A former CIA officer has gone viral on TikTok after explaining how as a spy, he was taught that every human being has three lives, and knowing this will give you an advantage.
Andrew Bustamante is an ex-CIA covert intelligence officer and US Air Force combat veteran who is now an internet personality, and shares tricks he’s learnt that will help you improve your life.
‘Three lives’ spy trick
Speaking on Tom Bilyeu’s podcast Impact Theory, he said: “When you first walk up to somebody you’ve got to keep in mind that nobody is what they appear to be.”
Bustamante then explained that every human being has three lives, a public life, a private life and a secret life.
The public life is what we’re all presenting to each other. It’s how you want to appear to the world, including the way you look and sound. For example, the clothes you choose to wear, car you drive and house you own all play a part.
“It may not be real, but it doesn’t have to be real,” he said. “If they perceive it to be true, then you have won because you have just manipulated their perception.”
Then you’ve got your private life, which is what your closest confidants know about you, like your wife, friends or parents.
“Publicly, nobody knows my feet smell bad. Privately, my wife knows my feet smell bad but I’m never going to make that part of my public persona because it goes against what I’m trying to display,” he explained.
Moving onto the secret life, that’s the one that you don’t share with anyone. It’s the things you’re afraid to say, because you’re scared of people judging you. Some people have a small secret life, while others’ is much bigger.
“It’s the place where your darkest thoughts and your biggest vulnerabilities live and convince you every day not to share them with your spouse or parents,” the ex-spy continued.
Use this to your advantage
You can use this spy teaching to your own advantage in life, as you will always be one step ahead of everyone else. Knowing that every human has three lives allows you to see past the fake front and delve deeper into someone’s personality.
You’ll realise that not everyone is showing their real self, and you need to get into a person’s private life to see their true personality. However, you don’t really know someone unless you are let into their secret life.
You will always be presented with the public life first, and you must get into someone’s private life to have a chance of seeing their secret life. It’s not easy, but the ex-CIA officer said once you’re there, “you never leave”.
“Once someone has trusted you with a secret life secret, their loyalty to you is beyond question forever,” he explained.
They believe you have earned that right to your secret life, so you suddenly have access to all of their secrets – and that’s the key to truly knowing someone.
