The term “interesting times” is an ironic description of uncertain and volatile times; the times we’re living through at the moment. In the decade since I first wrote my book CLARITY, the levels of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) have been increasing, and the signs are all around us:
| As you probably already know, the 10th-anniversary edition of my book CLARITY has been in people’s hands for the last couple of weeks. I’ve spent a big chunk of the last few years working on this, and I’m excited to see how it lands. In the past, I put a lot of energy into climbing the bestseller charts. It was a lot of fun, and I feel very grateful for all the support from my amazing community (CLARITY was a big number one & RESULTS made the Sunday Times bestseller list). Thank you! This time, my aim is different. |
The 10th-anniversary edition of CLARITY is being well-received; it’s wonderful to see my Facebook feed filled with wonderful photos of people holding their copy of the book, and saying what a difference these principles have made in their lives.
One of the changes with the new edition is a “What the Research Says” section at the end of each chapter. This is a description of (and where possible, a link to) peer-reviewed articles and other research that will help you “read around” the principles behind clarity.
Because these principles aren’t yet part of the scientific mainstream, most research won’t refer directly to them. Nevertheless, each of these research elements will help you join the dots as you establish your own personal evidence base for what you’re learning.
Chapter 2 is called, “The Power of Insight”, and I thought you might enjoy the ‘What the Research Says” section at the end of it, as it references something gaining a lot of media attention recently: the whole domain of magic mushrooms and ‘psychedelic-assisted’ therapy. (excerpt from CLARITY ©2023 Jamie Smart, published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd):
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The world is changing fast – AI is going to transform almost every industry. Here’s a quick example…
My publishers drafted a press release for the new edition of CLARITY.
I wasn’t happy with it because it was written by someone who’s never read the book (understandably – Wiley publishes thousands of books each year, so the PR team isn’t going to be able to read all of them).
I needed to do a better one, so I tweaked it with some copy and paste from the introduction of the book, and came up with my own draft press release. Here’s where it gets interesting:
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Q: What do schizophrenia, burnout & fear of public speaking have in common?
** a prevention & cure for all mental & most physical illness **
A few days ago, I was asked who the most insightful clinical psychologist on the planet was. My answer was immediate:
Dr William Pettit Jr.
Here’s what I wrote about him in the new edition of CLARITY:
You see (speaking to you as an author), while there’s something cool about seeing ‘box-fresh’ copies of your book in a bookshop or arriving on your doorstep…
…there’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you know something you’ve created has been thoroughly devoured…
…Like a chef seeing their plates being licked clean…
…Or a coach seeing their clients implementing what they’ve been working on…
So this week, after I put out a post on Facebook asking who wanted to be one of the very first people to read the new edition of CLARITY, I was immensely gratified when coach Cath Daley commented,
“You’ve got a tiger by the tail, my friend.”
I started having insights into the principles behind clarity in 2009, and wondered, “How can you surround yourself with people who are looking in this direction?”
I started travelling the world, connecting with, learning from and interviewing people whose lives had been profoundly impacted by this understanding.
One day, I was having a conversation with Dicken Bettinger and told him I’d realised these principles were the future of psychology; that I was all-in. He said something I found intriguing.
“You’ve got a tiger by the tail, my friend.”
I was puzzled by this curious statement. The principles had already had a profound and positive impact on my life. I was living in a beautiful feeling much of the time, and I was fired with a passion to share this understanding with the world. I was experiencing more peace, connection and well-being than ever.
What tiger?!?
13 years later, I think I understand what he meant.
One of the most influential guitarists in history is the gypsy jazz virtuoso, Django Reinhardt.
Django is legendary. An accomplished guitar player by the time he was a teenager, he nearly died in a caravan fire at the age of 18. He was badly burned and permanently lost the use of the 4th & 5th fingers on his left hand. His doctors said he’d never play the guitar again.
Boy, did they get it wrong…
Starting from scratch, Django developed a dazzling level of mastery, eventually establishing himself as one of the greatest players of all time. His lyricism, technical ability and improvisational artistry continue to astonish and inspire guitarists today (despite being two fingers short).
I had my first guitar lesson in 40 years yesterday, and it wasn’t what I’d expected. Here’s why…
When I was 12 years old, I bought a beat-up old electric guitar for 50 dollars.
I didn’t know how to play the guitar, but I wanted to be a guitarist. I decided that once I got one I could teach myself.
So I started.
I was terrible at it, but I was determined to get better, so I practised.
Little by little, I started to improve, but it was hard. My fingers hurt. I spent lots of time feeling frustrated. My parents were sick of the sound of it.
But I had a special advantage.
It’s a while since I’ve written a Friday Shot of Clarity but I’ve got fresh inspiration so here we are! Let’s start with a story…
Last summer, I flew to Rome to deliver a keynote speech to 80 military and civilian personnel at the NATO Defense College.