If you follow me, you know I spend a lot of time talking about escaping the Matrix and pursuing one’s true purpose, but rarely do I break down what the Matrix-mindset is.  Today I will explain what the Matrix-mindset is and why it is so important to break free of that mindset to realize your full potential.  Nearly everyone has heard or seen the famous 1990’s block buster movie The Matrix.  If not, I would suggest you catch up on your modern American cinema history, you are missing out on a classic.  For those that have never seen the Matrix, see the below clip before reading further.

So, according to the premises of the movie the Matrix was control, it was the artificial intelligence entity’s (aka Matrix) way to keep human beings asleep and ignorant of the reality in which they lived.  In the movie, humans exist to serve the Matrix, they are slaves to the will of the system.  The Matrix is a physical and mental prison for human beings.  The Matrix controls the thoughts of every human being on earth, except those that “unplugged” from the system.  Any human (usually those that have awoke to the truth) or errant program (programs that take on their own unique personality) that fails to accept the Matrix’s reality or programming is eliminated.  The Matrix was control, pure and simple.  The Matrix was the destroyer of free thought.

So, what is the Matrix-mindset?  The Matrix-mindset is the way one’s mind is wired, specifically the dominating thoughts that surround a defeatist attitude.  To say it more broadly, the Matrix-mindset is the unwillingness to accept new ideas and concepts..it means to embrace the status quo as reality.  The Matrix-mindset is control, it is the control one places over one’s mind to avoid the risk of failure.  The Matrix-mindset is a fixed mindset of embracing the familiar as the preferred outcome, a mindset that avoids anything with an unknown outcome.  The Matrix-mindset ensures us that we are safe as long as we go with the flow, follow the crowd, avoid independent thinking, and never challenge the status quo, ever.

The Matrix-mindset is a mental and emotional prison that ensures a life never fully realized…complacency and complaining replaces purpose and passion.

Most people are trapped in the Matrix-mindset and have no idea they are “plugged” into the system.  They walk around living life day-to-day ignorant of their full potential, ignorant of the power that lies within.  The Matrix-mindset is a system, a system where we as human beings have allowed ourselves to give up control of our free will in order to maintain jobs, status, and stability.  This system, just like the movie, frowns on innovation, creativity, individuality, and new ideas.

This system is maintained by people who have accepted their place as keepers of the status quo and they actively seek to control/eliminate/fear those who attempt disrupt the system with new ideas.  You see the keepers of the system (known as “Agents” in the movie) every day.  The real world “Agents” are people afraid of change, afraid of new ideas, afraid of innovation, afraid of challenging the status quo, afraid of anything that causes them to think outside the comfort zone.  In real life they are the leaders of companies, middle managers, your mom, your friends, your spouse, your best friend, the people who don’t want you to succeed, and they can even be a sitting President.  Agents are not bad people, they just don’t understand what it means to be free of a system of thinking that limits one’s ability.

The Matrix-mindset will guarantee us a life of regret, unless we change, and change today, before it’s too late.  Escaping the prison of closed-minded thinking became a personal quest for me back in 2007 when an uninspired leader aka “Agent” risked my life on a foolhardy mission in Iraq.  From that day forward, everything changed, I saw the truth of the system, swallowed the pill, and made it my mission to escape.

To find greatness in yourself, to live a full life, you have to escape the Matrix mindset.  To escape the Matrix you must first realize you are a prisoner.  There is no special formula or scientific tests to determine if you have the Matrix mindset, you can tell if you have a Matrix mindset in less than 60 seconds by answering the following questions.  I developed these questions from 10 years of my personal journey and study of the human condition.

1. Does the thought of leaving your 9-5 to pursue a passion that may fail excite you more than it scares you?
2. Does the thought of being free from “yes men with uninspiring ideas” appeal to you more than breathing?
3. Do you thrive in environments full of unknown possibilities and outcomes?

If you answered no to any of these questions you have a Matrix-mindset.  It does not mean you are a bad person, it just means you have not realized your purpose.  You have not realized your birth was no accident, you were put here with specific gifts to fulfill a specific purpose.  For example, my gift is leadership, specifically, I can motivate and inspire people like nobody’s business, that’s my gift.  My purpose is to free people from the Matrix and push them to their greatness, in the process, disrupt the status quo and change the world.  It will take you some time to find your purpose, don’t worry if you don’t know it yet, it took me 40 years to find it.  The hardest step is the first step….just jump…go find your purpose!

When you live with the Matrix-mindset the status quo becomes the why, when you are free of the Matrix-mindset, your purpose becomes the why.

To be fair and realistic most people live their entire lives in the Matrix-mindset and are content.  In the movie, most human beings chose to remain in the Matrix instead of facing the harsh reality of their true situation.  The purpose of this article is not to suggest everyone break free of the system and follow their passion.  The purpose of this article is to bring awareness and encourage people to find their purpose wherever it takes them…once found…then disrupt the status quo!!! 🙂  What you don’t want is regret at the end of your life, that is the worst thing that could ever happen.  Regret over lost time and opportunities is a direct result of living with a Matrix-mindset…it will destroy your soul…if you allow it….the choice is yours Neo.  Red or Blue pill?  

-CJ Guy