he went through with the talk despite being hungover. He probably had a consequence set up that was bigger than the discomfort of public speaking whilst hungover.

[@ghostliver]

I don't actually think he's hungover... look at his other talks, he always "breaks the ice" with that

[@henjelucy]

A good message. What I hear from this talk is the need to meditate more and change our minds to stop needing more, faster and brighter.

[@lukeyj15]

This video is a brilliant explanation of how executive functioning deficits of ADHD will split a person between knowing what has to be done but being functionally unable to achieve it. If this is you, consider the fact that someone with undiagnosed ADHD is predisposed to substance abuse, a shorter lifespan and constant anxiety caused by underachievement. Medication could change your life

[@jackstrada5263]

I’ve been living this philosophy since grade school and on 42 now. I’ve spent the last 10 to 15 years trying to figure out how to create a way to hold each other accountable to our potential

[@maxprepper8023]

What I got out of this talk was that one needs to make permanent moves/actions (even if they seem negative in the present) to force oneself to achieve goals more effectively. What comes to the actual talk, my mind also got blue balls but the thing with burning boats and activating our primitive survival instincts was pretty eye-opening. "I hate my job, so I need to find a new one" -> *Stays in the comfort zone and tries to change to no avail because the primitive survival instinct isn't pushing the person to one's full potential*. "I hate my job so I quit / burn bridges with the boss and so on" -> *Without stable income I will be homeless and die of hunger / suffer and live miserably* -> Brain switches into survival mode and one is forced to find solutions more effectively. This seems to be more effective than just staying in the comfort zone and most likely procrastinating. It might not work on everyone especially ppl suffering from mental issues, but in many cases I believe that this kind of action can enhance a person's chances of improving on whatever it is they aim to improve.

[@shivammwarambhey5614]

I totally agree

[@Shashank_More]

One-line summary : Fear the failure/the act of not trying , more than the fear of not succeding

[@greenapple6]

I've blamed myself in the past for not achieving my goals and tried several versions of playing with fear against me. It just caused me to be more harmful with my inner self-dialog, blaming me of my failing, and more stress overall. Increasing fear of failing never worked for me. Because I detest any type of pressure and I will first make sure that I'm not getting any pressure. If I'm not moving towards my goal, it's that I didn't fully identify with it. Meaning, the goal goes against my value system or the image I have of myself. Better adapt your goal to your (life) values or change the deeply rooted (and negative) self image. Then, pursuing a goal will come with much less effort. The question should be; - Why aren't we achieving the goals we want to achieve? - What stands in the way of achieving our goals? and it shouldn't be "how to achieve xyz". Forget about the "how's", ask whys. Regarding the tape; Why wasn't the tape made? Lack of empathy (it could have soothed her) and an inner child-concept of not having dealt with the concept of death yet (the learning is; live is finite).

[@izm4life]

This is honestly one of my favorites on TED talk.

[@me435]

What he's describing is called a commitment device. There are other TED talks on it that are much better.

[@ahmaddynugroho]

There are two kinds of people in achieving a goal: 1. People who Fear of fail > feel of success(fast) 2. People who consistently do uncomfortable things to be comfortable with what's uncomfortable(slow) And I'm the second kind of person. nothing is better, they are just different styles

[@SugaryPhoenixxx]

I have heard this idea before. That people who procrastinate look into their future & see a stranger. People who do not procrastinate look into the future, & see their future selves. This struck me because I am the former, & I am transforming into the latter. Living in the moment is a fun way to live, but it is only as fun as my future is bleak.

[@rafaelkaragu2331]

The part of the demon that pulls you away from your ideal self, that you're trying to build, really resonated with me. I am a chronic procrastinator-struggling to change-and there are times when i literally feel like there's this other singular force that is actively trying to dissuade me from doing what i should be doing. I should be reading for an exam right now, but no, i have to rant on KZbin.

[@commissionergordan]

discipline equals freedom

[@SugaryPhoenixxx]

It took me 24 years to understand & accept this.

[@Phenixio96]

Auto-discipline

[@andrewstewart9932]

amen

[@joshspicey9043]

I really couldnt agree more with his underlying meaning

[@wemote]

That pain is the vision of you on your deathbed, looking back on your life feeling time has slipped through your fingers before you had the chance to do what you truly wanted and cared about.

[@brandonclark2545]

The best TED talk i've ever watched.

[@IcelanderUSer]

He’s not promoting extreme productivity. He’s talking about how people spend a great deal of time and effort working towards something by endlessly thinking they need to prepare more.

[@dcharlesintl]

"Make fear your friend." So basically, both he and his brother went from being massive procrastinators/non-achievers/losers to being achievers/non-procrastinators/winners because the death of their grandma made them realize that life wasn't just a silly game. Aaaaand we can all replicate their success by strategically using fear as fuel... *shrug* That's my takeaway from it, anyway.

[@cupoftea31]

Wow!!! This is profound. Probably the best Ted talk I've seen

[@ravijangrax]

The best tedx talk everrrrrr!!!!! 😭😭

[@XMAwuchustudend]

Great talk, works for me better than other things. It seems like the negative comments are from people who don't understand the concept of motivation through consequences. gathering more information should be done as part of the process not an excuse to delay it, then it just becomes procrastination. Tell someone else "I will be there or you can punch me in the face" and chances are you will show up.

[@chapman137]

This advice about setting extreme consequences for poor decisions is golden for people who have ADHD. For people who struggle with impulses and self-discipline, this could be the difference between life and death. For others, this may seem extreme but really it's not. You don't know the pain of having your own self ruin your life. All that wasted potential cause your brain picks everything but the things you're supposed to be doing. I think maybe this person Mark Adams may have struggled with ADHD and found this strategy to cope. His story sounds like it.

[@fourdaysdead]

he is 100 percent right, only extreme circumstances trigger survival mode

[@oootiaraooo]

I am so glad someone said it. I lived my life like this, and I achieved more than I expected every time. The anxiety is constant though....

[@kennethlievens3279]

Kata Szentes can you tell a little bit more about how you went about this in your life?

[@markfennell1167]

Here are my tips for accomplishing things: 1. Use reward system. If I accomplish this, I will reward myself with X fun thing. 2. Have a vision board or picture. Keeps you focused on what you are headed toward. 3. Create Goals and Mission Statements. Keeps you clear on your priorities. Anything in those goals/missions are good to do; everything else you discard from your life. 4. Have accountability partners. Ideally for those of you who want similar things, even if not exact. Each of you reports on your progress, or lack of effort. The other then encourages, praises, or pushes you correspondingly. 5. Work together, play together. Find friends who want similar things. Work alongside each other...on separate project in same room, or together on projects. Find ways to insert some fun into it while also working. Afterwards, spend play time together. 6. Consequences of not doing it. Write or have pictures of consequences for not achieving this. These are not artificial consequences, but real consequences as likely result of behaviors. If not today, it will likely come in time. 7. Punishment incentive. Select an enforcer partner. Reminds you of what tasks you need to complete and by when. Consequences if not achieved by specified date. *Because this guy offered no solutions, no tips...I felt it was best to offer my own. Based on my own personal experience.

[@DiceDecides]

this video is so powerful, been watching help videos on YT alot but I will start watching like 1 video a day and a bit reading of a book a day to avoid information overload, cause if we watch like 20+ videos a day we fail to put the information into action

[@PrioBak]

for me its not even information overload...its just procrastination...

[@DiceDecides]

@@PrioBak but if ur watching help videos clearly you want help, so in order to use the help you find you should focus on less information and put it in action

[@PrioBak]

lol obviously..im just saying its for me its not really information overload...

[@DiceDecides]

@@PrioBak lol then in my opinion you should find something more fun to do if you're not here to learn

[@PrioBak]

wooosh

[@matthewzaczeniuk4892]

Thank you Ted for publishing this!

[@nannhatablet4299]

I just consumed 18 mins of content that tell me I don't need to consume more content when I knew that already and still felt good. Content is addiction.

[@epicgadgets2006]

Rest is not a Luxury your earn when you are finished with creative work. it's a discipline you cultivate to make you more creative.

[@LexxLifts]

This is terrifying

[@jlupus8804]

Dude covered all my favorite topics from mythology to economics to time to everything wth

[@daggyfresh8879]

Read this when I was personally looking for inner change,I relate and that's all that matters

[@djcruel9634]

Not one comment on how he looks like Bradley cooper??

[@ghostliver]

well, you got a couple of upvotes so I guess that counts

[@Kamikrazier7]

Lmfao, I was wondering the same thing. Haha, Toodles!

[@RIMJANESSOHMALOOG]

Bradley Cooper having a hangover

[@AJ-nm5zr]

AAAjMMMiRRR no 3 hangover

[@romanofpeterborough4153]

more like Daniel Craig

[@briighter]

Can TED release footage of the first ted talk Mark Adams gave. It seems to be a shame to waste such knowledge and footage from the internet where we are all looking for the knowledge to do better. TED Talk care about ideas that matter right? @TEDxTalks

[@AllanDaemon]

Maybe the first talk wasn't just 'dangerous', but also not good enough for TED standards. He may have improved on this one, so this one is a decent public material but the first don't.

[@viniciusvasconcelos4025]

.

[@cosmin8028]

.

[@DavidRogerss]

.

[@Spookspek]

.

[@joejoe570]

He said about increasing speed of audio, those who haven't done it, wont understand it and may not need this advice. The next amazing revelation was that we don't need an external factor to tell us how to be productive. That was deep and dope!

[@grandmasterlucien]

Man. This guys just described exactly how Ive been feeling the past year or so.

[@AirElegant]

Extreme focus, extreme productivity.

[@ginaslattery1592]

First of all I love VICE and watched this before I know he was behind it. I completely agree and love that someone is finally extolling the benefits of feeling fear! Personally I have little fear and while I'm happier most of the time, I notice my anxious friends who worry worry worry are in better positions than I. If you're someone who has low fear in certain areas or across the board, you must enlist help to make bad things seem real to you, or suffer the long term consequences.

[@mvpreactions8628]

The ironic thing is. My quest to keep learning n listenin to ted talks. Finally led me to this video. Which is a total paradigm shift. This was the diamond i been looking for!

[@maruchannuudle657]

I recognized the value in his speech as many do not. Make the fear of not completing a task your push to actually achieve goals. Iv understood this for the first time this year after a series of messups throughout my life. And now i am achieving many more goals and set many more with the possibility of "never staying ahead" as the failure. I will agree that i am suffering from crippling anxiety because all i did was absorb information and not apply it. i thought i was gaining knowledge but what is the point of all this knowledge if its never used. SO i knew what to do... it comes down to starting.

[@solomonelijah]

is it just me or does this video basically say nothing? like he makes excellent points and then when its time for him to bring it home by telling us whats the fundamental issue with our culture, he’s just “ok thx” and walks off the stage

[@felipesilva5228]

I think the point of the video is not to "build" something, as in telling you what to do, but to desconstruct a thought that our global culture has been breeding. This mindset of overproductivity that leads us to constant anxiety.

[@mariannakravchuk8894]

I've got the same feeling of this video. Selfpresentstion, selfexplanation, judgment of others, a bit of snalytical informanion and a big nothing as a result. I think, he could do it better.

[@WizEL]

Solomon Wright all u needed to know was it was a talk about not getting drunk the night before u do your ted talk and he got drunk the night before his ted talk.. If he wasnt a charming white bro he wouldnt have anythhing

[@marvinb5039]

There were quite some useful information in his speech, nothing we don't know yet but he put those unconscious thoughts into clear words. It is our "pleasure self" against our "critical self". The critical self pays for the pleasure self maximizing itself, smoking, drinking, procrastinating, staring at your phone instead of going for a jog... What he says how to win this system is too make it so fearable and painful to lose to the pleasure self. We may pay the bills in 20 years for daily smoking habits but that's the problem, because our pleasure self doesn't care about it.. yet. But how many of you already caught themselves studying one day before the exam or starting that project on day before the deadline.. I did this alot. Because the pressure was so high that my critical self won over my pleasure self. His system basically is setting his pleasure self a deadline or a penality to maximize the critical self. There was a picture of himself with an blue eye so I anticipate that he had a deal with his brother to do something bad to him if he fails to reach his goal and likewise he will do something bad to his brother.

[@xXJeReMiAhXx99]

geez people here really this dense? he said there is no secret or information you have to find to make your life better, you just do it.

[@robin2165]

Basically he is translating that when his nana was at the edge, he kept on delaying the task and within few days his nana passed away. After his nana passed away, he felt very bad because he did not keep his promise and his future version of himself has always regret that decision of not making that sound system. Same way in our life we always think of what we want to achieve within X years or lets say tomorrow I decide to go for running , BUT when the tomorrow comes and I at that time don't go for running, Your future version will suffer on the basis of the decisions (procrastinating) you make in your present time (now).

[@sanar2903]

The very impressing information you shared right there! we're very appreciated ;)

[@suhelseth6154]

The single most important app that I have been using for my productivity for almost 4 years now is "Smarter Time". I have used and continue to use all kinds of productivity softwares and similar stuff, but none so religiously like smarter time. Overall, it's the second most imp. piece of software i use daily, after Google Assistant. Please use this and make a video on it if you love it cause I don't want this app to shut down as I haven't seen a lot of people using it and/or making videos on it. It really is a hidden gem in the universe of productivity (more like one of the infinity stones for productivity).

[@achingaster1199]

Me saving this to my “Watch Later”

[@thabangkhatide2041]

About to do the same

[@thabangkhatide2041]

Can't believe I'm 8 minutes in...

[@StormBlessed786]

This hit way to close to home! Crazy!

[@TheSkepticSkwerl]

menoyes50 are you better for it. Or had the last three months been "I'll do it tomorrow"

[@bryville1769]

One of my favourite talks ever. I get you my man.

[@Metaman9000]

Exactly what I needed, very important Ted talk