Hi,

I just finished reading Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz over the holiday break, and it’s hands down one of my favorite books ever. Like…it kind of blew my mind lol. Without overhyping it, it quickly became one of the best books I’ve read on self-development and mindset.

It's from 1960 (which normally would make me a little skeptical of its relevancy), but the ideas in it actually feel more relevant now than ever. I thought the book was super applicable and relevant to those building a creative career.

Let’s explore below.

Let’s dive in ⬇️

I’ll preface this is by far one of the longest newsletters I’ve ever sent (maybe THE longest) but it’s worth a full read!

The basic premise of Psycho-Cybernetics is that our brains are designed to help us reach goals, but most of us never actually have a clear target of what to aim for. We tend to stay super vague about who we want to become, then get frustrated (or confused) when we're not making as much progress as we’d like.

Almost like trying to use GPS without putting in a destination lol.

Here are a few frameworks from the book that stuck with me.

_{1) Mental Picturing}

The author stresses the importance of this idea called “mental picturing”. It’s essentially visualizing the person you want to become in excruciating detail and envisioning how that person moves through the world.

• What do they look like?

• How do they interact with people?

• How do they deal with conflict?

Most people have a general idea of the person they want to become but don’t get into the nitty gritty.

For example, someone looking to lose weight might say “I’m looking to get slimmer” but they don’t go to the lengths of actually imagining what that version of themselves looks like. Like…literally maybe even using ChatGPT or Gemini to edit a photo of themselves as that person. That way they have a specific target of who that person is and what they’re aiming for. Things become more tangible and realer when you can see exactly what you’re aiming for.

The takeaway of mental picturing is that you can't execute something correctly if you don't have a clear mental picture of what "correct" even looks like.

The author suggests spending 30 minutes a day imagining yourself as the person you want to become. Not in some vague "manifestation" way, but really detailed. How do they work? What do they say no to? How do they handle a bad day? What do they look like? How do their clothes fit as that person?

When you do this consistently, you're literally building new pathways in your brain and “memories” of you as that person. According to science, eventually your autopilot kicks in and you start naturally acting like that person, even without consciously thinking about it.

There's this study in the book about throwing darts that reinforces this idea.

A researcher named R.A. Vandall split people into three groups:

• One group physically practiced throwing darts at a target

• Another group just sat there and imagined themselves throwing darts, visualizing perfect throws and mentally correcting their mistakes

• A third group did nothing

The group that only visualized came close to matching the group that physically practiced. Sometimes they even did better, because they weren't accidentally reinforcing bad habits - they were only mentally rehearsing the right technique.

Crazy right?

Here's what this could actually look like for artists + creators:

Artists: you are an emerging artist playing shows to 5 people right now. This stage of the journey is tough and can feel disconcerting. Instead of spiraling about the empty room, you spend 30 minutes a day imagining yourself on a bigger stage. Not just the crowd - but how you move, how you interact with the audience, how confident you feel in your performance. You visualize handling technical difficulties calmly, reading the room, delivering your best even when things go wrong.

When you finally get that opportunity to play for 500 people, your brain won't freak out. It's been there before, in your mental rehearsals. You've already practiced that moment dozens of times.

Creators: you're building a following from scratch and your early social media posts or YouTube uploads aren’t as getting as much engagement as you want yet. Great content doesn’t get the viewership you want and it’s a grind. Instead of letting that discourage you, you visualize yourself as someone who creates consistently, who doesn't check analytics obsessively, who trusts the process. You imagine how that version of you shows up every week, refines their craft, and doesn't get derailed by slow growth.

For creators still figuring things out, this is huge. You don't have to wait until you've "made it" to start thinking like the person you're becoming. You can rehearse it now, in your head, and act like that person.

It's kind of like shadowboxing. Boxers don't just show up to a fight and wing it - they spend hours alone practicing combinations and imagining opponents. By the time they step in the ring, their body already knows what to do.

This also applies to creative professionals. Envisioning yourself doing a great job on that presentation, project, etc.

_{2) Challenging negative thinking}

Another big takeaway from the book focuses on some of the mental loops we can all get stuck in. Running into a roadblock, challenge, or loss and thinking we’re not good enough or not meant for it. Or maybe even just visualizing the worst case scenario before it happens.

The author shares four questions to ask yourself when on the verge of spiraling:

1. Is there any rational reason for this belief?

2. Could I be wrong about this?

3. Would I think the same thing about someone else in my situation?

4. If there's no good reason to believe this, why am I still acting like it's true?

These questions force you to step outside your own head and look at your thoughts the way you'd look at a friend's. And honestly, most of the time you'd never say to someone else the things you casually say to yourself.

If you're stuck thinking "I'm not ready" or "I don't have what it takes," run it through these four questions. Chances are, the belief falls apart pretty quickly.

_{3) The power of letting go}

This one might sound weird at first, but it's one of the most practical ideas in the book.

Maltz uses a roulette analogy that really stuck with me: most people place their bet, then spend all their energy stressing while the wheel is spinning. I don’t gamble but I’ve legit seen this at casinos before lol.

The author stresses the idea that the wheel is already in motion…those people worrying won’t change where it lands.

The smarter approach would be to do all of the worrying before they make the decision. Think it through, weigh your options, consider the risks, then once you commit, let it go completely. Absolve yourself of all responsibility and care for the outcome once the wheel is turning. Or don’t play at all.

If you've decided to release a project, pitch yourself for an opportunity, or put something out into the world - just go with it. So much stress comes from second-guessing decisions you've already made. You can't control how people will react. You can only control whether you do it in the first place.

This also applies to creative work. When you're deep in something - whether it's a single, campaign, rollout, etc, there's a point where you hit a wall. You've been staring at it for hours and nothing's clicking. That's when you need "victory by surrender."

Stop trying so hard. Work in focused bursts, then step away. Go for a walk. Sleep on it. Let your brain work in the background.

Your creative process works better when you're not forcing it. Think about how many times you've had a breakthrough in the shower or right before bed. That's not random - that's your subconscious doing its thing once you stop micromanaging.

_{4) One thing at a time}

Maltz talks about an hourglass and how only one grain of sand can pass through at a time. If you try to force more through, everything gets stuck.

The book makes that analogy to people. We think we're being productive by trying to juggle five things at once, but really we're just jamming everything up. The best way forward is to finish one thing at a time.

For artists + creators, this can be tough. We’re all managing multiple projects, wearing different hats, trying to build and market and learn all at once. But if you're constantly switching between tasks, nothing gets your full attention.

There's another piece to this: don't look beyond today. Maltz says all you really have is the next 24 hours. A lot of stress comes from trying to solve problems that can't be solved right now, so you're just sitting there anxious, spinning your wheels. That stress actually comes from inaction - literally worrying about something you can’t even fix right now.

If you can't take action on something today, let it go for now. Focus on what's actually in front of you.

_{5) The bicycle principle}

This is one of my favorite ideas from the book: a person is like a bicycle and a bicycle only stays balanced when it's moving forward. You can have the nicest bike in the world, but if you're sitting still with nowhere to go, it's shaky and unstable.

Same thing with people. Forward momentum, even when messy, is imperfect momentum and keeps you steady. Sitting around waiting for the "perfect moment" or the "right opportunity" just makes everything harder.

Maltz brings up the idea of torpedoes to illustrate this point. They don't launch perfectly on target and fly straight - they zigzag their way to their intended target, constantly course-correcting and adjusting. They arrive at their destination by making mistakes in real time and adjusting, not by not making any mistakes at all.

The lesson: mistakes aren't just okay, they're part of how you get where you're going. You're not supposed to have everything figured out before you start. You start, mess up, adjust, and keep moving.

_Overall

Phew, okay that was a lot lol. Maybe my longest newsletter ever but I think it’s an important one. Everything in this book comes back to one idea - you need to know, in detail, who you're trying to become.

Not just "successful creator" “thriving artist” or "working professional" - actual specifics. How do they spend their time? What do they say no to? How do they handle rejection? What does their Tuesday look like?

The clearer your mental picture, the easier it is for your brain to guide you there. Your brain is already wired to help you hit targets - you just have to give it one that's clear enough to aim for and be okay with messing up along the way.

Hopefully this was helpful on your journey.

Thanks for reading, until next time.

_{The Vault}

 1) Emergent - my cousin actually introduced me to this one! It’s similiar to Lovable, a platform that can be used for building web applications with AI but Emergent has more integrations. For example, it recently just integrated with Claude Sonnet 4.5 More info HERE