EverydaySpy Podcast - CIA Spy Reveals 3 Steps To Un*ck Your Life Fast | Andrew Bustamante

Episode Date: January 20, 2026

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Ambition comes in all shapes and sizes. At First Citizens Bank, we roll with your goals because we're built for what you're building. Fit for your ambition for Citizens Bank. You guys do go through training on if you find yourself in an interrogation or torture situation. And I'm wondering what if anything somebody can apply in their own day-to-day life that you learn there, meaning this, in our own mind. and I'm not equating these things at all, but you know exactly what I mean. The world is caving in on us. I just lost my job.

My spouse left me. Both those things happen. Whatever it is, I'm going through my own form of internal torture. And I don't mean to equate the things. I'm trying to delineate a lesson learned from the most extreme situation that we can apply in a less extreme situation in our lives. So what can be learned from what you learned about going through interrogation or torture that someone could apply in their own life in their own somehow small way when they're going through

their form of mental torture or anxiety or worry. So there are two really powerful tools that we learned in our resistance training. And resistance is what you're talking about. Resisting the fear of torture. Because oftentimes when you're trying to forcefully interrogate somebody, it's the fear of the unknown that makes them fall apart. It's not actually when they're getting slapped or getting punched. it's when they're sitting in the chair

and they don't know what's coming next. And that's what really gets into your head. And that's part of the psychedelic or the psychological manifestation of torture in advance of physical torture. And that's exactly what you're saying, Ed, when you say that the world is caving in upon us, you can relate to the person

who's sitting in the chair before the torture starts where they're like, oh, what's coming next? The world is collapsing. I have no control. I don't know what's going to. happen. That's that feeling. So the two main tools that they gave us to cope with that sort of situation. And I have used these countless times in my own business, man, because business is a wild rodeo of the world. The first is something called false dichotomy. False dichotomy means you

create a two scenario situation, right? False dichotomy, yes or no, on or off, red or green. you create a dichotomy, you force yourself to believe there's only two options. Even though there's countless options, you force yourself to believe two very fundamental options. Let me give you an example from business. I remember when I was first starting out, when I first quit my full-time job and I first started being full-time with my own company, everyday spy, I knew that to keep my family afloat, I needed $4,000 a month to keep my family afloat. but I didn't know every month if I was going to make $4,000 a month. Some months I made $2,000, some months I made $10,000.

I never knew where it was going to come from. So it would cause me great stress and I would lose sleep at night and I would ring my hands and I would worry about, am I going to even, am I going to have to go find a job? Am I going to crash this business before it even takes off? So I applied this false dichotomy where I would tell myself, it's either going to live or it's going to die. that's it. The business is going to live or it's going to die, period. Once I said those are the two options, I had no control over those options. I didn't need to

stay up a night worrying about, is this thing going to sell? Is that thing going to sell? Am I going to get this client? Is that client going to leave me? All of the what-ifs went away because it's either going to live or it's going to die the end. And that is something that we use all the time in the field because there's countless what-ifs. But if you focus yourself on a basic dichotomy, very good. It shuts all those voices off. Very good. That's funny in my life of the things I've really feared and worried about were the unknown. I handled them very poorly internally. My anxiety, my heart rate, my stress level. What's most amazing to me is when the really bad things have actually happened, I've handled them very well. That's what's bizarre. And so to your point about the

worrying of the unknown is so totally true because I'm processing all these scenarios, but actually when really bad things have happened, last night, inside story, I have a lighter for my cigars. And I put the butane in it incorrectly where it like I didn't realize it, but it got all over the lighter. And I went to, this is true everybody, it just happened last night. I went to light my lighter and it caught me on fire. And actually you can't tell today, but I burned part of my hair and like, you know, I don't know what I'm doing. You can't just pour water on the flame. And this is really.

And I, after it happened, the two boys were here, I said, my heart rate didn't move a millimeter. Like, not a millimeter. I just reacted. It ended up being okay. And they're like, dad, your hair's on fire. I'm like, really? Okay. And I put the, but the point that I'm making, I'm fine.

I don't even have any burns. It wasn't that serious. My point is my heart rate's gone ballistically higher on things that have never happened in my life that are nowhere near. is serious because of the unknown aspect of it. So this dichotomy thing, I'm like stealing that tomorrow, bro. That's, that is killer. Is that why also, I'm surprised a CIA guy would say this, or maybe I'm wrong that you didn't say it. So correct me wrong, that anxiety is actually a superpower for someone. Correct. Yeah, that, that is, how's that true? It's true in a number of ways. And nobody

talks about it because people don't understand it, right? So anxiety, true anxiety, which is different than the anxiety that is tied to worry or the anxiety that's tied to the unknown, right? Like 25% of Americans suffer from anxiety. The people who truly have anxiety know everybody else doesn't really know what it feels like. Okay. Because real anxiety comes from when you don't even know what it is that you're upset about. Like that's the true anxiety when it's when something festeres in your gut and you don't even know what's bothering you because it's almost on a sixth sense kind of a level. Yeah. And there's still a large number of people who have that. But it's not the person, like when I get worried about payroll at the end of the month, that's not anxiety. Okay. Right.

But when I'm sitting there and I'm like, something doesn't feel right and I can't sleep and it's nagging at me and my stomach feels bad and I've got all this nervous energy and I'm just off center. There are a number of people who suffer that anxiety, a number of very high performing people who suffer from anxiety because what's happening is cognitively your brain is picking up on cues that your prefrontal cortex can't register. So it's almost like your monkey brain, your animalistic brain, is seeing a threat that your cognitive brain cannot identify yet. And that threat is being processed in the deeper parts of your brain and it's manifesting

physiologically in your body. Now, when you hear about what is actually causing anxiety, you start to see why it's superpower because it's like a spidey sense. Spider-Man doesn't even have to see what's going to happen before he knows that something's about to happen. And as a result of that spiky sense, Ed, what happens is you naturally become more cognitively aware of the world around you. So your monkey brain turns on your frontal brain, your human brain, to a higher level.

So now those are the people who are better at forecasting bad events, better at forecasting good events. They're easier at flipping between perception and perspective because their brains have been pressure tested, inoculated over time with the stress of feeling anxiety. And for that reason, it causes the lay person, the average person with anxiety struggles in life because they don't know how to turn this perceived weakness into a power. It's really good. What CIA does, CIA recruits us because we have anxiety. Really? And then teaches us how to tap into it and use it for what its purpose is.

Really? That's what makes me. You're telling me that that's a criteria that has looked for is somebody with anxiety. That is a category. That is an inherent skill and innate skill that when it's identified, it's dovetailed into very specific job categories. Got you. Do you believe that, I didn't know I was going to ask you this today, do you believe that

you can cross a line with anxiety or worry? And I understand the distinction between the two now that I do. in before, because I am one of those people, as are a lot of my mega successful friends. However, I've wondered in my life, because I also believe in vibrational frequency and energy and I'm also a Christian, but I do believe in that. And I've wondered if I've created or drawn to me things I've subconsciously worried about or had anxiety about in my life that I otherwise would not have had come into my world had I not repetitively thought about it.

Do you believe in any of that? And if so, do you think that someone should guard against that if they're one of these worriers or anxiety people? So I am not a person who tends to believe in much. I tend to take objective fact. I take objective fact and I try to synthesize it into knowledge that I can then use predictably. And what I've seen in my clients,

as well as what you're saying right now about yourself and your own peer group, has been really consistent. What I believe is happening is where where people write books about vibrations and the law of attraction, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Maybe that's true. Maybe. But here's what I do know. I know that people who have a heightened sensitivity that causes them anxiety, those are people who have greater informational awareness of what's happening in the world around them.

Because they have that greater informational awareness, they start preparing now for something that may be able to be. not happen for another six months. And then when the thing happens in six months, they know how to deal with it. You just said it yourself a few minutes ago, Ed. When really bad things have happened, you've handled them really well. CIA believes that all people are born with a spy secret superpower. For some people, that means they can win deals for others. They can spot liars. Some can even seduce lovers. I built a free three-minute test to help reveal to you exactly what your secret hidden superpower is. All you have to do is click on the link in the description below.

Take the test and start using your spy superpower to stay ahead of 99% of people. For me, that's not a surprise. For me, that's because if you tell me that you struggle with anxiety and you tell me that you deal with bad situations well, it's because subconsciously you've been preparing for that bad situation for a long time. So then when it actually happened, you already had a process kind of in your brain for how to deal with it. Whereas the average person who does not have anxiety, who does not prepare for a negative event, who is not even aware that things, bad things are happening around them. Their monkey brain

is working against them. Yeah. So then when bad shit happens, they literally are deer in the headlights. I bet you don't have many deer in the headlights moments. Yeah, I don't. By the way, this is such a great conversation, brother, but you know, I don't. I've always wondered those two things. Like, I definitely am a fearful, worrying guy and I also have anxiety. and I understand the difference. Yet, maybe a lot of you relate to this that are listening. Yet when crunch times come, you get it done. I'm pretty calm.

And I execute. And that's really a fascinating description of why I am both of those people, what you just said. So if you think about it, right, if 25% of the American population has clinical anxiety, which means some psychologist is giving them a drug to make them feel better. You and I now know it's not really 25% of the population that has true. true anxiety. It's more like 12 to 15% that have true anxiety. And if you get your hands on those 12 to 15 percent and you put them in your business and you put them in your executive team and you put them in your national security infrastructure, those people are going to deal with emergencies

better than anyone else. And guess what? The only thing guaranteed in life, man, is the unknown. Yeah. So they might lose sleep. They might not eat well. They might gain weight, they might become reclusive, they might self-destruct by the age of 60. You don't know, but what you do know is that when the shit hits the fan, that person has got your back, and they're going to be unflappable in that moment of terror, where other people will shut down, quit, give up, or get rolled over. Yeah. One of the most cool things ever covered on the show right now. By the way, if you're a parentless to this and you've got a child who's got like real anxiety, like the real one, you ought to let them watch this because their future's brighter than they

Their future is so bright, man. My wife, my wife is a former CIA officer just like me. We met at CIA. She's amazing. She's a badass. She has anxiety. And her anxiety drives her to stay at home. And her anxiety drives her to like be an introvert and just kind of stay away from the

world where I put myself out there in the world. But I put myself out there to tell you that if you think I'm smart and if you think I'm impressive and if you think I'm helpful, she is 10x me in every way because her anxiety has made her so much of a better fit for all of those tasks. And the reason that our company still stands and continues to grow at an awesome rate is because when the f***es the fan, I have somebody who I can tap on the shoulder and say, I don't know what to do right now. And she's like, I got you.

We got this. You guys, have you ever heard this before? Because I've never heard this before. And it's, first off, at my age and people I'm just picturing in my life right now, it's completely true, by the way. Other people I know, it's completely accurate. It's totally true. What's the, I'm watching you talk. You're interesting because you obviously have this very fascinating background. Your IQ is very high. You process information super quickly. But you're also like, and I'm not just, you're a great communicator. All these things are obvious to the people listening or watching.

What you're persuasive. What is a major mistake people make thinking they're being persuasive, but they're really not. Tough question. Yeah. You know, it's, it's a. great question. People often misunderstand what persuasion really is, especially when they confuse persuasion and influence, right, two very different things. Because persuasion has to do with the current moment and it has to do with creating a, creating emotional momentum. That's what makes you persuasive. If you can get somebody on an emotional drive, an emotional driver, in the present moment, you can persuade them to take the action you want them to take. And CIA is very, very focused on creating officers who can persuade in the field under pressure. Because we don't, I mean, we're not meeting

with nice people in the world. We're meeting with terrorists and drug dealers and human traffickers and the scum of the universe, right? Those are the people who have the secrets that we need. So those are the people we have to sit across the table from break bread and share coffee. That's where we operate. So we have to get, in order to get those people to take an action, especially an action that's not in their best interest, like espionage, you have to get them on an emotional tempo that gets them to agree with what you're saying. So that's persuasion. Influence is what happens when you're not even around and they're reflecting on what you said and they're digesting the relationship you have with them. Right now you and I are on this call,

and if I'm getting you to agree with me, there's some persuasive energy there. But two hours from now, when you're having lunch and you grab that fork and you stick it in your salad and you're like, that conversation, I'm still thinking about this topic. That's influence. Dude, so good. You said this place was steps from the water. We just haven't found the steps yet. How much did we save?

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