The Writings of Michael Jagdeo

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6 min read

Don’t Talk To Strangers

And always remember: don’t talk to strangers.

That’s what mom said to me before I left the house. I was 14 years old, on my way to Karate class at the YMCA here in Toronto. The classes were at night, and so sometimes I’d get home close to eleven in the pitch dark.

It seems crazy to think that I was traveling all alone back then at such a young age, but Toronto was a different place back then.

Today, it’s my job to talk to strangers. Wherever I go, people end up putting me in chrage of sales revenue, growth, strategy, partnerships, all that stuff. And so, it’s my job to risk rejection. It’s my job to cold call. It’s my job to create companies out of people who may not all see eye to eye. I was terrible at it 20 years ago, and in a lot of ways, I’m terrible at it now. But I’m less terrible at it now, and given that most people are afraid to sell, you don’t have to have a great batting average if nobody else is willing to step up to the plate, ya know what I’m sayin?

Today’s MikeCast - S00E00 - reflects the state I find myself in…my job is to reject my mom’s advice, so to speak. My job is to talk to strangers. The only problem is…talking to strangers still makes me nervous. Maybe problem is the wrong word…and that’s what I talked to myself about today on the MikeCast S00E00.

THE MIKECAST S00E00 CLIPS

Situational Personality

”To allow yourself to be a lion when it’s time to be a lion, and a deer when it’s time to be a deer.”

- Mike Jagdeo

Bible: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Islam: “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” - Quran 13:11

Tao Te Ching: “Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small.” - Chapter 63

Who’s That Talking Inside Your Head?

”If you find yourself second guessing yourself, you should ask yourself, who exactly is second guessing?”

- Mike Jagdeo

Bible: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” - Proverbs 3:5

Islam: “What is with you will perish, but what is with Allah is enduring.” - Quran 16:96

Tao Te Ching: “He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.” - Chapter 56

The Pay-Off Of Personality

”This world will give you every reason to have a personality. And that shit has such a payoff, you know?”

- Mike Jagdeo

Bible: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” - Proverbs 27:2

Islam: “Do not let your worldly possessions or your children distract you from the remembrance of Allah.” - Quran 63:9

Tao Te Ching: “The sage never strives for greatness, and can therefore accomplish it.” - Chapter 34

”Performance is determined by the management of energy, not time.”

Quran: “So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship]. And to your Lord direct [your] longing.” - Quran 94:7-8

Bible: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” - Philippians 4:13

Tao Te Ching: “The sage never strives for greatness, and can therefore accomplish it.” - Chapter 34

Counter-Intuitive Quotes & The I-Ching

  • Put down the planning when it comes to cold calling: Hexagram 25: Innocence

  • The script really just is planning: Hexagram 1: The Creative

  • Tactics, plans, and strategies are probabilistic: Hexagram 64: Before Completion

  • Be a lion when it’s time to be a lion, and a deer when it’s time to be a deer: Hexagram 30: The Clinging

  • Any doubt that you have is old personality: Hexagram 18: Work on What Has Been Spoiled

  • The quickest path to dopamine is arguing with someone: Hexagram 6: Conflict

  • You never want to go full down aging: Hexagram 24: Return

  • Balance Zhuangji with Confucius: Hexagram 11: Peace

  • Try having kids and sitting under a tree for five minutes: Hexagram 37: The Family

  • In a complex system, you cannot predict the outputs: Hexagram 2: The Receptive

  • The primary determinant of outcomes is population of trials: Hexagram 63: After Completion

  • You are tabula rasa when the phone is ringing: Hexagram 20: Contemplation

  • Performance is determined by the management of energy, not time: Hexagram 32: Duration

  • You could market to yourself: Hexagram 33: Retreat

  • The best strategies are yet subject to probabilistic outcomes: Hexagram 49: Revolution

  • Any outcome is a product goal: Hexagram 53: Development

  • Value realization is connected to the rituals that achieve outcomes: Hexagram 4: Youthful Folly

  • Less is more: Hexagram 41: Decrease

  • Can you act without identification? Hexagram 52: Keeping Still

  • Your self-concept is not your social self-concept: Hexagram 22: Grace

The Key Metric Underlying All Success

”In a world where if else statements are subject to probabilistic outcomes, even if you have access to strategies, plans, and tactics that work 80% to 90% of the time, […] then it’s only the attempts that matter.”

- Mike Jagdeo

Bible: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” - Deuteronomy 6:16

Islam: “But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.” - Quran 8:30

Tao Te Ching: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” - Chapter 64

The Critical Role Of Trials In A Complex System

”In a complex system where your plan, strategies and tactics may or may not work, […] the primary determinant of outcomes is population of trials.”

- Mike Jagdeo

Bible: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” - Isaiah 40:29

Islam: “So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship].” - Quran 94:7

Tao Te Ching: “The sage does not contend, and thus none in the world can contend with him.” - Chapter 22

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