Unlock Your Superpowers, Disney Style

Unlocking Your Superpower, Disney Style!

Spoiler alert:

I actually love Disney movies! At least, the ones that came out before Disney became woke and went on a rampage to destroy its company and brand.

Today, you’ll learn to embrace 3 of our human superpowers.

Let’s start with one of my favorite movies

Alice (Who the F*ck Is Alice?)

Is this girl stupid? For sure!

Naive? Absolutely!

But in that personality also lies her charm.

There’s one quality I’d like to point out:

When I think of Alice, the superpower that comes to mind is curiosity.

Why is curiosity wonderful?

1. It keeps the ego in check

2. Curiosity supercharges our learning speed

3. It’s the gateway to many new opportunities

Let’s start with the ego:

The person who thinks he knows everything is the biggest fool known to mankind. Not only is this incredibly arrogant, given the vast amount of knowledge available, it also keeps people stuck!

People who think they know it all will never learn.

They get stagnant rapidly.

On the flip side, Socrates famously said “I know that I know nothing”.

When you take on his viewpoint and use curiosity as your superpower, you will continue to get better day by day, week by week, for the rest of your life!

Avid learners hold the key to the world!

Curiosity is also the key ingredient to learning faster.

Who are the fastest learners on the planet?

Children.

The reason they learn so quickly is because they’re curious about everything.

“What is that black and yellow buzzy thing?”
“Why do those white fluffy things in the sky move?”
“What’s this funny looking plant?” Touches poison ivy*
“Why is this newsletter so awesome to read?”

However… we tend to lose this sense of wonder as adults.

Contrast the way you sat (or sit) in your highschool or college classes, annoyed and bored out of your mind. And for just a moment, imagine how much more you would learn if you took on that same childlike curiosity!

Finally, opportunity is a weird little thing, isn’t it?

It often comes disguised as problems or threats.

Most people tend to immediately dismiss new information or things that contrast their current beliefs, skills and activities. Curiosity is what allows us to instead dive into these things to turn problems into opportunities.

If you’re reading this:

Get curious about AI.
Look up any words or terms you don’t understand.
Contrasting viewpoint? Look at it from their side.
New concept or technique? Learn it, don’t dismiss it!

By diving in, you’ll open doors you never even knew existed!

Note: Want to learn 5 times faster? Watch this YouTube video now.

Genie(us)

Having magic would be a fantastic superpower to have!

However, since we’re all mortals here, I’ll focus on his attitude.

Philosophical sidenote: What if humans actually DO have the ability to use magic, except nobody has any MP left to cast spells with? Totally not sulking because I never got my Hogwarts letter…

There are a few things about Genie that make him amazing:

1. Optimism

2. Humor

3. Generosity

Let’s tackle these traits and why they’re superpowers you would benefit from adopting them yourself:

Optimism and humor are more infectious than most diseases!

By having these two traits, it becomes 10 times easier to make friends with others. People will also be way more likely to help you out if you ever need it. And it can greatly help in forging connections quickly, like in a job interview.

Write this one down somewhere:

“People will forget what you did. They will forget what you said. But they will never forget how you make them feel.”

And besides:

When do you think you’ll be able to achieve your goals faster?

A. When you have a pessimistic outlook on life?
B. When you have a optimistic outlook on life?

It doesn’t take a genie to figure out the correct answer there.

Here’s what you need to know about optimism though:

Optimism is NOT about thinking that nothing bad is going to happen.

That’s called delusional!

What real, practical optimism means is KNOWING that bad things are guaranteed to happen to you. But it also means that you have full faith in yourself to figure things out and overcome any obstacle!

On generosity:

Nice guys finish FIRST, not last!

The world needs your gifts of kindness, empathy, your helping hand, your positivity and your other great traits! There is never a situation in which it doesn’t help to be a kind, generous and loving person!

However, there are 3 things I want you to understand about this:

First is the difference between kindness and manipulation.

The reason people think that “nice guys finish last” is that they think that if you’re being nice to a guy, she’s now obligated to develop feelings or reciprocate your nice deeds in some way.

That’s pretty much the definition of manipulation.

You’re doing something “nice”, not because it’s the right thing to do or because you want to help, but rather you’re doing it because you want something in return. It’s one of the most passive aggressive ways to be a complete ass!

Secondly, understand that you always have a choice!

People are afraid that others will take advantage when they’re “too nice”.

Please note that you have control over this!

With every interaction, you teach people how to treat you! If you’re saying yes to everything, you teach people that they should come to you for everything, because you’d never refuse them.

Saying no to some thing and setting boundaries is your rescue.

Third kindness and generosity aren’t just the right things to do, but practical too.

Let’s talk about karma:

This is actually way more practical than you might think. It’s not some woo-woo you’d see in some hyped up seminar. If it helps shift your thinking, you can think of karma as the representation of your reputation.

If you’re an asshole, word eventually gets out.

And people will quickly sniff it out, either consciously or subconsciously.

Most doors of opportunity will be slammed shut before you even know they exist! That’s the effect of you being a pathetic asshole! And of course, being the nice guy will have the reverse effect.

That’s why nice guys finish first!

The Ele-phantastic Dumbo & Timothy

Life hack:

If you’re ever feeling sad or depressed, do NOT watch Dumbo! The movie’s gonna make you feel 10 times worse as it’s a real tear-jerker!

Anyway:

What makes Dumbo an inspiring movie is the power of confidence and belief in oneself! Additionally, Timmy also greatly highlights the importance of brotherhood and friends that want you to rise (literally in this case).

In the beginning parts of the movie, Dumbo felt terrible…

All the other elephants bullied him. “Dumbo, what big ears you have!” Wait… am I mixing up my fairytales here?

However, with Timothy’s help, he eventually turns his weakness into a superpower by using his big ears to learn how to fly.

Dumbo fought through self doubt and insecurity.

And he came out as a hero!

Just like you will once you stop feeling down and out about yourself, put one foot in front of the other and relentlessly work on your goals!

Audio Lesson: Shiny Object Syndrome

The grass always seems to look greener at the other side, doesn’t it?

I’ve fallen victim to shiny object syndrome myself multiple times in my life. This was a series of mistakes that cost me years of my life! And so to prevent you from making the same mistake, here’s your lesson on avoiding the shiny object syndrome:

How to Radiate Confidence Under Pressure

Action Steps for Today

We’ve talked about a lot today, but how can you make this practical?

My recommendation would be to start with curiosity.

This is one of my own superpowers.

Here’s what I will challenge you to do:

1. Start off by thinking of a problem you’re currently facing in your personal or professional life. Or think about a new trend you’ve noticed, or look at a belief you hold dear.
   
   Additionally, you could pick a hobby or topic of interest that you want
   

2. Sit down and ask yourself: “Have you been dismissive of (part of) these things? Or are there parts that you don’t understand, but never bothered to look into?
   

3. These are the perfect starting points to deploy curiosity today!

Spend some time today, even if it’s just 15 minutes, to discover something new. Learning is a superpower, if you use it!