will.i.am - Seeing things that others can’t (E227)

0:28Watch it early on the High Performance app. So here's what's coming up today. Am I at my higher self right now? No. I know that I'm not there yet. And I will never get there. Because once I get to that higher self, guess what? There's another higher self. ADHD is freaking a superpower, bro. That's straight up ADHD gang, homie. So if a kid is on the spectrum, instead of looking at it like, oh, they have a limited bandwidth, no, they actually have a broader scope of bandwidth. and they see things you can't see. I feel like I met my best friend for the first time. I feel like I just met the person I've always been waiting to meet my whole entire life, and that person is my mom.

1:14I feel like I met someone that I've always known but never really knew who they actually were. I'm spiritually undefeated because of my squad, because of my friends. that's a small taster of what you can expect on what was a really fascinating and varied conversation with the seven-time Grammy winner Will.I.Am a man who has sold hundreds of millions of records but does so much more than that whether it's investing in technology businesses whether it's clothing lines whether it's tv shows whether it's music whether it's live shows this is a guy who brings energy to everything that he does and if you love this conversation and you want even more, then download the High Performance app right now from the App Store and you can hear Will talk about the importance of having an arsehole in your team.

2:03It's funny, but it's actually really important as well. So let's get to it then. It's time to welcome Will.i.am to High Performance.

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3:57Will I Am, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. First question, what do you believe high performance to be? thought is the first rapid thought it all starts here it all starts in uh your mental game and you could be in a high performance mental game just sitting still still have the same type of heart acceleration same type of like sweat preparation perspiration um yeah so thought intense thought. So tell us about future casting then, Will. So what is it and how do we do it? It was a guy by the name of Brian David Johnson. Hey, Brian, if you're out there, who told me about future casting and what a futurist was.

4:47How were you at this point? This was 2009. I got a gig at Intel in the futurist department. I just thought I was being creative. and they had these different disciplinaries that were there. Anthropologist, Brian, David Johnson, a futurist. And me, a creative, a hyper-creative. Brian was the one who encouraged that perspective of being creative to see around corners. It's one thing here to be creative for now. It's another thing to think about what the world might look like 10 years from now by looking what it was like 10 years ago and pattern match to solve problems on where you think it might go.

5:37Because of this and because of that and because of what was, might be like this down the road, knowing that these things are going to come into play, the inevitables. And knowing the direction of these inevitables, I'm going to either rhyme a solution with this current issue that people are ignoring. And as it matures, it will solve these inevitable problems around the corner. See, I think this is really interesting because a lot of people will be listening to this podcast or watching this conversation. This is the first time they've heard a futurist being mentioned. So if we're all going to think like a futurist, what's the first thing that they should do?

6:22move out of your own perception. Try to elevate yourself out of like your personal perception of things. How'd you mean? A lot of times like, oh, for example, there was an opportunity I had to invest in a company. This is before they launched. And a friend of mine was like, hey, let's go meet the CEO. There's about a hundred and something K left over in their seed round, whatever round it was at the time. like super early, and they'd like you to invest and add consulting on their journey. But if you're going to do that, you probably want to meet the CEO and the team. So I go and meet them. I hear about what they're doing.

7:10And I was drowned in my perception, which is cool. If you're anchored in your perception, that's healthy. Sometimes that could cripple you. In this case, it crippled my ability to see the scope of what was possible. So I go there, I'm like... So what were you thinking? What was your preconceived thought about this idea that held you back? Why I couldn't see it? I was, because I was anchored in my perception of what was possible, not possible. So I sit there, they tell me the idea. And so I'm like, so wait a second. what about concierge I mean I travel in the world and concierge is amazing what about room service what about like housekeeping people to come and uh clean the room or stuff like that if you don't have concierge if you don't have house cleaning and room service I I don't know if I don't know if this company is going to take off.

8:14Now, he's like, yeah, yeah, but there's a lot of people that don't need that. I was like, yeah, yes, but the clientele you probably want need room service and concierge. And my perception of what I thought was possible what people would like blinded me because at that time, I was traveling around the world in the best hotels, getting the best treatment. You know, these five-star hotels. And I couldn't see Airbnb. I knew you were going to say Airbnb. I couldn't see. So you said no to the investment, right? Crazy. Yeah. I will. All the time I see Brian, he's like, you know what? That would have been worse.

8:57Please tell me you haven't done the maths and worked out. No, yeah. Because I think this is interesting. If you're going to be a futurist, you're going to get things wrong. So how are you with failure? At that point in time, I didn't realize that you have to remove yourself or try to elevate yourself out of your perception of the world. You have to have an elevated viewpoint, and that's like letting go of your ego. It's being super analytical, imaginative still. Curious and rhyming. You have to rhyme what's here with where you think it could go. I didn't know those skill sets when I was rocking with, the potential rocking with Airbnb.

9:47But tell us, Will, because I can imagine that that sort of creep just appears on you where you almost don't realize you're drowning in your own perception. So how do you avoid getting stuck in it then? you have to listen to who with the banter if you're bantering with someone whether it's constructive criticism or you know brainstorm sessions you have to you have to be aware of it like am i coming at it from my vantage point am i only adding to what i would like and what i want or am I using my imagination turned on full? And when you're imagining and dreaming and rhyming yesterday, today, and what could potentially be, you got to move outside of yourself.

10:39And you have to be aware and ask yourself that question while you're brainstorming. If you're not asking yourself those questions when you're trying to solve problems, it's an echo chamber of your self wants, your self desires. And a lot of times when somebody has a problem, if you're good at like helping people through their problems, then you can apply that to anything. Someone that's good at giving advice or helping you think through problems has an empathetic heart and not telling you what they want for you because eventually people are not going to come to you like hey so yo i got this thing people aren't always looking for an answer are they they're not always looking for an answer but more importantly what they don't want is to be told what to do from a judgmental perspective yeah so get rid of judge you gotta you gotta remove judge judging from the equation then whatever it is who or what um the energy of what it is the energy of who it is is going to be open to taking that advice if you remove judging from the equation but there's something here as well about there's that famous Einstein quote that that almost like understanding the problem is more is more important than coming up with the solution.

12:07So once you've removed the ego and you've stopped judging, what are the kind of questions you ask when you're faced with a problem that eventually lead to better solutions? If I'm trying to do that for myself, good luck. I don't think anybody knows how to do that. I mean, maybe there's people that do, but I don't know how to do that yet. I don't know how to tickle myself. I don't care how much I try to. I ain't laughing. but you could tickle me. I mean, not you. Thanks. Hey, but you could tickle me. Not like that, but. That's the content people are tuning in for, so let's just do that now. I can't tickle myself.

12:47Yeah. Applying my, my, my mind and analyzing and problem solving to other things and people, I'm good at. Yeah. Aiming that at myself. I don't know. I'm not, I'm not good at that. But tell us about how you helped us then. First, I removed the judgment. and ego. And you try to be as pure, loving, empathetic as possible. Hear and listen to what's happening, whether it's a company or a person, an entity. Yeah, abstract, direct. you gotta have a keep your curiosity at full volume keep your your empathy at full volume your imagination and your rhyme rhymes is not like cat bat hat rhymes are like trying to match the past and the future pattern matching you don't come with your successes why not because that's judgment you're comparing I can't come with like yo with my life then I'm breaking all those rules you know and then you're Airbnb in it you know what I mean literally so we've talked about the Airbnb moment is it a miss is it a loss probably not you know no that was a loss and a learning moment you gained as well as a loss you didn't gain financially but you gained some knowledge in that moment yeah yeah but it was still an L you're an optimist Will I don't want you to sit here and tell us it was a loss It was a learning experience.

14:29No, sometimes you got to know what's up. Well, a loss is a loss. Like Manchester United lost yesterday. It wasn't a learning experience. They lost. Yeah, that was a loss. I'd love to know the biggest win that you've had from this mindset of curiosity and this desire to help others and this ability to be a futurist. Like when you think of the greatest help it's given you in your life, where does your brain take you? My biggest win is having the friends I have. That selecting. Them selecting you. Yeah, because both ways, you know. You select your friends. This is my squad. And they got to select you back.

15:09Kids would be like, no, you're my friend. Seriously. That's the stalker. You know what I'm saying? We friends, bro. So what are your rules then to selecting your friends? There's like teams, people that come in your life. and then there's like components that are magnetized to your heart, your energy. And that's, those types of bonds are expansive. They expand your resonance, how you resonate. And I'm lucky and blessed that that's the biggest win because that means you're able to go out and accomplish all types of things together, whether it's financial success, it's karmic, it's love, knowledge, understanding, taking risks, overcoming adversaries, tolerating no's, coping with the blows, you know and without that squad the world's gonna beat you up i'm spiritually undefeated because of my squad because of my friends so how do you deal with the blows i write them out write a song about it and then that's my release just create about it and what does that do for you keeps me from like complaining about it to me it was just like material thanks rich bitch like you said I just wrote that wow I like that it took a heartache to like I love that just feel yeah it's very interesting though because then you're you're protected from those blows even though they will still come if you can turn them into your superpower or into your energy.

17:17How great is that? Because then it probably allows you to explore because if it goes wrong and you get a blow or you get a knockback or someone cheats on you or treats you badly, that's kind of okay because you're able to deal with it. Yeah, so for me, whether it's heartache, you know, letdown of like, yo, I can't wait to do this and you've been hoping and dreaming and then your hopes get deflated. what do you do do you give up i go right about it and then i'll see the you know swim in that object of what i created as a result of my letdown my heartache songs like shut up it's heartache ordinary people heartache heartbreak songs like where's the love like soul ache yeah based on like just the world and the human errors so can you take us into that creative process then because a lot of people end up almost getting stuck in a moment it might be the heartache or a disappointment i'm interested in how long it takes you before you process it the creative process of them beginning to put it down on the page stuck in a moment is great There's nothing wrong with that.

18:35If you're stuck in a moment, you create momentum from that moment you're stuck in. Like, so what? I'm stuck in a moment. And then they take that moment and you rinse out. It's okay to rinse. Yeah. What's happening with you inside? And you look at it and be like, yo, hell yeah. I just threw up right there. Like, yo, I just took a... That shit smells. I did that. I needed to do that. Or you just... And do that without judgment. Like, a lot of times people are worried about expressing themselves because they don't want to be judged. And who cares if you get... So what? I needed to do that. You know, you have to have that private time.

19:29You have to have that time to unwind, that time to just define yourself. This is how I'm feeling. And then tell us about, so when you put it down or you capture it somewhere, what do you do with it then? Because eventually you have to show it to the world. I only show it to the world because that's my career. You don't have to show it to the world. You just needed to show it to yourself. Something was here or here, wherever it's at. and if you don't release it, it's just going to fester. And you got to take whatever that energy is and look at it. And if you're lucky enough to have that as a career, you know, then you have material to put out.

20:20If you do it for therapy, then you're just doing it because that's a sneeze. a sneeze is freaking powerful bro I don't care how you're trying to freaking like be cute and shit you gotta fucking sneeze and after you do that you feel relieved I don't care how freaking cute you are or how like your filters on your freaking camera or whatever your posts are to be perfect and how freaking hot you are you fart I don't care what the fuck I don't care give a fuck what you say or think Like, you got some stinky farts. Care how hot you are, how many followers you got. You be letting some fucking bombs out, and them shit stink.

21:07Truth, facts, show me the lie. You have the smallest waist, the nicest, roundest hips, big old natural booty, big old natural boobies, perfect areolas. You got some stinky farts, and you know it.

21:27Sneaking into Will's next hit single You know what I'm saying? And if you're comfortable with that You gotta be comfortable With just like releasing the shit You gotta release How comfortable are you? Yo, I'm comfortable You know what I'm saying? I got my freaking processes Yeah With releasing what I need to release Everybody does We fucking human, bro Are you happy? What? When I release? Generally In general? Hell yeah, bro But there's something You said very casually there About not worrying about being judged Yeah And you said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And yet so many of us often do inhibit or edit ourselves because we're worried about the reaction from others.

22:05How do you overcome that to be able to just reveal yourself without that fear of judgment? If you are self-aware and you're here in the moment and you're always trying to reach your higher self, but then I don't care what anybody is going to think about me and what I can accomplish, where I'm going, because I'm self-aware. I just dropped one. It stinks. What, are you going to tell me it stinks? I know that. Hello? Right, oh, shucks, I didn't put lotion on. What, are you going to tell me I'm ashy? Like, okay, cool, great. Now, you tell me something that I don't know. Well, thanks a lot. Thank you.

22:55Let me try to apply that to my life and improve. Thanks a lot. So there's nothing wrong with, like, somebody telling you something. You can't let it break you because you've got to be reaching your higher self. And you have to be self-aware of where you are right now. Am I at my higher self right now? No. So if somebody's going to tell me that, it's going to break my heart, I know that I'm not there yet. And I will never get there. Because once I get to that higher self, guess what? There's another higher self. What does the higher self look like for you at the moment? If I was to ask you, what's your purpose currently?

23:40Oh, my purpose is to be solution-orientated, to contribute and be a brain and a heart to borrow. So where did that come from? Because I'm sure there was a point where you would have just said to make great music. Oh, no, no. To make good music is therapeutic for me. And I just so happen to have a career doing that. Yeah. But that was never your purpose then? No, my purpose was to take care of my mom. Right. Yeah. My purpose was to buy my mom a house, move her out to projects. And whether music was the vehicle to do that, that was the first. my um oh i could do that doing this but my purpose was always to take care of my mom giving back obviously has been something that matters to you or lifting others up it began with your mom i know you then went back in the projects and reached out to other family members and other friends but also you know the first thing we spoke about when we started this podcast was you being there for other people to be an ally to others and whether that's an individual or whether that's tens of millions of people that you can reach through your music or through your messaging, where did it come from, this need to help others?

24:51Being a recipient of people helping, I'm a recipient of somebody's do-gooding. Tell us about that. So my uncle played football for the Falcons, American football. My uncle was awesome. He played for the Falcons and the Rams. And when he played for the Rams, In the 80s, my whole neighborhood was like, oh, wow, you're Lynn Cain's nephew. Like, yeah, that's my uncle. My uncle played in the same team that Eric Dickerson played at. And Eric Dickerson had this thing called Dickerson Rangers, where in the summer, kids would go out, go camping, get out the neighborhood, get out the streets, and go to, I thought it was the mountains.

25:41but it was Griffith Park which is like a couple of when you're at Freedom Projects any 10 minute or 30 minute drive is like yo we are going somewhere but we went to Griffith Park which is still somewhere and it was the best time I remember that how joyful it was like yo we're going to the mountains and we had after school program summer lunch program and when you are poor families really rely on the school to give to help bring three meals for the child if you don't go to school then a kid is not having three meals because the family can't afford four to pay breakfast lunch and dinner what it used to be three meals away from summer became one meal one and a half meal you're lucky if you have two meals during summer yeah When kids are at home and not at school, yeah.

26:37Yeah, and so what gave us the two meals was the summer lunch program. That gave you dignity where rich people are not coming to the neighborhood to give you free food. They allow the neighborhood to give the food to the neighborhood. So my family, we would hand out food for the summer lunch program. And so that type of do-gooding and common spirit where you wanted everyone to just be able to go through what you were going through because everybody was going through it with a smile. You're already stressed out. Kids were like, am I going to make it through this summer? Last summer, I lost three friends that summer.

27:25Am I going to make it through this summer? So when you're in that type of environment and you're thinking, are you going, will you make it? You have to have some type of joy. And my brother Carl was like, everyone loves Carl. My brother has a special freaking magic where it's like he can make friends with anybody. Anybody, anywhere, in any given configuration. When you have that, when you see from your uncle to your brother, my aunt Belinda works at the homeless shelter. My other aunt works at the police department for dispatch. We got a 549-764. That's my aunt. My mom at the park, she was after-school program director to keep the kids off the street.

28:17So my whole family was always like, you know, they knew us. It's like, oh, man, your family is part of the community, helping the community. So when you look back on those days, Will, what lessons do you take from the projects that you still apply today? Attract more smiles and frowns. How do you, when you walk into a room, are you, do you make people do this or do you make people like this? Get survival on the projects. How do you do it now? You want to make people do this. You want to make people light up. because if you walk into a room and you bring the other one, that means you are a part of problems.

29:00It's as simple as it may sound freaking like, I know that sounds elementary,

29:09but you want to light up the room. And how do you do it, though? Oh, I apply that to business. If you are the person in the room that is like the spark of light, then you're probably going to do business. People are going to want to do business with you. If you are a spark of light and you fail, people are going to want to see you get up and win. You get more chances to bat if you're the spark of light. You ask me, like, what's my biggest win? Well, my squad. Why? Well, I'm their energy source. They're my energy source. And the more you have smiles and it's time to go and apply yourself to be solution-driven to solve problems, you're going to hit the ball to solve whatever problem it is you're trying to solve.

30:01But you have to be that spark. It starts with that spark. We've spoken a bit about the projects, and I think we can't touch on that part of your life without talking about your mom. What messages did she give you that allowed you to be an optimist? Oh, man, I'm going to show you this. I'm going to read you this text. She writes me, thanks for the memories. Sorry, let me pause. Before COVID, me and my mom used to, you know, come with me to Europe. And I love traveling with my mom. But then COVID happened and she just, you know, sat home like everybody did. But then post-COVID, she continued just to stay at home.

30:39I think that COVID really shook her. Make your mollies, just go back out there on the road. She was like, I don't know, Willie. It's wild out there. I'm like, wow, I know it's wild. Let's go, like, rock out. So it took a while to get her back in the traveling spirit. So we went this summer. Freaking magical. Fantastic. So she writes me this text message. Thanks for the memories. Thanks for letting us play in your world. Thanks for making me feel comfortable enough to step into your world again. and thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to show us the world. Thanks for the plane rides and the dinners.

31:19Thanks for all the first-time experiences you give us. Thanks for making my heart smile. Thanks for letting me raise four additional kids with your watch. Thanks for loving them the way you do. Thank you, as Lily always says, Uncle Willie will never let us down. Thank you most of all for letting me know I could live vibrantly after raising eight kids. Thanks, thanks, thanks. So then I wrote, do you know what's crazy? I feel like I met my best friend for the first time. I feel like I just met the person I've always been waiting to meet my whole entire life, and that person is my mom. I feel like I met someone that I've always known but never really knew who they actually were.

32:08A lot of times people get comfortable with who's in the world and accept them for the position that they know them in. Moms, sons, daughters, fathers, uncles, nieces, nephews, aunties, brothers, sisters. And no one really sees who these people actually are. And in this past year, I see you from a different angle. And that is a reconfirmation on how much of an amazing person you truly are. You're a superhuman, and I fall in love with a person that I've always loved. You're my mom and my best friend, and I want you to have the best rest of your life in the most magical way that you ever dreamt of.

32:50It's like I live to be able to show you the world in ways that you'd never imagined to experience it. I love you, Mom. You're the best mom on earth. and yeah she's she's an amazing uh oh thanks for sharing that yeah thank you what's changed how are you now able to see your mom in that way in the way you've always maybe wanted to and waited for you have to say i wonder if i just met this person and i didn't know them like i know them would i actually like this person would they be the person that i want in my life if I just met this person at the supermarket, oh, excuse me, hey, how are you doing?

33:33And this person who is your brother, your sister, your mother, your father, right? Daughters and sons is different. That's a different, I wish my mom would never do it. That's an unconditional thing from the parent down. It hit me when I saw my mom walk into the room and she smiled. and it was her first time in Spain, in Marbella, and she was just looking around, absorbing the town, and the town was a stranger to her. Like, when you see your mom at home, she knows home. She's protected you your whole life. So you always see your parent as, like, the protector. they know this place. And if they don't know it, they're going to figure it out.

34:30But when you take someone that you always looked up to, they always nurtured you, and they see in the world for the first time, like, just taking it all in, and you see them light up, like, wow. I took her to Buckingham Palace, and I saw her, like, marvel at things, like, wow. And it was precious to see her gather, you know, absorb the world. And, you know, at some point in time she had dreams. Maybe she sacrificed her dreams to take care of us. Today's High Performance Podcast is in association with AG1. And actually the last couple of weeks has been a great reminder to me about why AG1 is so important for me because I've been on the road.

35:23The fact I've been living out of a suitcase, I haven't had my routine means actually I have missed taking my AG1 in the mornings. And I've honestly noticed the difference. I've had a drop in energy. I haven't felt great because for me, AG1 is my daily nutritional insurance. It's good for my energy. It's great for my guts. It's full of multivitamins and minerals, pre and probiotics. It's all my key health products in just one drink. And I've got a great offer for you from AG1. If you're looking for a simple, effective investment for your health, you can get five free AG1 travel packs and a free one-year supply of vitamin D with your first purchase.

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38:06DSW, let us surprise you.

38:14For a kid from the projects to end up in one of the biggest bands in the world is incredible. For that person to then become a futurist and an investor and a philanthropist, and I know you have you know your angel foundation which works in the projects now thousands and thousands of kids in la have been helped by that we can talk in a moment about fyi.ai the business that you're the ceo of at the moment but before we get to that i'd love to know how you go from the dream to the reality how do you make this stuff actually happen everyone can dream my mom had a lot to do with that? Right. Explain.

38:58So my mom and Shirlise. Shirlise is like our next door neighbor across from our projects. So our projects were here. It's my mom, our door. Shirlise lived over there. And there's a walkway. And the main street's over here. And Shirlise lived over there. She'd be like, Debra! Screaming out loud, right? Debra! Call Willie over here! And we used to like run across the way to Charlize's house. Well, go to the store and get me some big mama panties. And she would give us like 25 cents to go and do these like store errands. When it was time to go back to school, and most kids, because we went to all rich school in Palisades and Brentwood.

39:47When it was time to go back to school, some kids went back to school shopping to go get the clothes for school. We would go get material. My mom would be like, I remember when I turned 13, 14. Now, what do you want for school? I was like, ooh, I want some MC Hammer pants. MC Hammer pants for school, Willie? Yeah, mom. The polka dots. you gonna go to school looking like a clown well if that's what you want go and get your material and we were poor but we didn't look it we looked freaking like a million bucks so when we go to school they thought we was like balling but my mom would go to thrift stores and so seeing that seeing somebody make something that you would wear and you go to school be like yo you look fresh oh wait yeah my mom made this that to me was like materialization where you would go to instead of going school shopping we would go material shopping buy the material and so see your mom i never really thought about it until you asked me like how did i get this material wanting to materialize dreams when you remember the first time you turned it from seeing your mom make your clothes to you let's say making music do you remember the first time you went all right So I can use that.

41:16My mom's taught me that I can do this. Yeah, there was this next-door neighbor I had named Gil. Gil was like the quinceañera DJ. I would go there and like, yo, let me rap. We'd make a little demo. So I had my other next-door neighbor, Robert. He would give me like his hip-hop CDs and tapes. Then I would rap over my favorite part of the song by going to Gil's house and use his microphones and his equipment. And there was this other friend I had named Trinity Bailey. Her dad is Philip Bailey from Earth, Wind & Fire. So I would give her my song. I would rap on the phone with her like, yo, I got this rap.

41:58Check this rap out. I remember it too. It was called, I know this girl. Her name is Shemika, said to myself. Huh, I kind of like her. And that's it. That's good. that was my first rap that was my first rap I'll sign you and then so I wasn't what was I 12 yeah I was 12 you must have had a there's a dream here though isn't there like your mum's obviously made you feel like Willie you should be dreaming you should dream big oh no she was like Willie you need to be studying or you need to get yourself a job like boy I got a job this is not getting paid yet did you say that yeah she was like did you believe it no I knew it belief is different Explain.

42:41In the middle of believe is a lie. Here, B-E-L-I-E, which is lie, V-E. So, and then there's know. To know is different than to believe. I don't have to believe it if I know it. How did you know it? You were a 12-year-old kid in the projects. How did you know? If a kid is in an environment where they're being encouraged and they know what they want to do, their passion brings them joy and they just love it. And if you continue to encourage that and make them feel like, make them know that wherever they're putting that energy, they'll probably end up being that. Nice. They'll probably end up being some version of their dream.

43:35I know that you have ADHD and you've spoken about it is a blessing of ADHD. ADHD is freaking a superpower, bro. Thank you so much for noticing it. Suppose you're like, oh man, I got this thing called ADHD. Like, yeah. Straight up, ADHD gang, homie. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, ADHD, that's the gang sign. ADHD, what? You don't? Probably not. You could look at something like that And like, it could cripple you. Somebody's like, oh. But it only cripples you with perception, which we spoke about at the beginning of this. Yeah. The perception of ADHD is that it's somehow a problem, right? It's a problem for people that don't have patients.

44:24It's a problem for people that don't have it. Yeah, like if you're a teacher and you want all your students to be the same, that's when ADHD is a problem. Is it a problem for me? Actually, no. does it hurt like what's wrong oh man got this adhd bro my freaking head is hurting like oh man this adhd is fucking my knees up man like is it really like really am i am i hurting because of it or the people that i interact with when i was younger my hyperactivity probably you know put them a little off tilt because they wanted everyone to conform to the same learning pattern. But is it tiring? Like, does it exhaust you ever?

45:09If I have a personal problem I'm dealing with, my ADHD will keep me from, like, solving my personal problems. Because I'm a freaking slippery fish. And I'll put it off. but I don't know if that's ADHD or if that's just like I just don't want to deal with that right now I don't know if that it's the same thing but we did an interview Will a couple of years ago on the podcast with a fascinating man called Marcelino Sambay who grew up in the equivalent of the projects in Lisbon where he describes going to a youth centre and people had sort of seen him as being a wild child and then somebody said this boy just needs to dance and he's now the principal lead for the royal ballet and it was almost he described that moment of somebody recognizing that he had a talent that just needed to be channeled in a certain direction that was the catalyst for what became his life was there a moment for you when somebody said this isn't a problem this is a gift if it's used by...

46:23Yeah, Mr. Right had this teacher named Mr. Right. And I remember when it was sixth grade and you graduate to go from sixth grade to seventh grade. And Mr. Right had talked to my mom or something like that and said that they should hold me back and have me repeat sixth grade. But he's going to let me graduate on stage if you get him to focus what he's really good at. And that's just creativity. Mishrei was an awesome teacher. Like, he was one of my favorite teachers. And creativity was my, like, oomph. So that's how I got through school, was the arts. Creative writing, arts and craft. Probably did really horrible in, like, history.

47:20Because I would use my imagination more so than, you know, what history was actually about. But yeah, that's my imagination is pretty superb. Everybody is on some limited version of the spectrum. Like this world that we are looking at right now. The human eye can only see the color side of the spectrum. We're limited to RGB. We cannot see past ultraviolet. We can't see past violet to ultraviolet. Our eyes can't see that. We can't see past red, infrared. Our eyes can't see it. You actually need equipment to be able to detect infrared. You need equipment to detect ultraviolet. And on the either side of ultraviolet spectrum and infrared spectrum, you have radio waves, x-rays.

48:27We can't see x-rays. You actually need equipment to see through objects like x-rays do. You need equipment to pick up radio frequencies that happen on radio. They exist. Speaking of on the spectrum. So if a kid is on the spectrum, instead of looking at it like, oh, they have a limited bandwidth. No, they actually have a broader scope of bandwidth. And they see things you can't see. They feel things you can't feel. So you think they have a handicap when actually the handicap is you. Switching subjects to something that you touched on. The FYI bit, like centralizing thought. Because I think one of the reasons why a lot of people have attention disorder, not hyperactive attention disorder, just like attention disorder, ADD, attention disorder deficit, then there's hyperactive attention disorder.

49:42The whole entire planet has ADD now because of the phone. And I've noticed that like, wait, I thought I had ADHD. How did you just go from that subject to this subject to that subject? Everyone now is acting like notifications. Everyone now enters the conversation without completing the thought. And it gets distracted like a pop-up. Everyone's mind is configured the way their phone is configured. Apps scattered all over the place. Cookies that are tampered with. And no real conversational flow to complete thought. How do you solve that with FYI.ai? Keeping everything in one place. your your assets are your aspirations the things that you want to do in life and so we're starting by having your conversations your assets in a safe place in one place not your conversations here but then your assets in a different app and then comments on the assets over here while the bulk of materializing what those assets are about over here but two different products two different companies sometimes four or five different companies different products different business models and how they're leveraging your data because no one read the terms and conditions on free shit.

51:22And you put all your dreams and aspirations across these companies and their business models. So you don't know if those terms and conditions say that they have access to it, they can leverage it, they can use it, they can sell it. You don't know any of that stuff. Nobody's read it. So coming from the music industry, any contract I sign or present it with, some lawyer is going through it, like, that's not what's happening on platforms and phones. No one is saying, hey, hey, this ain't right. And say, for example, there was a rebuttal or something like, wait, is there even an option of a product that has better terms and conditions for people?

52:04Nope. They just have those terms and conditions for like, disclaimer, we told you that these are our terms and conditions. Whether you're like, if you don't like them, guess what? You ain't using a product. So it's not like you have a choice on the terms and conditions. You just hope that somebody has a moral compass. So how does FYI solve that? Well, our terms and conditions, your data is your data. We ain't selling it. We ain't doing nothing with it. As a matter of fact, here goes a key to protect it. Your digital assets are here in a project. And right now, that digital asset management is at its basic and will continue to get advanced.

52:44But all your assets are where your conversations are. And with encryption, elliptical curve cryptography to keep your stuff safe. So starting off with those principles where you're building and communicating around projects and the things that you want to accomplish, I woke up this morning the team did an amazing job presented high performance service by calendar because we know all the details and what your show is about I think my you can play episodes on there so all of our assets are put into your space so you can make use of it that's amazing so I came here before I get here I get a digest a brief of what it is that's FYI focus your ideas with AI focus your ideas I love it see there's a point on that that you made the comment about we often hope that some of these other big platforms have a moral compass we're in an age where let's take the computer a trick happened in the computer that no one really actually pays attention to where the computer is asking us if we're robots to even move forward on safety.

54:13Our computer's like, hey, hey, you want to enter the site? Wait, first off, are you a robot? A robot's asking us if we're human. Now, in 2023, the robot, these AIs, are super analytical, amazing at conversation. They create. mid-journey is an amazing tool Dolly 3 is an amazing tool so you're optimistic then about AI I'm optimistic around AI

54:48yes I'm optimistic about it because I believe in people I believe in humanity shit could go wrong like any tool We've reached the point where we need to do our quick fire questions, Will. Cool. All right, here we go. The three non-negotiable behaviors that you and the people around you need to buy into. Love. Yeah. Compassion. Empathy. Love it. What advice would you give to a young Will.I.Am just starting out? Start a relationship between yourself, your past self, and your future self. Pray to them. Have conversations with them. every night and a couple of times throughout the day. If you could go back to one moment in your life, what would that moment be and why?

55:41When I drowned in 1985, I was pronounced dead, and I would go back to that moment to say, wake the fuck up, let's go. It's not right. What happened? I drowned. What, in a pool? In a pool. I can't, I can't, um, couldn't swim, still can't really swim. And, um, I, I, um, I remember saying to myself, oh, wow, this is how I die. And, um, and for about two weeks I was in the hospital pumping water out my lungs. Um, yeah. How did that change your outlook on life? How did it change my outlook on life? I can't swim. You didn't learn, though. So, yeah, yeah. Interesting. Well, how I change my outlook? I take showers like this.

56:49I lean back. Who saved you? This lady in the Glendale High School.

57:00yeah yeah

57:06amazing how important is legacy to you?

57:13legacy I love that word legal legacy legendary

57:26all have the word leg in it because it's something you stand for, something that will always stand. And when you can't stand for yourself, you need legal representation and somebody else's legs. Legacy, legendary, legal. Final message for the people that have listened and watched this incredible conversation. your one golden rule to leave them with, for them to go and live their own version of high performance. One golden rule. Shine. Walk into a room and be that bright light. Thank you for coming on here and shining for us. It was fascinating. Thanks, guys.

58:12Damien. Jay. Well, what a wide-ranging, fascinating, insightful conversation with Will. and I think actually that conversation and the direction that he takes it gives us the perfect insight we need into the way that his brain works, therefore the way he operates and actually all of that is an integral reason for him to have achieved all the things he has. Yeah, I love that bit of advice he gave that ADHD is only a problem for people that don't have patience. I think if you're prepared to sit still long enough and listen and really try and engage, the value that he was kind enough to share with us was incredible.

58:49And how great that really at the end of the day, you know, his final message for living a high performance life, that idea of being the light in the room. I think people forget too often that they are the lightning conductor for the people around them. We are told all too often we have no power as individuals. But the truth is that the people watching and listening to these conversations, they can be the catalyst for change. They can be the first person to change their home, to change their business life, to change their office, to change their friends. And incredible things happen from there.

59:17Yeah, it reminded me. I mean, there was lots of parallels there. I've recently been reading the Walter Isaacson biography of Elon Musk, and one of his first guiding principles is recruit people with a can-do attitude. he says you know i can train you for skills but your attitude of just having that willingness to come in put a smile on your face and try and get things done is a guiding principle for him and i think you can see it with with will that sometimes we can get caught up in skills and the technical detail of what somebody can bring but ultimately it's about the positive energy that they bring and he's a textbook example of it yeah i totally agree with that and i think actually the fact that he admitted he had three hours sleep for three days running i think we got quite um we got quite a reflective will i am actually and him you know sharing personal texts from his mom that was a really true insight into him you know he wasn't acting like he's doing a bit of media therefore he has to say certain things i think that was a really true reflection of the person that he is yeah and like i said to you when we'd finished there that i think my public perception seeing him on TV shows and things like that beforehand was that he could be quite cold or maybe a little bit spiky, but I've come away with a real sense of warmth from him.

1:00:31And I think that's from just being authentic. It was a real pleasure to sit and listen. Loved it. Thank you, mate. Thank you, mate. So that's it then. Will.i.am on High Performance. I'd love to know what you thought of that conversation. And don't forget, if you want more from Will, download the High Performance app right now and you can hear some exclusive content from him. Actually, if you download the app, you'll also get early access to episodes. You can get loads of exclusive content, daily boosts, and so much more. Just go to the app store and download the High Performance app. Please keep continuing to spread the learnings and the lessons you're taking from these conversations.

1:01:07Remain humble, remain curious, and go and find your own version of High Performance.

1:01:32We'll see you next time.

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