The unusual benefit of drowning rats

So I was adding some training to our next Evolve letter, when I came across some ratty research that ties in perfectly with the same advice I’ve been giving to both addicted clients and business clients for decades:

You need validation BEFORE you achieve your desired results.
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Here’s the study:

In the 1950s, some university nut named Curt Richter dropped a dozen rats into jars of water, and watched them drown like the sadistic bastard he obviously was. Doing this experiment, he discovered it takes your average street rat 15 minutes to drown.

Sounds like a tiny leap forward for humanity, right?

Obviously not lol.

But his next step in the experiment had a weird twist:

About 14 minutes in, just before the rats gave up due to exhaustion, the professor rescued them from the water and lovingly dried them off, and let them rest on the table for one minute…

…and then he put them back into the water for round two.

Here’s the question:

How long do you think the rats could survive another round in the water?

Think about it.

Rats normally drown around the 15-minute mark, and they had already struggled for 14 minutes prior to being rescued—and they only got to chill for one single minute.

How long do you think they could survive round two?

10 minutes?

5 minutes?

1 minute?

Nah..

Correct answer:
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60 hours!

Curt’s result revealed not only that he was a prick, but also that removing or “saving” rats immediately prior to them drowning somehow allowed the rats to swim 240x longer than their previous personal best.

One mighty mouse swam for a bonus 81 hours!

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Here’s be ye lesson:

If we have zero evidence that a result is coming soon, then no amount of willpower can change our performance. But if we have the slightest hint of validation, then we can go further than everyone else ever previously thought possible.

For the rats, validation was being saved before they drowned.

But the same thing happens when you become an IG model.

Or a marketer.

Or a guitarist.

Or a youtuber.

Or a writer.

Or whatever I am…

…anyone chasing a creative career needs to know that they have an internal “giving up clock” and it has already started its evil countdown.

When the clock hits zero – you will give up.

Guaranteed.

Full stop.

Hands down.

Tick. Tock. Motherlover.

The only thing that can stop the clock?

Real Marketplace Feedback:

• Sales
• Exposure
• Testimonials

And so on…​

You can’t fake it.

I remember the first sale I made for the Quit Weed Program in 2009. I couldn’t believe it, and it was a big deal to me… Then I received an email from the customer the next day.

I remember hesitating before I opened the email… I was sure it would be a refund request, because I couldn’t fathom that my research would be invaluable to others…

The email was the customer thanking me, as he explained to me that my program had changed his mindset around weed, and he even added that it was definitely worth more money than I charged (back then it was only $37 for a single 30-page PDF).

That was my marketplace feedback.

I went to work and made the program 100x more valuable, without exaggeration.

Probably the reason I am still going now, well over 15 years later.

Before you get any marketplace feedback, you should focus on nothing else, because the clock is ticking and, eventually, at some point, you will give up.

The most common question I receive when I bring up this training?

“How long do I have until the clock runs out?”

Nobody knows, because we are all so damn different.

But for the rats it was 15 minutes.

Keep Reality Real,

Tristan Weatherburn​
https://tristanweatherburn.com

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