EverydaySpy Podcast - The CIA Routine That Turns You Into The 1% (Become A F*cking Weapon)

Episode Date: January 30, 2026

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It's blood-soaked nightmare fuel. Brokawksply put on her. You have been warned. Obsession, rated R. Under 17, 90Mito without parent. Only theaters May 15th, with special engagements in Dolby. If you were to give us like the ultimate survival kit, what would you tell us? So it's a great question.

If you, believe it or not, the answer to most stress isn't in techniques or tools after the stress happens. It's in preparing yourself before the stress happens. So CIA teaches us about something called willpower. Everybody's heard the term willpower, but very few people have defined what willpower is. most people would argue that willpower is some mixture of discipline and commitment, right? Like it's follow through. I'm just going to tough it out. That's actually not what willpower is.

Willpower in definition at CIA, willpower according to psychology, is an actual measurable amount of energy. And energy is measured in kilojoules, and those kilojoules are carried in your body. and it's a mixture of your fitness and your diet and your hydration level. And all of that tells you what your capacity is for willpower. So if you think of like a car, a car has a tank, a gas tank, a fuel tank. When that fuel tank is full, the car can go a long distance. When the fuel tank is empty, the car can't go as far.

But there's also the value of the quality of the fuel itself. If the fuel is a high octane clean. fuel the car can go even further on a full tank then it could go with a lower octane fuel yeah so when you compare your body to a car what that means is you want to fuel your car with willpower fuel your body with willpower and that willpower is literally what you put in your body so we put a lot of natural sugars. We put a lot of hydrating, high fiber, nutrient-dense materials into our system. That's how we're trained to eat. It's how we're trained to drink. It's how we're trained to handle ourselves. We don't carry processed bars unless we have to. We eat off of whatever's local

in the community, whatever's actually in the location where we are. So sometimes that's tropical fruit, sometimes that's desert fruit. Sometimes that's ground roots, right? You don't ever really know. So you eat what's local, but you're always trying to fuel your body for the stress that you know is coming. Yeah. So in addition to the breathing techniques and the visualization, that's all stuff you do after the stress has presented itself. But the real secret sauce is in preparing yourself for the stress that is yet to come. At the risk of talking to, too much. No, please do.

Think about what the average person does in the morning. The morning is one of the most important times to fill your fuel tank. Well, what do most people do? They don't eat a significant breakfast. They drink coffee. Coffee is a diuretic. It reduces your hydration. It spikes your chemical levels because of the caffeine.

It spikes your acidity in your digestive system because of the acid that's in the coffee. Now, it's a habit and it feels good to have a, caffeine high and I get why people do it, but it is actually the opposite of what CIA teaches us to do. So in contrast, what CIA tells us to do is eat an apple, some strawberries, and drink 500 milliliters of water. Why? Because the apple brings all this fiber with it. The strawberries have all these sugars, natural sugars in it, and the water hydrates your system. So now you're still giving yourself an energy boost. The difference between a caffeine high and a, you're, you're glucose high that comes from something like strawberries is you know coffee is obviously much higher

but the after effect yeah is the thing that's the most important you crash after caffeine but after your strawberry high you still have apples they say that they say that the sugar content in an apple is comparable to the sugar content in a candy bar well people eat candy bars all the time they don't very often eat apples yeah the sugar content is is the same, but the crash in a candy bar happens after like 20 minutes. Yeah. There is no crash after you eat an apple. That apple will sustain you for two hours.

Yeah. No, that's so powerful. And, you know, in the book, you also talk about some other survival techniques. So I remember one specific one, you know, if you have a backpack, have like a straps. So, like, you know, what are some other very specific survival techniques that the CIA teaches you? So when it comes to physical survival, safety, Right? Not necessarily mental willpower or stress. What you're really looking for are things that are mobile.

And most people will tell you that if you want to be safe, you have to hunker in place. Think about all the people. If your parents are like my parents, they've got canned food and bottles of water. And if something, if some disaster happens, they're going to shelter in place and they're going to stay home. If you haven't discovered your natural-born spy skills, then somebody else might be using theirs against you. CIA teaches us that there are only three types of people in the world. Those who motivate, those who manipulate, and those who are being controlled by one of the other two. I created a three-minute CIA-style quiz to help you unlock your secret psychological advantage

and identify your hidden blind spot. This test was developed to help you weaponize your natural-born gifts and use them to get ahead of 99% of people in power, wealth, and purpose. It was also designed to make sure that you can protect yourself against those. who would use their skills against you. All you have to do is click on the first link in the description below or scan the QR code on your screen to start your spy quiz now. I want you to discover your secret spy superpower

and use it for good before somebody else uses their power against you. CIA teaches something very different. They actually teach that mobility is the best tool for survival. You don't want to be stuck in one place. You want to be mobile so that you can move where the resources are. So whenever it comes to anything that, they teach us that's survival related, it's all based on this idea of mobility, something we call get off the X. The X is the place where you will die. If you get off the X, you will survive.

And then even if the X moves, you get off the X again. Yeah. Right. So what are some of those mobility tools? We always have shoes with laces. I'm wearing shoes with laces right now. Okay. Shoes with laces that are closed-toed are incredibly valuable. They keep dirt out. They keep rocks out, they keep glass out, they keep the heat out. And shoes with laces stay on your feet, whereas shoes without laces can slip off. They also always tell us to carry a backpack with two straps, not a messenger pack with one strap or a purse with one strap and not like a side sling, something that goes across your body because you want two separate straps that you can tighten so that it stays tight to your back. That makes it so you can run, you can walk, you can walk,

can sweat, you can climb, and the weight stays centered on your back, which is a good, stable place for you to carry weight. If you've got a purse or a side sling or a backpack that you're carrying on one side, all of a sudden it's awkward, right? I mean, I think all women have tried running for the bus or with the purse, seeing how uncomfortable it is. Yeah, I get it. And then there's other things that they also teach us.

We always want to have a raincoat or some layer that keeps the moisture off of you, and that's because you have to preserve your clothes. Dry clothes keep your body heat in. Dry clothes also don't break down very quickly. If you get clothes wet or if you get clothes dirty, then the dirt gets in between the fibers or the wet gets in between the fibers and brings oils and darts with it. And then as the fabric moves with that dirt inside it, the fabric starts to break down. So then your clothes will break down.

But if you keep them dry, then dirt stays on the outside, oil stays on the outside. They don't get between the fibers. Yeah. So you always want to have a rain coat or a rain layer, an umbrella, because it keeps the moisture out and it keeps your body heat in. We also talk a lot about sun protection, so whether it's hat, sunglasses, long sleeves, long pants, even if you don't think you need it. Yeah.

Because the sun is one of the most damaging things for your body, and your body is actually, your skin is actually an organ. Yeah. So we don't really care about skin cancer. But what I'm telling you is if you need to conserve your resources, you need to stay out of the sun. which is why Middle Eastern cultures that live in the sun, what kind of clothing do they wear? Long flowing clothing, which you would never imagine. So in our everyday carry kits, in our survival kits at CIA, it really is laced shoes, some sort of raincoat,

a backpack with two straps, some sort of sun protection, and then we always carry cash. And we always carry cash in small denominations. nations, but in large amounts. What's a large amount? About 200 US dollars. Here, I've been carrying about 300 British pounds because pounds are just, it's expensive in London, but you also, the pound is so much stronger than the dollar right now, you need more pounds. But what I find is just if you carry a large amount of money in ones, five, tens, and 20s, you can afford almost anything. And especially in a disaster, and a disaster, people aren't going to have change. So you don't want to have to buy a ride with a $100 bill.

You want to be able to spend $15 or $20 in a smaller denominated currency to buy what you need. Those are really interesting and helpful. What about, you know, for instance, a woman like me in London being like, let's say in a shady area of London or, you know, whatever else part of the world. Are there any sort of survival tips you could give us? You know, you're using the word survival, but I think what you're talking about is protection. Or protection, yeah. Yeah, it's okay because I just want to make sure that I'm differentiated to. So first, if you are concerned about your security, the two things that CIA teaches us are most important are time and distance.

With time and distance, you have more opportunity to keep. yourself safe and what does that mean distance is obvious distance is physical distance so if you're worried about somebody you want to stay away from them if you're worried about a dangerous shady part of town you want to stay away from that location so distance is obvious what is time time is how long it takes before the threat presents itself to you so if it's a person and you stand far away from the person you're automatically increasing your time time because it will take them further to get to you. But sometimes time applies to a shady part of town. A shady part of town at noon is different than it is at midnight. Yeah. So you've got time that can have

a couple different applications. So yes, you can learn self-defense. You can learn how to, you know, fight with an open palm or fight with a closed fist and you can carry brass knuckles or tasers or mace if you want to, but what you're doing is you're giving away time and distance and you're replacing them with a weapon instead. The problem is if you don't know how to use that weapon or if you can't reach that weapon, if you don't have the time to get your mace out of your purse, you've given up everything. You've given up your two biggest advantages, time and distance, and the tool that you need isn't available to you. So what I would actually argue for most people is use time and distance to keep yourself safe. If you have to go to a shady part of town, if you're driving,

park underneath a light. That way, no matter whether it's daytime or nighttime, your vehicle is under a light, which automatically is a deterrent for criminals. Yeah. If you have to go to a shady part of town, arrange to have a driver pick you up and drop you off. That way you can stay inside of a building and have a driver pick you up and take you to your car. even if your car is close, don't walk to your car. Don't walk five blocks in a dangerous place. Just pay a couple of dollars or a couple of pounds to have an Uber carry you instead. It's just, it's so much safer.

Have a friend be with you. Carry lights on you. Carry a whistle on you. People underestimate the value of a whistle. A whistle is not something that you use just in a dangerous situation. A whistle is something that you use just to make sure a dangerous situation. doesn't occur. Think about what happens when you hear a car alarm go off. When you hear a car alarm, everybody looks towards the alarm. Well, what happens when you hear a whistle? Everybody looks towards

the whistle. So a whistle is not there to help you when bad shit happens. A whistle is there so that before anything dangerous happens, you can get people's attention. Okay, that's really helpful. Thanks for sharing that. Also, just to, go back to a more lighter positive topic. You know, in the book you talked a lot about building report. And it seems like, you know, building connection and having these social skills is a really important part of being a spy. So, you know, for someone who's shy or introverted, do you have any tips for building

these social skills? It's funny that you say that because the... The general assumption is that introverts are bad at social skills. Like introverts need help. They need tips. I would actually debate and say that introverts are better at social skills than extroverts. Extroverts are very good at and are being full of energy when people are around. But full of energy doesn't actually help to build connection.

When someone's the center of attention, that doesn't mean. everybody likes them, it means that they're entertaining everybody else around them. Yeah. So it's actually quite difficult for extroverts to build meaningful connections because they're assholes, right? They're clowns. They're goofballs. They need everybody's attention, which makes it very hard for them to make one person feel

special. Yeah. Introverts are the opposite. it. Introverts are already naturally inclined to building rapport, close connections with singular individuals. And a big part of it is because this, in a one-on-one situation, it's where they are more comfortable anyways rather than in a situation where they have seven people they have to entertain. So if you're an introvert and you're hearing this conversation, you already have natural skills for this. Everything else I'm about to share is just,

how you layer on those natural skills. So when you're trying to build rapport, rapport is all about understanding the other person's point of view. What do they care about? What do they value? What do they worry about? What do they want? And you can get all of that through many of the questions that we've talked about.

Elicitation can help you have those questions. Open-ended and close-ended questions can also help you understand what somebody's interested. Natural curiosity. If you just ask somebody a question, especially if you're trying to build rapport, if you're in a intimate setting, unless they're trying to hide from you, they will tell you the truth. Yeah. And then you've got all sorts of tools where you showing your authentic self, you showing your vulnerability invites the other person to do the same thing. The most important thing to understand when you're trying to build rapport is that the process of building rapport, the process of building rapport, the process of building.

a connection. It's not that different than building a bank account. So CIA teaches us this concept called social capital. And social capital is just like fiat capital, just like real currency, where the currency amounts go up and down. So you might work for a whole day to make, whatever, $100, and then you go to the grocery store and you spend $60. And you end the day with $40. Right? So you earned money. You spent. spent money and then you saved money. The same thing is true with social capital. You and I go out and have coffee and we talk about business.

As we have that conversation, we're both building capital with each other. We're building trust. We're building connection. We're building rapport. And in that process, we're building this capital. Well, now if I ask you to introduce me to somebody from your network, I'm spending my social capital. I'm saying, hey, I know that I've earned a little bit of your support. Now I need your help.

I need a favor. Well, whenever that favor happens, I'm spending my capital, just like I'm going to the grocery store. And you are earning even more capital because I'm giving it to you. So then now you have given me a favor. I feel indebted to you. I feel like I owe you something now. which means that you can spend more social capital with me to get what you want. And that's a reciprocity that we have between us.

That's all rapport is. All rapport is is just understanding that everything you do gains and loses this social capital. And the people who are the best at managing relationships are the people who are able to manage that flow of social capital. just like the people who are the best with money are the people who are able to balance their use of money. They don't go into debt, they don't save too much and never use it, they're able to just maintain a healthy relationship.

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