What Is CCA?

Great question, best answered by the CCA Graduate Presentation by Lukas Resheske

What Is CCA?

When Dan first brought up the idea of presenting about a CCA Principle in order to graduate, I felt like I had an easy answer:

I’d just teach people how to use the CCA principles and invert them to mind control people and keep them compliant and easy to manipulate.

After all, I’m a copywriter and it would’ve been funny to show people the Dark Side of the Force.

But after I thought about it for a while, I realized two things:

#1 - I didn’t want to do that.

#2 - That wasn’t really playing my game.

I’m good at persuasion.  But what I’m really, really good at is explaining.

So, as a man, let me explain to you something you already know.

What Is CCA?

This is the question I asked Dan and Nic before they launched the first cohort.

It’s the question I asked them towards the end of the first cohort when they were debating doing it again.

It’s the question I asked Dan when I was writing for his website, and the question I asked Nic when he was prepping his newest book.

I got a different answer every time.

And what if I asked you all?

Since this is my 7 minutes, not yours, I won’t call on anyone…but my assumption is that I’d get as many different answers as there are people in the room.

When I was helping with the copy on Dan’s website, I wondered how a prospective student would define CCA, having never been through it.

Very different answers to the exact same question.

So how do you define something that the founders can’t define…the members can’t define…and the people thinking about joining can’t define.

Well, you give the problem to a copywriter FactFinder with ADD and a potent combo of people-pleasing and perfectionism.

Here’s what I’ve got.

CCA is:

We all know Nic likes quadrants.  This is me being a sycophant.

An Operating System

Like a computer, an operating system is a series of instructions about how to do things.  The computer must comply with the operating system…and there are lots of different kinds of OS’.

CCA is an OS.  And just like a computer that’s working with one operating system already…you need to wipe the computer and reinstall the new OS.  Otherwise, the two conflict, and things break.

You’re probably operating with the OS that you were given at birth, and if you’re a growth-minded person…there’s probably some new software that’s conflicting with the older stuff.  Running Trauma.exe and Growth.exe at the same time throws an error and you blue-screen into a bowl of ice cream.

CCA will show you the kindest…but clearest…way of operating with a system that progresses your goals with the least risk, least effort, and most options possible.

Mental Models

Mental models are personal, internal representations of external reality that people use to interact with the world around them. They are constructed by individuals based on their unique life experiences, perceptions, and understandings of the world.

CCA is a series of Mental Models that suggest an alternative frame of the world…one based on probability, risk, real-world information, and systems that prevent the errors common in cognitive bias.

It basically turns an irrational monkey into a self-aware irrational monkey.  You’re never not gonna be the monkey.  You just now know that you need to guide the monkey away from cliffs, predators, and poison berries.

Things like “Play Your Game”...” Pick A Shoulder And Attack”...” Close The Gap”...all of these things will trigger better thinking in an instant, once you understand what they mean.  And the nice thing is…they mean exactly what they need to mean in your unique situation.  You’re not trying to fit somebody else’s opinion about reality into your reality.

A Community

This comes as no surprise to anyone watching this presentation in person, but for the folks at home and in the future, CCA is a group of people.  We’re all kinda weird but in the ‘good weird’ way.  Some of you are bad weird.

We’re also experts in our field, business owners, and more importantly, striving to live a life aligned with our values.

There’s a saying that you’re the average of the 5 people closest to you.  But that’s not technically true…

Turns out, we’re the cumulative average of our entire network…and their entire network…and their entire network.  Read the article for the full details, but the correlates on positive AND negative outcomes.

Which brings me to the last part…

Commitment

We’re not branding you.  We’re not getting matching tattoos.

But everyone in this community is committed to the same thing.  We all want to get closer to the things that matter to us…make fewer mistakes…and be more purposeful in the world.  It’s a collective commitment to our individual purpose and collective support of other people’s individual goals.

People don’t half-ass CCA.  We whole-ass it.

But that’s 4 things.

I wanted one definition.

One that makes sense to those who know, and is intriguing to those who are still learning.

And I wanted it to sound cool.

So here’s what I got, and hopefully, this will stick better than ‘Fetch’

CCA is The Truth Behind Your Truth.

It’s the math behind dreams.

It’s the system behind goals.

It’s the force behind purpose.

CCA guides us to whatever truly matters to us, and then enables us to get it with Less Time, Less Effort, and More Options.

It doesn’t ask us all the believe the same thing.  It just asks us to believe that there’s a way to Play Your Game while getting what you want.

So when someone asks you, “What is CCA?”

Look them in the eyes, smile, and say, “It’s the truth behind your truth”

And then quickly blink, look concerned, and immediately say “It’s not a cult”

Then laugh to make sure they aren’t scared.  But laugh normal.  Not like that.

— End Presentation —

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