Foundation: The communication model

Diamonds are worthy.

Like reeaaaally worthy.

… but there is one thing that’s even more precious.

• world-class talent
• deep passion
• burning sense of mission

Icons. Genius. Superhumans.

Kingmakers.

They all have a big idea — and spend their whole life perfecting it.

But it’s not enough!

Legends always sing the names of those who articulate their ideas best.

… and sometimes, they have several big ideas in their lifetime.

In this case, they obviously have a model.

“I enjoyed creating models to clearly communicate my thoughts.”

—Erno Rubik

The communication model of Kingmakers

What is a model?

Thanks for the question — let me introduce you to this guy!

Without him, we wouldn’t have Apple today.

• Millions of employees
• Billions of users
• Trillions of valuation

The most valuable brand in the world!

Genius engineers and designers come up with great things all the time. But without the ability to make it appealing to people, it’s just an idea.

Steve Wozniak couldn’t sell the computers — or create a brand.

Steve Jobs could.

“There’s no chance in hell it happens without him.”

—Bill Gates

Jobs wasn’t an engineer, a marketer or a designer — he was a kingmaker.

He knew:

• how to sell the products to people
• how to get the right people to invest in the company
• how to motivate the people who did the work he couldn’t

Not with money or gun — with content. Words. Ideas. Vision.

“It’s not a faith in technology. It’s faith in people.”

—Steve Jobs

The result: Apple became king.

Steve Jobs didn’t create the iPhone. But without him, the iPhone wouldn’t have been created. Or the iPod, iPad, MacBook — all the products “you can glorify or vilify, but the only thing you can’t do is to ignore”.

The greatest achievement is not creating a masterpiece, but to repeat the success.

… over and over again.

In Jobs’ time, almost every Apple product became iconic — not just one. And not just the products, but the ads, the store, the story.

If all of your content is king, it’s inevitable that your brand will follow it.

It wasn’t luck, money, or a natural gift.

Steve Jobs had a thinking model.

“Actually, making an insanely great product has a lot to do with the process of making the product — how you learn things, adopt new ideas and throw out old ideas.”

—Steve Jobs

To change the world, you should be:

1. king
2. kingmaker

Have enough power to pull it off — or bring people over to your side.

The power game VS. the creator economy.

Which musical you’ll play is up to you.¹The latter, pls. But there’s one instrument you’ll need for both.

It’s called communication.

“I don’t design. I get what I think is a big idea, and I put the idea down. I’m not a designer. I’m a communicator.”

—George Lois

Formulation of the model, Phase 1 — Communication

Legends sing the names of those who articulate their ideas best.

The kingmakers.

If you want to become one:

1. First, get to know the instrument.
2. Then, learn to play it.
3. Finally, compose masterpieces.

In other words:

Learn the instruments to play the orchestra.

Let me show you!

Step 1 — the anatomy of kingmaking.

When I started, I asked the question all beginners ask:

“Where the fuck should I start?”

Today, everybody has a microphone. But where do they use it?

The world is now dominated by:

1. communication platforms
2. their computer algorithms
3. and man-made content

So the second step on the road (to my theory) was to learn them.

Step 2 — the anatomy of communication.

In order to become world-class in something, T-shaped skills are required.

… which means I needed to choose.

The top level was given — the most influential skill in the 21st century: communication.

The second level was easy — the oldest content format (which you are currently consuming): writing.

The third level was the hardest — which platform should I pick?

• the oldest one? (standing the test of time)
• the most popular one? (standing the test of emotions)
• the best long-term investment? (standing the test of numbers)

Fortunately, the winner for all three questions was the same:

Google.

All three levels were now in place.

So the next question was: how does Google, the most important algorithm(s) work?

Step 3 — the anatomy of algorithm(s).

Well, as it turned out, Google has hundreds of factors to consider who will rank where in SERP²Search Engine Results Page — what you see when you type a search into Google..

And the factors are weighted — they matter to different degrees.

If you want to be #1 in Google Searches, you need SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

SEO, like you’ve never thought of it before

Think of it like the British Cyclist team that — since 1908 — won only 1 gold medal in the Olympics… and had never won the Tour de France in 110 years.

They were so weak that one of the top bike manufacturers in Europe refused to sell bikes to them, to avoid damaging its reputation.

… until a new performance director — Dave Brailsford — appeared.

His theory “The 1% Factor” was really similar to how Google works:

“The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together. There’s fitness and conditioning, of course, but there are other things that might seem on the periphery, like sleeping in the right position, having the same pillow when you are away, or training in different places.”

More comfortable seats for easier cycling, rubbed alcohol on tires for better grip, different types of massage gels for faster recovery, electrically heated overshorts for ideal muscle temperature, lighter suits for more aerodynamic — and biofeedback sensors to track all of these results.

The results?

5 years later, they won 60% of the Olympic gold medals available in Beijing.

Another 4 years, they won the Tour de France.

Then… again.

The definition of kingmaking.

Hundreds of world championships, tens of Olympic gold medals, 5 Tour de France victories.

They created the most successful run in cycling history.

… by thinking it like an algorithm.

Everything around us is made up of different factors — including Google.

To learn them, I needed to dig.

… a lot.

I consumed everything, from RankBrain to Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird… the entire zoo.

• link building
• content optimization
• technical fundamentals

… and the great battle of white and black hat SEO.

The deeper I did go down this rabbit hole, the more interesting it gets — until, at one point, I finally got to where it all started.

The dawn of the internet.

Formulation of the model, Phase 2 — Information theory

Technology is no longer a barrier to communication — everybody has a microphone.

… but this was not always the case.

In World War II, a lot of things became scarce:

• food
• gasoline
• metal
• paper
• weapons

… and above all: information.

Half the world has become hostile territory — the flow of information was blocked.

It became the most valuable resource.

Transmission, processing, extraction, and utilization wasn’t effective enough.

There have been breakthroughs before, like:

• Harry Nyquist’s “Certain Factors Affecting Telegraph Speed” paper
• Ralph Hartley’s “Transmission of Information”
• Alan Turing similar ideas to breaking the German Enigma codes

… but the revolution was brought by Claude Shannon.

His work “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” gave birth to modern information theory.

Without going into the details… its impact was HUGE.

It helped:

• the Voyager missions to deep space
• the feasibility of mobile phones
• the invention of the internet

It is one of the most-cited research of all time.

“The mother of all models”.

See? I don’t have a father complex!

The first time I met it was when I was studying computer science. But (after it turned out I’m not so technical) I only discovered its real power later.

Formulation of the model, Phase 3 — Algorithms

It hit me like a thunderbolt.

Before, I was looking for technical things all the time. I was like the wannabe athlete who — instead of looking at what the biggest stars are doing — is only concerned with what equipment they are using.

“Yay, look at me — I have 43 fonts installed on my computer, and I bought Photoshop. I’m a creative designer!”

Almost.

But when I started studying psychology, I came across the Shannon-Weaver model in a completely different context.

That was the point when the elements clicked.

Google is not the most important algorithm(s). Nor Instagram. Or Facebook. Twitter. Youtube. TikTok.

Take a closer look at them:

• Instagram — rewards to my most important sense! (visuals)
• Facebook — what’s up with my tribe? (identity)
• Twitter — what’s the point? (simplicity)
• Youtube — what a narrative! (story)
• TikTok — hook me… fast! (attention)

Every algorithm is built around one (and only one) thing:

The human brain.

… the real #1 algorithm in the world.

If you think about it, there are people behind everything:

• Want to sell something to an enterprise? People will make the decision.
• Wish you were famous? Fame exists in people’s minds.
• Do you want to create something important? People will rate your work.
• Want to get rich? The money will come from people.
• Is your #1 goal happiness? You are a social animal.

… even the algorithms just mentioned are put together by people.

Humans.

The most important living organisms in the known world.³According to… a human.

This is where computer science and psychology come together.

Our brain has:

• memory
• work capacity
• information processing

It’s a computer!

But is it possible to use information theory on the world’s most powerful computer?

• to make it store much more data
• to speed things up
• to work much more efficiently

I thought — and I think today — that the answer is yes.

All we need is a communication model.

Formulation of the model, Final Phase — The human computer

I found all the ingredients. All I had to do was cook the food.

… and a recipe.

For this, I used Simon Sinek’s theory — the Golden Circle Model.

First, I had to figure out “why?” am I doing it — what was the main purpose?

1. The “Why?”

Once you know the model inside, everything will change outside.

Everything, including you.

Through this lens you will see the phantom world — why people do what they do.

But this is only the first step — the thinking part. To make the world a better place, this worldview needs to reach the right places — the spreading part.

Thinking & spreading, remember?

Inner world, outer word.

My job is to illustrate this world view (Phantom Patterns) in such a way that it reaches the creators — to become a lighthouse for them.

… but it’s not enough.

I need to reach not only the builders, but also the destroyers.

They are the ones, who are:

• fighting pointless wars
• selling their researches
• creating propaganda

I gave these three examples for a reason — they are fucking powerful.

The most impactful activities in the world!

It is no coincidence, that the three big forces behind them control the world: Power, Knowledge, and Influence.

• Power: Laws & regulations — e.g., politicians, businessmen, spiritual leaders⁴Everybody, who controls the crowd.
• Knowledge: Theories & practical tools — e.g., scientists, inventors, explorers⁵Everybody, who creates something out of nothing.
• Influence: Religious & ideological beliefs — e.g., artists, journalists, celebrities⁶Everybody, who moves the public opinion.

Strength, wisdom — and what connects the two.

The trinity.

Politics, science, and media.

Kings & kingmakers.

“Your success in life will be determined largely by your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas, in that order.”

—PATRICK WINSTON

The big three.

They determine:

• what to think (scientists)
• what to feel (artists)
• what to do (politicians)

Is social psychology familiar to you?

If yes, you know that these three areas are the central elements of the social field:

• thoughts
• feelings
• behavior

Whoever controls these three, controls man.

I’ll show you — let’s return to the Golden Circle for a moment.

So far we have talked about what is the point of the whole thing — the communication theory.

• “why” did I invent it?
• “how” did I invent it?
• “what” did I invent?

In this context, the Golden Circle refers to the “STICK” framework.

… but if we generalize it, then we find the three forces behind them:

• Influence — “why” do the world need a breakthrough?
• Science — “how” to reach the breakthrough?
• Power — “what” should we use the breakthrough for?

As Yuval Noah Harari said it in Sapiens:

1. science is neutral — it just invents
2. it is the power that decides what to do with the invention
3. and influence will be the one that makes others accept it

In the ancient times, the ruler (king) paid priests, philosophers, poets (kingmakers) to legitimise his power.
In the modern times, the ruler (king) pay scientists (kingmakers) to do the same.

That’s why in the past, theories were in the form of (narrative) stories — like the Bible or the Koran.
Modern theories are in the form of mathematics (or statistics) — like Copernicus’ De Revolutionibus or Newton’s Principia.

But which is more important?

The reality is that both numbers & words are needed — like building & selling.

“Facts tell, but stories sell.”

—Unknown

Science invents it, politics uses it, media makes it normal.

Think of the big three as:

• gravity (fact)
• the apple (story)
• Newton (king).

You need all three forces to change the world.

They only work together:

• Knowledge needs resources (from Power) to invent practical tools
• Power needs the acceptance of public (from Influence) to invest in science
• Influence requires practical tools (from Knowledge) to persuade the mass

This is very similar to the feedback loop of the Scientific Revolution proposed by Harari.

The three big forces rely on each other:

• Power → Science: resources
• Science → Influence: practical tools
• Influence → Power: ideological justification

The best example is the most famous presidential election campaign in history.

1. Knowledge: Stanford University (Knowledge) get a lot of resources from the U.S. government (Power) every year. That’s why researchers — like Michal Kosinski — can invent new things, such as the computer model that can predict your thoughts, feelings and behavior… based on social media likes. It uses the OCEAN psychological test, so it can categorize you in the 5 big personality type (these 5 make up the word “OCEAN”). After 120 likes, it knows you better than your own mother.

“A tesztek a pszichológia legpiacképesebb termékei.”
Ilyet találtam: “”Psychological tests are among the most valuable tools that psychology has to offer society.” De ez nem

—???

2. Influence: The model has been seen as an opportunity by many, including Cambridge Analytica, a now infamous political consulting firm (Influence). They bought the online data of every american voter they could find, and then run the data on the model, so it could predict your thoughts, feelings and behavior based on your social media actions and the the 5-Factor Model of Personality (OCEAN) psychology test. They could communicate exactly what the voters wanted. How? It’s very simple: for example (leaving politics behind for a moment) if someone were trying to sell life insurance for you and the model said you were neurotic, (the “N” letter in the word “OCEAN”), they would put ads in front of you that would reassure you, because a neurotic thinks that bad things can happen to him/her at any time: the ad would show a beautiful family house, green grass, blue sky — the life insurance takes care of your family. If they didn’t put that kind of advertising in front of you, you’d freak out and ignore it. But if the model said you are not neurotic, they would put ads in front of you that would freak you out, because a non-neurotic thinks that nothing bad can happen to him: the ad would show accidents, blood, death. If they didn’t put that kind of advertising in front of you, you’d chill and ignore it. Cambridge Analyica did the same thing, but with the presidential election.

“Fegyverré lettek minősítve”

—The great hack????

3. Power: They used this model in the United States. And in the United Kingdom. And in Mexico. Malta. Kenya. India. Australia… and God knows where else. The results? They won a lot of elections, UK left the EU, and Trump (Power) became the 45th president of the United States — the most powerful man in the world.

This is how kingmaking works — in a nutshell.

… and that’s how the trinity support each other.

The trinity

Gravity is a powerful force of nature.

… but mankind can break free from it.

Unlike:

1. Power
2. Knowledge
3. Influence

#1 — Power

When you hear “politics”, your stomach turns.

It’s all about:

• finger-pointing
• shit-throwing
• throat-biting

… and worse, the words “business” and “religion” are starting to have the same effect.

Politics affects them.

That’s why talented, capable, well-meaning people nowadays say: “No, thanks”.

Politics remain those who come to power not to fix things, build the future, make the world a better place — but for power itself. Despite the fact that the former supposed to be their job, that’s why we elect them.

… and here’s the keyword: we ELECT them.

Because, in a good system, people have power.

And it’s not about democracy VS. dictatorship — it’s about people VS. system.

A well-designed, properly laid-out, functioning system is ALWAYS above man. No man is more than the system. The system is more than the sum of its parts (people).

… but in a good system, people have power.

People, not a single human.

When one man controls, (s)he make mistakes, because:

• human has fallacies
• the cognitive capacity of Homo Sapiens is limited
• instincts play a role in every decisions

Caving for power. Love. Fear of death. These emotions, fallacies, instincts all make us irrational — but a system is immune to them.

Even if a dictator makes flawless decisions… (s)he will eventually die. And those who follow him/her will certainly not be the same.

… but if a system is good, then the people can become free, happy — and the system is immortal.

A good system makes a country strong. And a strong country can start building a better world.

Yes, power is dangerous.

In the worst case, it can start a war.
But in the best case, it can stop it.

That’s why the United States won the World War II — it had a well-functioning system, while the Nazi’s had a man.

How has the U.S. used Power?

Businessmen did a superhuman job of adapting their factories to the war production: from cars, appliances, childrens’ toys — to bombers, tanks and warships. American factories produced more airplanes than all of the other major war powers… combined.

Politicians were elected, not given. They led because of their skills, not their ideology. And when the President died halfway through the war, the system replaced him — the gears kept turning.

Yes, the U.S. won (in only 3 years) because they used the first big force — Power — well. And yes, there were many other reasons why they won the war. But one stands out (next to Power).

Hitler was waiting for his superweapons — B2, V1, V2, etc.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has developed the atomic bomb.

… with the help of the scientists.

The scientists, who Hitler chased out of Germany.

Science is fucking important.

#2 — Science

We live in the age of science.

It can:

• end poverty
• eliminate hunger
• reverse aging
• cure all diseases
• avoid natural disasters

… and stop war.

It can make us free, happy, and immortal.

There are only two (so far discovered) ways to become immortal:

Be a king — or be a kingmaker.

But science can bring the third one: real immortality.

It’s the perfect example of narrative stories & mathematical theories.

Death is the biggest question of life.

That’s why the big three thinks of it differently:

• Ruler — persuades people to reconcile themselves to death and to hope for the heaven. Afterlife.
• Artist — although people die, their name may live on in the collective consciousness if they become a king or kingmaker. Legacy.
• Scientist — reverse aging, overcome death. Eternity.

The first two are the immortality of the mind, the third is the body’s.

Don’t you want to live forever? Okay. It’s scary and unnatural.

Let’s see another example: how nice would it be if you could never lose a loved one because of any illness?

• No cancer
• No heart problems
• No diabetes
• No depression
• No more pain

… and with these two steps (Power and Science) we can eradicate the most dangerous things in our lives: war and disease.

Science is magic.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

—ARTHUR C. CLARKE

… a fucking expensive magic.

That’s why scientists, inventors, explorers need resources.

Test tubes are expensive, space travels are a fortune.

Just as power needs inventions from science, science needs resources from power.

The Space Race between the the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US) — in the Cold War — was a really exciting, progressive time in history. It resulted a lot of human achievements in technology, space exploration, and science.

Why were the two biggest powers in the world so supportive to space science? To gain knowledge? Please. Why was space exploration one of the most important scientific fields of the Cold War? Because we were curious about how the world was created? Hell no.

Because both America and the Soviet Union thought it could:

• destroy each other with space weapons
• mining valuable resources from other planets
• to prove their technological and intellectual superiority

If there had been two scientists, one of whom had invented a device to plant crops on the Moon — and the other who had invented a way to put weapons on the Moon, which do you think would have gotten funding? No question.

That’s why they supported science:

• Power needs Science — to get the weapons
• Science needs Power — to get the resources for building the weapons

The problem is that power cannot just give money to anyone, because it has to remain popular with the people. You can give money only for what people want — they have to support it. And this applies not only to one type of government, but to all systems that exist. Although “people” means different things in any system, they are in every system:

• In democracy, the people who decide are the voters
• In dictatorship, the people who decide are the few key supporters

If your people are not satisfied, they will not follow you. If they don’t follow you, you no longer rule.

You have to persuade your people.

This is where the third segment comes into play — the Influence.

#3 — Influence

The media (artists, journalist, celebrities, etc.⁷musicians, star athletes, movie directors, architects, authors, sculptors, content creators, painters, showrunners, etc.) influence the way people:

• think
• feel
• behave

It determines what the authorities can give money for, like what science they can support — it can only support what is supported by the public opinion.

Most people wants more food, not weapons. But the rulers (Power) think differently. If they could end hunger, but lose power in return, very few rulers would agree.

So people and rulers disagree. And because the rulers don’t want to change, the people have to.

This is where the third force (Influence) comes in.

The influencer must get people to accept why weapons are more important than their own hunger. So they turn to Maslow’s pyramid — security vs. hunger.

… and the battle between the two camps begins.

Media is fucking powerful — it can help or hinders science. Or start, stop, and avoid wars.

Think of Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan, where the underdogs, the Davids beat Goliat — by neutralising the world’s biggest superpower with the big three forces:

1. Influence (they won the global public, and therefore the help of external powers)
2. Power (they won the help of external powers, and therefore the military knowledge)
3. Knowledge (they won the military knowledge, and therefore they knew the technological advantage is worthless if Tomahawks can’t see shit in the jungle).

But why do I talk so much about America?

Because it was the beginning of one of our most important human accomplishment — leaving the Dark Ages.

The Scientific Revolution.

Our protagonists who will present it are very similar:

• You know them both
• Both of their names start with “Co”
• Both have discovered the greatest thing in their age — one on Earth, and one beyond Earth

… with completely different consequences.

One was not believed — the other did not believe it himself.

Here are the two historical event that:

• show the power of trinity
• give an insight into the world of immortals
• started the Scientific Revolution.

1PRE-Scientific Revolution & when the trinity works together

Once upon a time, there was a captain.

No, not Amerigo Vespucci.

It was Christopher Columbus.

He did what sailors do.

… but he had not one, but three big ships!

Thanks to them, he discovered America — the foundation of the Scientific Revolution.

He himself was living in the Dark Ages (for example, he thought he had come to India, he never admitted he hadn’t in his life), but he is the one who is credited with the beginning of the New Age.

Sounds simple, right?

Well, no.

For example, he wasn’t born with:

• three ships
• sailor’s knowledge
• or a name everyone knows

That’s why he had to use the third great force — Influence — to persuade the second great force — Power — to accomplish the first great force — Science —.

To accomplish the (literally) biggest discovery on the planet.

At that time (around 1480), Asia was the centre of trade. To get Europe access to the many spices, silk and gold from the East, the Silk Road was no longer viable — a new route was needed.

This was the pitch Columbus used to try to convince the King of Portugal to support his expedition to find a new route west.

To make this happen, Columbus needed several things:

• Ships
• Crew
• Supplies

Not a cheap shopping list — even for a king.

No wonder the Portuguese king’s answer was a quick, loud, clear “no”.

Just like the investors of the other great powers — Britain, France, Italy. And Portugal, again. Yeah, Columbus was persistent.

The breakthrough came when he tried with the new Spanish rulers, Ferdinand and Isabella.

Learning from his previous mistakes, he did not leave it to chance. He has assembled a whole council of lobbyists to take it — Influence — to the next level.

The result was that Ferdinand and Isabella — Power — gave in.

And the rest — Knowledge — is history.

• Columbus discovered America
• Spain conquered the new continent
• Atlantic’s both side has changed forever

… and the most important items flowed into the country: tobacco, sugar, and gold.

No wonder that by the 16th century Spain had become the ruler of Europe.

That’s how it looks like when the three powers — Power, Knowledge, Influence — work together.

1. Power: Without the support of Ferdinand and Isabella, Columbus could not have set out to discover
2. Science: without Columbus’s discovery, Spain would not have become the ruler of the world
3. Influence: without the persuasion of Columbus — and the lobbyists — the rulers would not have seen the opportunity

The lack of any of these elements would have prevented the discovery of America.

But none was missing.

… and that finally brought us the Scientific Revolution!

2Scientific Revolution & when the trinity NOT works together

Well, America was the planet’s biggest discovery.

But what was the biggest outside the planet?

“Humanity has in the course of time had to endure from the hands of science two great outrages upon its naive self-love. The first was when it realized that our earth was not the center of the universe (Copernicus), and the second was when biological research robbed man of his peculiar privilege of having been specially created, and relegated him to a descent from the animal world (Darwin). But man’s craving for grandiosity is now suffering the third and most bitter blow from present-day psychological research which is endeavoring to prove to the ego of each one of us that he is not even master in his own house.

—Sigmund Freud

The 3 great traumas of humanity:

• the 3rd (Freud’s ego) is the backbone of the episode two parts later (Target)
• the 2nd (Darwin’s evolution) is the center of our next part (Source)
• the 1st (Copernicus’ heliocentrism) comes now (Foundation)

Part I. of III. — Knowledge.

Heliocentrism — the knowledge that we are not the fucking centre of the universe.

When Copernicus said it, the idea was taken up. When the ancient Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos said it almost 2000 years earlier, nobody gave a shit.

Why?

Because the 3 big stars — Power, Knowledge, Influence — couldn’t align. The time has not yet come, science couldn’t prove it.

However, Copernicus’ journey was no walk in the park, either.

But he was able to put the other two forces next to the knowledge.

It’s a very similar story to Columbus’ — the breakthrough came when the 3 forces aligned.

But there is an important difference.

The first story was about thinking. This one is about spreading.

1. Thinking: to acquire Knowledge (to discover America), Power was needed (support of the king and queen), which was acquired through Influence (persuasion of lobbyists and Columbus).
2. Spreading: to make the Knowledge known (heliocentrism), Power was needed (religion), which was acquired through Influence (persuasion of Copernicus and Galilei).

Thinking & spreading.

So in this story, the first force — Knowledge — was given.

It is not the Sun that goes around the Earth, but the Earth that goes around the Sun.

So far Aristarchus of Samos has also made it.

The difference was in the next two steps.

Part II. of III. — Influence

The knowledge (heliocentrism) was true.

The problem was that, in the 1500s, the Catholic Church was the biggest power — in terms of ideas.

To get his idea past censorship, prohibition or even the Inquisition, Copernicus had to do a few things:

• First, he has developed a good relationship with the Church — he became a Catholic canon
• Second — and it was no more a lucky coincidence like the first — he had dedicated the book to Pope Paul III. But the biggest step was the last trick he used!
• Third, the published form contained an unsigned preface by Osiander, who defended the system and argued that the model was useful for computation — even if it’s not necessarily true.

This preface took the edge of the claim, so everybody could go on living in happy ignorance. But it was better, than fool’s paradise — at least people already knew about it, they just ignored.

This was Copernicus’ great trick, which Aristarchus of Samos could not achieve:

He made the model known.

He got the model into the public consciousness — even if it wasn’t considered true.

That was half the job, the internal Influence.

The other half was about to get others to believe it. For this, Copernicus was not enough — external Influence was needed.

Even though he was on good terms with the Church, signed the book to the Pope, or wrote “not true” at the beginning — Copernicus still feared the wrath of the Catholic Church.

His idea was, after all, only the greatest trauma humanity had ever suffered.

To avoid people’s anger, he did not publish his work until 1543 — the year of his death. Although, he had already begun writing it in 1506 and finished it by 1530.

Why?

Because the big 3 wasn’t aligned — Power and Influence were missing. It was only Knowledge, alone.

• Knowledge: Heliocentrism
• Influence: Make others believe it
• Power: Make rulers accept it

Although nothing bad happened to the model for 60 years (thanks to Copernicus’ clever tricks — the internal influence) everything went wrong when the external influence entered the picture.

The influencer who was called: Galileo Galilei.

Copernicus made the model known, but the idea that the earth moved around the sun was doubted by most of Copernicus’ contemporaries. To be considered true, influence was needed — and discoveries of Galileo Galilei gave the theory credibility.

In the following century, Galileo Galilei presented supporting observations made using a telescope.

And it has paid off — in both positive and negative ways.

Science backed him up and believed what he said.

But to be widely accepted, the third power were needed: Power.

Part III. of III. — Power

If Galileo Galilei hadn’t presented the results of his research as reality, but merely as an astronomical hypothesis — like Copernicus did —, he wouldn’t have been prosecuted.

But he had balls.

He knew that if he did not prove it, people would never accept the heliocentric worldview — so he did.

He was immediately accused of heresy, which had two major consequences:

1. The helicentric worldview has become an enemy

From now on, the heliocentric worldview could only be taught as a theoretical possibility, a mathematical model — it could not be defended, disseminated or advocated.

Galileo, a devout Catholic, obeyed for seven years.

… and then, suddenly, the thread broke and he went more further: he began to defend the model.

The Catholic Church warned Galileo that he could not “hold or defend” the Copernican doctrine. In March 1616, after the Inquisition’s injunction against him, the Pope banned all books and letters advocating the Copernican system, which they called “the false Pythagorean doctrine, altogether contrary to Holy Scripture.”

The corrections to De revolutionibus, which omitted or altered nine sentences, were issued four years later, in 1620.

2) Galilei has become an enemy

In 1632, Galileo Galilei was summoned to court — and one of the most famous trials in history began. It was here that the Italian physicist famously uttered the phrase: “Eppur si muove!”⁸“And yet it moves!”

In 1633, Galilei was convicted of grave suspicion of heresy for “following the position of Copernicus, which is contrary to the true sense and authority of Holy Scripture”, and was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life — for more than a decade.

But he was right, by this time the world was already in motion — there was no turning back.

• the Catholic Church’s 1758 Index of Prohibited Books omitted the general prohibition of works defending heliocentrism — but retained.
• the specific prohibitions of the original uncensored versions of De revolutionibus and Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems were finally dropped from the 1835 Index
• Pope John Paul II rehabilitated Galileo 350 years later, on 31 October 1992

That’s how the three forces — Knowledge, Influence, Power — finally came together, and that’s why everyone now believes that we are not the centre of the world.

The first great trauma of humanity.

… which finally started the Scientific Revolution.

One of the most fruitful periods of humanity started with the Copernican Revolution (initiated in 1543) and to be complete in the “grand synthesis” of Isaac Newton’s 1687 Principia.

The Scientific Revolution was where our world started to evolve. Before that, not much progress was made — centuries passed with little change. New people, kings and empires, but the same old story.

In this period, humanity discovered:

• gravity & motion
• telescope & planetary motion
• microscrope & microorganisms
• electroscope & magnetic poles
• mechanical calculator & logarithms
• steam digester & vacuum pump
• light refraction & speed of light
• lymphatic system & red blood cells
• barometer & thermometer
• probability & statistics
• maturation of chemistry as a discipline

They were created by people like:

• Nicolaus Copernicus
• Galileo Galilei
• Johannes Kepler
• René Descartes
• Robert Boyle
• William Gilbert
• Andreas Vesalius
• Blaise Pascal
• Francis Bacon
• Sir Isaac Newton

But none of this could have happened without the cooperation of the three big forces — we wouldn’t even know most of their names.

… because Knowledge alone is not enough.

If that’s all you’ve got, you’re in for Copernicus’ misery.

But if you can win all three forces, you can invent, research, explore the biggest discovery in the world — like Columbus.

And this finally brings us to the “Why?“.

My mission is:

To help the powerfuls, the knowledgeables, the influentials (kings & kingmakers) sell their ideas — to change the world.

… but how?

2. The “How?”

Okay, so we know the why.

Power, Science, Influence — the trinity.

Progress.

To push humanity forward.

… but how can I help?

Rapid accumulation of knowledge, which has characterized the development of science since the 17th century, had never occurred before that time.

Much of the change of attitude came from Francis Bacon: his insights inspired the creation of scientific societies such as the Royal Society, and Galileo who championed Copernicus and developed the science of motion.

Francis Bacon was a major figure in the scientific revolution — “the father of empiricism”. In 1620, he published his groundbreaking scientific work: Novum Organum.

In it he states that “knowledge is power”.

Why is it important?

Yuval Noah Harari (in his equally groundbreaking work Sapiens) puts it this way:

“Knowledge is power. The real test of ‘knowledge’ is not whether it is true, but whether it empowers us. Scientists usually assume that no theory is 100% correct. Consequently, truth is a poor test for knowledge. The real test is utility. A theory that enables us to do new things constitutes knowledge.”

—Yuval Noah Harari

The Heath brothers reached a similar conclusion:

“We’ve deliberately left out lots of great thinking on the topic in the interests of creating a framework that’s simple enough to be practical.”

—Chip & Dan Heath

According to them, there is a lot of TBU in the world — True But Useless.

… and there is what they call: simple enough to be practical.

“It’s not good enough to be right. You also have to be effective.”

—Neil deGrasse Tyson

So we need practicality over accuracy.

“All models are wrong, but some are useful.”

—George E. P. Box

The question is… how?

The answer came from my SEO career, where I noticed an interesting pattern.

There are a lot of Google factors. And most marketers try to use most of them, with medium results. But if you focus only on the most important 20% — you’ll get higher returns.

… or the 20% of the 20% (it’s 4%).

… or the 20% of the 20% of the 20… You get the idea.

Yes, it’s the Pareto principle.

Just pick the most important factors, and use them… better than anyone else in the world.

“I don’t fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks. I fear the man who practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

—Bruce Lee

The same applies to the human brain — and its algorithms.

Just think about it… if Google uses hundreds of factors, how many can our brains use? We need to choose the top 0.001%.

But how much is 0.001% exactly?

During my studies in psychology, among all the irrelevant information, sometimes a gold nugget popped up.

George A. Miller, a cognitive psychologist from Harvard University’s Department of Psychology published a really important article in Psychological Review in 1956:

The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information.

It says that the number of objects an average person can hold in working memory is about seven (plus or minus 2).

No wonder it’s the world’s favorite number.

… and speaking of wonders:

• Seven wonders of the ancient world
• The Seven Sages of Greece
• Seven hills of Rome

Or religion:

• Seven deadly sins
• Seven steps taken by the Buddha at birth
• Seven circumambulations around the Kaaba in Mecca

Or spirituality, like the seven chakras. Proverbs, like the seven years in marriage. Even the modern world, like Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs.

The magical number of 7 — Miller’s law.

It’s everywhere, because it is encoded in our brain.

That’s why I built the model around it.

There are only 5 big parts, and every part includes only 7 (plus/minus 2) principles.

The most important 0.001% of the human algorithm — Pareto of our brain.

… and its tiny phantom patterns that affect our everyday content choices.

Simple enough to be useful.

That’s the way how I can help!

Creating the most useful & actionable invention, to help the powerfuls, the knowledgeables, the influentials (kings & kingmakers) sell their ideas — to change the world.

Third and lastly, I had to figure out “what?” to build.

3. The “What?”

So we have a thinking model now.

But this is only the first step — the thinking. To make the world a better place, this worldview needs to reach the right people — the spreading.

How can this world view can be delivered to them? Or to put it another way: how can you invent something that is equally important to all three forces?

By what interests and affects all three of them and is therefore important to them:

Communication.

Communication is the only skill researchers need outside their own field. And politicians. Business people. Artists. Athletes. Creators. Destroyers.

Thinking & spreading — do you remember? Inner world, outer world.

1. Your leadership must be followed by others, because without followers, you no longer rule
2. Your research must be understood, otherwise it will not stick
3. You have to get it to the right places, otherwise it will never spread

A really good example is the story of Newton — probably the greatest scientist ever.

When three great scientists made a bet on why the planets move in an ellipse, one of them (Halley, after whom they named a comet) visited the mathematics professor at Cambridge University, Sir Isaac Newton, to ask him for help in settling the debate.

Abraham de Moivre (a good friend of Newton and Halley) records the events thus:

“In 1684 Dr. Halley came to visit at Cambridge [and] after they had some time together the Dr. asked him what he thought the curve would be that would be described by the Planets supposing the force of attraction towards the Sun to be reciprocal to the square of their distance from it. Sir Isaac replied immediately that it would be an [ellipse]. The Doctor, struck with joy & amazement, asked him how he knew it. ‘Why,’ said he, ‘I have calculated it,’ whereupon Dr. Halley asked him for his calculation without further delay, Sir Isaac looked among his papers but could not find it.”

Halley wanted to ask Newton what the fuck was wrong with him, but instead he became the influencer of the story:

Influence: He made him promise to start his calculations again and this time, write them fucking down. Newton agreed, retired for 2 years, and the result was the most important scientific book of all time: the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. However, Newton only published the first two parts of the work, not the most important third (without which the others would have been meaningless), because at the time he was involved in a dispute with another scientist over who had discovered the inverse square law — and Newton refused to publish the crucial third volume. Halley knew both scientists well, as he had a bet with one of them (Hooke) and asked the other for help (Newton), so he was constantly on the problem and the dispute, trying to influence them. In other words, he was the Influence trying to get in the way of Knowledge. Eventually he succeeded, resulting in the book that set the crown for the Scientific Revolution. But it was not only Influence who played a part in the story.
Power: The book was originally going to be published by the Royal Society, but financial problems prevented this. They had published a similar science book the previous year, which cost them a lot, and seeing the book’s failure, they didn’t think a mathematics book could generate better sales. Once again, Halley solved the problem, but this time as Power: although he was not rich, he paid for the book publishing out of his own pocket — in other words, he was Power, providing the resource for Knowledge. All this is legendary in the knowledge that Halley was the secretary of the Royal Society, who couldn’t pay his salary.But the book was published, and it (whose manuscript the scientists originally lost) made Newton instantly famous. It says it all that he was the first person in Britain to be knighted for his scientific achievements.

If there’s no Power and Influence, there wouldn’t have been Knowledge.

Or remember what happened to:

• the QWERTY vs. the much better “Dvorak” keyboard?
• the Esperanto vs. the English language?
• the Weimar vs. Nazi Germany?

If we don’t help good ideas spread, bad ideas will.

It all has to do with the three big forces:

• Influence: Convincing people that they need progress
• Power: Provides resources for progress
• Knowledge: Brings progress

These three made it possible for Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Magellan, Cortés, Pizarro, Sir Francis Drake, Vasco da Gama, Marco Polo, James Cook, Neil Armstrong and other unknown people were able to go on expeditions. But there were two men among them who deserve special mention.

Once upon a time, there was a captain.

I’m just kidding. No more sailor — I don’t have a father captain complex.

Suffice to say that two young men travelled the world at about the same time. One was called Alfred Russel Wallace, the other was Charles Darwin.

Later, Darwin had an insight, which — unlike Newton — he put on paper.

But Darwin put his notes aside for years, just as Copernicus did. And the scary thing is: it happened for the same reasons — he feared the wrath of the crowd.

Evolution theory was completed around 1842, but was closed until 1858.

Darwin only brought his notes up again when he received a note from a notable Alfred Russell Wallace, in which he presents his own theory.

“I never saw a more striking coincidence. If Wallace had my manuscript sketch written out in 1842 he could not have made a better short abstract! Even his terms now stand as heads of my chapters.”

—CHARLES DARWIN

The theories were eventually presented together, but Wallace made some mistakes:

• was not present in person at the presentation — he didn’t even know about it
• has increasingly turned to spirituality and extraterrestrials rather than science
• And he himself called the theory Darwinism

And so it is that Darwin’s name is known to even the most religiously observant people, while Wallace’s name means nothing to most people.

Icons. Genius. Superhumans.

They all have a big idea — and spend their whole life perfecting it.

But it’s not enough!

Legends always sing the names of those who articulate their ideas best.

Ideas need to be communicated. It’s not enough to put them away in a drawer (Darwin) or calculate but lose the transcript (Newton). To change the world (and become immortal in the process) you need to communicate your ideas.

That’s why we call them Newtonianism or Darwinism.

Or think about Charles Lyell, who introduced the Darwinian theory to the scientific world.

James Hutton was the “original” father of geology, but unfortunately, he was a really bad communicator.

Their ideas were great — but nobody knew what he was talking about. As one of his biographer said: “he was almost entirely innocent of rhetorical accomplishments.”

Hutton was much more the father of the notion than Lyell, but it was Lyell most people read, and so he became in most people’s minds, then and now, the father of modern geological thought.

Or there’s Newlands and Mendeleev.

John Newlands, an amateur chemist, suggested that when elements are arranged by mass, certain properties repeat in octaves — every eighth element has similar properties, just like some musical sounds.

It was called the Law of Octaves.

After introducing it to the world, many things happened:

• the theory was considered flawed
• was constantly mocked in academic circles
• his own brand and reputation completely destroyed

He was always asked by someone to tell his lil’ elements to play some music.

The end result was that Newlands completely gave up science.

The exact opposite happened with Mendeleev.

Dmitri Mendeleev, a professional chemist, suggested that when elements are arranged by mass, certain properties repeat in heptatonics — every seventh element has similar properties, just like some musical sounds.

The underlying principle was the same.

… but there was one very important difference:

Communication.

Mendeleev never mentioned heptatonics, sounds or music in general.

It was called Periodic Law.

The end results?

• the theory was considered flawless
• the scientific community praised him to the skies
• Chemistry has got solid foundations

… but it’s not just a great theory.

The periodic system is one of the greatest communications invention ever.

“Without a doubt, the Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements is the most elegant organizational chart ever devised”

—ROBERT E. KREBS

Alarming tales about the importance of communication — even in scientific circles:

• Darwin vs. Wallace
• Hutton vs. Lyell
• Newlands vs. Mendeleev

They prove that one thing — Knowledge — is not enough. You need all three. You need all three. Or the skill that is essential for all three:

Communication.

Programmer. Designer. Writer. Composer. Investor. Inventor. Completely separate areas.

… but they have one thing in common.

They have to articulate their thoughts.

Whatever you do, you can’t get away with it.

You have to sell your ideas!

Communication. That’s the name of the game.

So I found the what.

Creating the most useful & actionable communication model in the world, to help the powerfuls, the knowledgeables, the influentials (kings & kingmakers) sell their ideas — to change the world.

The communication model of Kingmakers.

To build it, I had to find the “simple enough to be useful” components.

So I needed to dig… again.

• all the great books that have been written on the subject
• all the masterpieces that were articulated perfectly
• all the communication models in the world

You must have wondered why the fuck I was talking so much about Aristotle, the Heath brothers or Claude Shannon — instead of just presenting the communication model?

Well, the threads are coming together now.

We summon Aristotle again.

I have talked about him so much… for a reason.

His communication model was the first.

… and the simplest!

… but Claude Shannon’s information theory is very similar.

It’s not that simple, but really useful!

These two were the foundations of my communication model.

Simplicity + Usefulness = Phantom Patterns.

Boom, the “invention” was born.

---

If you don’t have kids yet, I should tell you something:

Every baby needs a name.

You’re welcome.

In the startup world, there’s a model called: The “Pirate” Framework.

It’s pirate because of its acronym: AARRR.

• Acquisition — How do users find you?
• Activation — How to deliver the first experience?
• Retention — Do users come back?
• Revenue — How do you make money?
• Referrals — Do users tell others?

The customer lifecycle, simplified.

Yes, it’s really simple. It’s very useful.

… and it’s fucking memorable.

Like the FBI and CIA. Or the USA, USSR or EU. NASA. OMG. LOL, this could go on forever. WTF.

By now you know that the Heath brothers have had a huge impact on me. Their book “Made to Stick” was my gateway drug.

… and even they use an acronym for their principles, so I named the communication model after them. In their honor.

Ladies and gentlemen!

Please allow me to introduce:

The “STICK” framework.

The most useful & actionable communication model in the world, to help the powerfuls, the knowledgeables, the influentials (kings & kingmakers) sell their ideas — to change the world.

Or… at least I hope so.

The “STICK” framework

Here is Aristotle’s Model of Communication:

There are 5 parts, which is most often illustrated through the example of his student: Alexander the Great.

• Speaker — Alexander the Great
• Speech — About his invasion
• Occasion — War field
• Audience — Soldiers
• Effect — To defeat Persia

Here’s the same… in a different light:

• The source of the information: Who says it?
• The information: What he says?
• The context of the information: Where (and how) he says it?
• The target of the information: To whom he says it?
• The goal of the information: What is the purpose?

Now let’s take a look at the Shannon-Weaver Model.

Here we have a lot more parts:

• Sender
• Message
• Transmission
• Noise
• Channel
• Reception
• Receiver
• Feedback

And now comes the magic.

If you look closely, there are some elements that appear in both communication models.

And they are included in almost all other communication models.

… and in every single communication (both physical or digital).

These make up the 5 main parts of the “STICK”.

The letter “S” in the “STICK” framework

First, we need somebody who sends the message.

In the Shannon-Weaver model, it’s called “Sender”.

In Aristotle’s model, it’s called “Speaker” — Alexander the Great.

It has the same function in both models:

To articulate the idea.

• author
• speaker
• communicator

The source of the idea.

We’ll just call it “Source” — the “S” in the “STICK”.

The letter “T” in the “STICK” framework

We need somebody who gets the message.

In the Shannon-Weaver model, it’s called “Receiver”.

In Aristotle’s model, it’s called “Audience” — the soldiers.

It has the same function in both models:

To get the message.

• recipient
• listener
• destination

The target of the idea.

We’ll just call it “Target” — the “T” in the “STICK”.

Now, we have the main actors in the model, the human parts.

Now comes the “not-alive” things.

The letter “I” in the “STICK” framework

We need information — from the source to the target.

In the Shannon-Weaver model, it’s called “Message”.

In Aristotle’s model, it’s called “Speech” — like the announcement about his invasion.

It has the same function in both models:

The pass on the information.

• thought
• knowledge
• content

The idea itself.

We’ll just call it “Idea” — the “I” in the “STICK”.

The letter “C” in the “STICK” framework

We need context — where (and how) the information travels.

In the Shannon-Weaver model, it’s called “Channel”.

In Aristotle’s model, it’s called “Occasion” — the war field.

It’s everything that surrounds the information — a method or system for communication or distribution, with one goal:

To help information reach its destination.

• medium
• vehicle
• forum

The context.

We’ll just call it “Context” — the “C” in the “STICK”.

The letter “K” in the “STICK” framework

Unfortunately, we have barriers — that prevent information from traveling.

It’s a bit different in the two models.

In the Shannon-Weaver model, it’s called “Noise”.

In Aristotle’s model, it’s called “Effect” — to defeat Persia.

I’ve just simply mixed them together.

The barrier (noise) that stands between me and my goal (effect).

It’s everything that sabotages the information.

• obstacle
• anti-context
• enemy

The idea killer.

We’ll just call it “Killer” — the “K” in the “STICK”.

These are the heroes of our model.

The Big Five.

… plus the kingmaker, who’s running the show.

Now let’s look at them in a more “receptible” way.

Through the lens of the world’s most famous story.

The Trojan horse

We all know how it ends.

But what nobody talks about… how could the Trojans have been so stupid did the communication model work in the background that convinced the Trojans to let the horses in?

The source was Sinon.

The Greeks pretended to desert the war.

They sailed to the nearby island of Tenedos, leaving behind only Sinon. His task was to persuade the Trojans to let the horse enter the city — or, in different words: convincing the enemy in the middle of a war, whose blood you spilled a few days ago? Easy-peasy, right?

Not exactly.

Sinon used everything…

• he wasn’t talking until his ears and nose were cut
• he lied that Odysseus wanted to sacrifice him, but he escaped
• he made them believe he was a deserter

Sinon first built his credibility as a source.

Now they not just listened, but believed.⁹Is it familiar? Yeah, the Copernicus story.

They — the trojans — were the target.

Trojans weren’t stupid.

The siege of Troy was a decade-long battle — the gates were impregnable.

It was built on a steep hill, surrounded by massive stone walls and huge towers.

But its strongest building material were myths:

• monsters roamed the earth
• gods interacted directly with humans
• and at the top of the hill stood not King Priam’s palace, but the Temple of Athena

The myths made the city — and its citizens — so powerful.

… and it was their greatest weakness, too.

Troy’s achilles heel.

The kingmaker knew this perfectly well, so he exploited it with an idea.

The idea was the Trojan Horse.

A decade-long battle, no results.

… then 4 days, and one idea changed everything.

The Trojan horse was the triumph of creativity over force.

From the outside, it was a gift. On the inside, soldiers were waiting to open the gate at night, and end the war.

The idea was both brilliant and tragic.

But this could never have happened without the right environment.

The context was the pre-designed scenery created by Odysseus.

1. all the stories what Sinon told
2. the belief system of the trojans
3. and the setting of the idea

1. Sinon told them that the wooden horse was made too big on purpose — if the Trojans would move it into their city, Troy would be invincible to later invasion.

2. The trojans felt bad for Sinon — but the real reason they brought the horse into town was fearing wrath from the gods for not accepting the peace offering.

3. And the setting of the idea was perfect — after 10 years of siege, the Greeks just disappeared overnight… This alone would be enough to believe the story.

It was so well-designed, that it even disarmed the idea killers.

The killers, who were Cassandra and Laocoön.

Between the two of them, Cassandra was the cold-headed one. She was the daughter of King Priam (king of Troy), sister of Hector. She was admired by the god Apollo — but she refused the god, so she became the cursed who will never be believed. That’s why they didn’t believe her when she warned of the danger.

Laocoön was the warm-headed, so he tried something else… he attacked the horse with a spear! Soon after that, two serpents came out of the water and strangled him and his sons.

The Trojans saw this as a punishment from gods, so they don’t believe him either.

… and the rest is history.

The story of the Trojan horse — and its 5 main characters:

• Source — Sinon
• Target — Troy
• Idea — Wooden horse
• Context — Everything that surrounds the idea
• Killers — Everything that tries to kill the idea

The “STICK” framework.

… and the kingmaker, who made it all happen.

Odysseus.

The legendary intellectual brilliant who chose the source (Sinon), to deliver to the target (Troy) the idea (wooden horse) that the kingmaker invented, in the surrounding of the perfectly-designed context (environment) that he arranged that can disarm killers (Cassandra and Laocoön).

The “STICK” framework — and the kingmaker.

Now, we can see that Copernicus’ problem was a classic communication problem:

• Source: Copernicus
• Target: Mass
• Idea: Helicentrism
• Context: Scientific field and the Dark Ages
• Killers: The pope and the Catholic Church

Finally, let’s look at the communication model in a very simple, summary form.

Through the lens of the viruses.

The “STICK” framework as a virus

The spread of the information is very similar to how the virus spreads from one person to another.

Viruses can’t capture or store energy themselves, they need a host to survive.

It’s a body for viruses, or a mind for ideas.

In the virus model, the source is the host — who spread the virus.

Viruses infect the susceptibles.

It’s how they replicate and spread.

In the virus model, the target is the susceptible — who gets the virus.

Viruses are like information.

Their main goals are surviving and spreading.

In the virus model, the idea is the virus itself.

Viruses can only spread in certain environments:

• closeness
• optimal temperature
• lack of hygiene

In the virus model, the context is the environment — where (and how) the virus spreads.

Viruses have enemies, who threaten their existence:

• Internal enemies, who sabotage their survival (e.g.: immune system)
• External enemies, who sabotage their spread (e.g.: masks)

In the virus model, the killer is the immunity — that stops the virus.

The world’s most well-known human war, or the most invisible cellular war.

• big or small
• body or mind
• virus or information

You, the first step (of two) to greatness

So the equation says:

Greatness = You + Your work.

Each element can be further dismantled.

If you have read “Your work” part, you know that it’s the “STICK” framework:

• Source
• Target
• Idea
• Context
• Killers

The communication model of kingmakers.

But what about the “You” part?

Your mind has three main battlefields:

• emotions
• thoughts
• behavior

The holy trinity of psychology.

So the dismantled equation for “Outer word” is:

Your work = Source + Target + Idea + Context + Killers (the “STICK” framework)

And the dismantled equation for “Inner world” is:

You = Feelings + Thoughts + Behavior

Again, each element can be further dismantled.

There are topics, like:

• wealth
• health
• happiness

… which (surpriiiise) can be dismantled even further:

• values
• motivation
• habits
• goals
• productivity

Then, further…

• cognitive biases
• mental models
• procrastination
• focus
• minimalism

It goes like this, until at some point, you’ll reach the “Nature vs. Nurture” debate:

We are not complete, but we are not a blank canvas either.

In other words, some things are changeable in you, some are not.

Some researchers say that these can be changed:

• Relationships (e.g., family, friends, marriage)
• Well-being (e.g., acceptance, panic, optimism)
• Achievement (e.g., success, purpose, mastery)

While these are not:

• An introvert to become extrovert
• A homosexual to become heterosexual
• A “high IQ & low EQ” to become “low IQ & high EQ”

You were born with something — your toolbox. You can use it to work on what you can change.

Can you see it now?

It’s the 3 parts of “You”:

1. Thoughts — how to change what you can change
2. Emotions — how you accept what you can’t change
3. Behavior — how to put the other two into practice

In order to improve your work, you need to improve yourself.

And you live by principles.

On the surface, they are really different — every human is unique. But below the surface, the principles are the same — the common characteristics of the Great’s.

Your work, the Second step (of two) to greatness

So the equation says:

Greatness = You + Your work.

Each element can be further dismantled.

If you have read “You” part, you know that it’s the “EAT” framework:

• Emotions
• Action
• Thoughts

The communication model of kingmakers.

But what about the “Your work” part?

Your mind has three main battlefields:

• emotions
• thoughts
• behavior

The holy trinity of psychology.

So the dismantled equation for “Inner world” is:

You = Feelings + Thoughts + Behavior

And the dismantled equation for “Outer word” is:

Your work = Source + Target + Idea + Context + Killers (the “STICK” framework)

Again, each element can be further dismantled.

There are topics, like:

• wealth
• health
• happiness

… which (surpriiiise) can be dismantled even further:

• values
• motivation
• habits
• goals
• productivity

Then, further…

• cognitive biases
• mental models
• procrastination
• focus
• minimalism

It goes like this, until at some point, you’ll reach the “Nature vs. Nurture” debate:

We are not complete, but we are not a blank canvas either.

In other words, some things are changeable in others, some are not.

Some researchers say that these can be changed:

• Relationships (e.g., family, friends, marriage)
• Well-being (e.g., acceptance, panic, optimism)
• Achievement (e.g., success, purpose, mastery)

While these are not:

• An introvert to become extrovert
• A homosexual to become heterosexual
• A “high IQ & low EQ” to become “low IQ & high EQ”

Everybody was born with something — their toolbox. You can use it to work on what you can change.

Can you see it now?

It’s the 3 parts of “You”:

1. Thoughts — how to change what you can change
2. Emotions — how you accept what you can’t change
3. Behavior — how to put the other two into practice

In order to improve your work, you need to improve yourself.

And you live by principles.

On the surface, they are really different — every human is unique. But below the surface, the principles are the same — the common characteristics of humanity.

The principles that we will learn, one-by-one.

So we can become kingmakers.

Welcome to the playground.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

—Pablo Picasso