From: alexhormozi

The most challenging respect to earn is one’s own [00:00:00]. Success in any area, be it wealth or personal fitness, hinges not just on setting goals or outlining processes, but fundamentally on becoming the type of person who naturally achieves those goals [00:52:00]. This concept aligns with the well-known “Be, Do, Have” model often discussed in personal development [01:27:00].

Beyond Goals: The Power of Identity

While having a direction is better than none, merely writing down goals is insufficient for success [02:00:00]. Both winners and losers often share the same goals [02:14:00]. The true differentiator lies in the behaviors and activities committed to [02:47:00].

Many people know what activities are necessary to achieve their desired results (e.g., more advertising for customers, specific workouts for fitness) [03:40:00]. The challenge is that they often don’t act on that knowledge [03:44:00].

The Core Question for Change

The simplest yet most effective method for personal transformation is to repeatedly ask yourself:

“What would a person who does this type of thing do in this instance?” [04:04:00]

This query serves as a keystone habit, guiding decisions and actions towards becoming the desired individual [01:37:00]. Examples of this internal refrain include:

  • “What would a wise man do?” [04:18:00]
  • “What would a billionaire do?” [05:11:00]
  • “What would someone 10 times smarter than me do?” [06:03:00]
  • “What would a person with a six-pack do?” [07:08:00]
  • “What would an amazing husband do?” [07:13:00]

This approach applies to a vast number of scenarios and is simpler than memorizing long checklists of activities [05:01:00].

Identity as a Voting System

Your identity is built through a “voting system,” where each action you take casts a vote for the type of person you aspire to become [04:39:00]. This concept, also discussed by James Clear in Atomic Habits [01:22:00], highlights how consistent behaviors reinforce the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. These reinforcements lead to deep, long-lasting change that eventually becomes effortless [05:37:00].

Instead of relying solely on affirmations (e.g., “I am a lion”), which are ineffective without corresponding action, you must create evidence through your activities that you are that type of person [06:31:00].

Etymology of Identity

Understanding the word “identity” itself reinforces this idea. Identity comes from “identical” (repeated) and “entity” (being) [08:29:00]. Thus, your identity is “repeated beingness” [08:33:00]. Your actions literally become who you are, allowing for active change by altering what you do [08:37:00]. This creates a reinforcing cycle: you are a type of person, therefore you do certain things, and because you do these things, you become that type of person [08:44:00].

Practical Application

To foster personal transformation, identify the type of person you wish to become, and then make “What would this type of person do?” the constant refrain at every decision point [12:45:00].

Well-known figures or archetypes can serve as tangible guides for this question:

  • “What would Jesus do?” – a powerful question for many within and outside the Christian community, representing an ideal set of behaviors [09:46:00].
  • “What would King Solomon do?” – embodying wisdom and wealth [10:16:00].
  • “What would Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger do?” – for financial or investment scenarios [10:27:00].

If you don’t have a specific person, you can envision “the version of yourself with that value” [10:43:00]. This strategy is highly effective for self-improvement and self-change [11:01:00].

Overcoming Inertia: You Already Know

Often, people claim they don’t know what to do to achieve their goals (e.g., become a billionaire or IFBB pro champion) [13:23:00]. However, most people already know what they need to do; they just aren’t doing it [13:30:00]. We often need to be reminded more than we need to be taught [13:40:00].

Consider an extreme example: If your family were kidnapped, you would instinctively take massive action to save them, demonstrating you knew what to do all along [13:47:00]. The missing piece is often the action itself.

If the ideal identity seems too far off (e.g., “billionaire”), you can scale it down (e.g., “millionaire” or “someone trying to become a millionaire”) [14:24:00]. The key is to ask the question in a way that allows you to answer it and make progress [14:35:00].

Ultimately, attacking why we aren’t doing what we know we should be doing is more fruitful than searching for hidden secrets [14:54:00]. Those who achieve extraordinary things consistently do the “uncommonly obvious” for extended periods [15:00:00]. They act because it aligns with who they are, not just to achieve an external outcome [15:10:00]. This internal drive ensures sustained effort, leading to outsized returns, unlike those who stop once an external goal is met [15:16:00].