Free From Fopo

A while ago, I read The First Rule of Mastery by Michael Gervais . He is a performance psychologist who works with high-performing individuals, from Olympians to CEOs, and created the concept FOPO: Fear of Other People’s Opinions. The book explores how our lives are shaped by our own perception, and what we think other people think of us. I was always fascinated by psychology, cognitive dissonance, Jungian theories, and the relationship between what we experience internally and externally.

One of my favorite quotes is: “They didn’t know it was impossible, so they did it.” I started sketching ideas inspired by the book and, eventually, reached out to Michael to thank him and share my work with a few creative ideas. To my surprise, he wrote back. Many conversations, drawings, and months later, that exchange turned into a collaboration: a 92” × 54” painting now on its way to Finding Mastery offices in California. Soon, I’ll also be joining him for a conversation on their podcast.