Is Cheating Bad?

Is cheating bad? I guess that depends on what you call cheating.

Sure, cheating in a school test was frowned upon because it wasn’t fair on the other kids. In the safe bubble of school education everyone in the class had the same teachers, the same lessons and the same test at the end to decide who won and who… well… didn’t, so it was easy to frown upon ‘cheaters’ because they appeared to have an unfair advantage.

But we aren’t kids anymore.

In the working world, there is no level playing field. People do not get the same help and it is not the same test that everyone takes at the end. It’s one big competitive arena and there’s no-one to run to if somebody doesn’t follow the ‘rules’. It’s a constant uphill battle where inches mean miles. So in a world where there are no rules on fairness, and where even a small edge over everyone else is the difference between making it and making the tea, is it still called cheating if you give yourself an advantage?

So this is how I discovered cheating.

Listening to one of Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof podcasts, where he interviewed Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week, Dave was talking about the benefits of something called Nootropics. He said how he had used them for years to improve his cognitive function, ability to learn and stay motivated. After a lot of research and doing my homework into what these things were, I thought I’d give them a try with a friend and see if they made a difference.

A friend of mine recommended a UK supplier called Nootrient, which offered a blend of what was seen to be three of the highest rated Nootropics available. After a couple of days I got what all the fuss was about – it was like the focus and quickness you get from coffee, but with great clarity of thought and perspective. The nearest thing I could equate this to was the film Limitless, … “I wasn’t high, I wasn’t wired. Just clear. I knew what I needed to do and how to do it.”

I felt like I had discovered fire. The secret sauce to optimising human performance, specialised to the work environment. In the weeks that followed the results were clear – improved motivation, higher quality of work and the ability to see the big picture and connect abstract concepts to form simple solutions. In meetings I knew not only what to say, but how to say it – being authoritative, whilst at the same time empathetic. A combination of good nutrition, sleeping well and the right dosage of two a day had synergistic effects that resulted in the most effective flow state every single day.

So, are Nootropics cheating? Well, I guess that depends on what you call cheating.