From the out-of the box stylings of the musicians from the ‘Psychedelic Era’, to the Silicon Valley brains who have revolutionized technology, the fingerprints of psychedelic drugs are all over the place. 

“Another Side To The Coin”

Most of us have heard how tech pioneer Steve Jobs experimented with LSD in his youth — later crediting it with enhancing his imagination and inspiring his groundbreaking ideas. He famously stated;

“…LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin… It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.”

As well as the late Mr Jobs, there are many anonymous tech-geniuses and entrepreneur’s that credit psilocybin, LSD, DMT and ecstasy as catalysts for their greatest and brightest ideas. One unnamed entrepreneur of the ‘Valley’ swears by taking one of these substances once a month, and fully ‘exploring’. Of course this all sounds very grand, and simply dripping in California sun; but there are many other, more relatable, tales of people getting ahead with a little help from their psychedelic friends.

Making The Leap From Dream To Reality

Amy Chan, founder of Renew Breakup Bootcamp, is one the many entrepreneurs and start-up owners who are beginning to speak publicly about how psychedelics helped them make the leap from dreams to reality. In an article published online, subtitled —

“How to go from six-figure salary to startup founder, with only a big idea and a small bank account? Mushrooms, for starters”

— Chan goes in-depth into how her life, and entire outlook, was changed by a psychedelic experience. She explains that despite being high achieving and having aspirations to find her own path, somehow it never seemed possible to make it happen. After a lifetime of being a “corporate cog”, pleasing her bosses, and learning how to play ‘the game’ well enough to get by, she was afraid to jeopardize her position of safety by following her dreams. It was never the ‘right’ time. 

Enter The Shroom

That was until — you guessed it — shroom time. With the guidance of a shaman she took part in a meditation that went on for 6 hours, all the while under the influence of magic mushrooms. During her trip, she left her body, and was addressed by a glowing woman all dressed in white. The woman told her;

“You have to stop giving your power away. You have a big job to do. We are passing this responsibility off to you.”

From that moment Chan knew that she finally had to follow her calling. Describing an intangible, yet sure, sense of ‘knowing’, she quit her job to start a-new. She learnt to stop procrastinating and to ‘just do’ things, re-evaluating what was possible, even what possibility actually meant.  This reflects the proven effect that psychedelics have on our Default Mode Network (or DMN). The DMN looks for control and safety, constantly evaluating possibilities — this is essential of course — but it can often prevent us from taking the risks that would actually benefit us. Psychedelics can temporarily release us from the control of the DMN, giving us the opportunity to see our anxieties are actually rather small, and should not control us. It also enhances the ability to make links between seemingly disconnected things — aiding in problem solving, and maybe just maybe, helping you come up with THAT big idea. 

This is what Steve Jobs meant by “the other side of the coin”. Being able to see things differently, without the structures that usually restrain us. And, at the very base, realising what is important to you. 

How To Apply It To YOUR Life

But, how can you apply it to your life? For many people, the pandemic has caused a re-evaluation of their lives and careers, often not by choice. For some though, there has been a silver lining — having less to lose, they have started towards career paths they never dreamed they’d dare to tread upon. Psilocybin can help you on your way, by choice. Whether you need that push to finally break away from a life-style that has become stale to you, or a way to truly explore your ideas without inhibition, it’s effects can be transformative. 

You can, like Amy Chan, take a guided trip, to truly immerse yourself in your innermost thoughts and desires, using magic mushrooms or truffles. Consider the questions you wish to answer beforehand, and make sure you have an experienced trip sitter with you. You may come away with a whole new outlook, or even have that ‘eureka!’ moment.

Alternatively you can supercharge your day-to-day by microdosing. Increasing your productivity, creativity and focus without the psychedelic effects, by taking a small dose of psilocybin every couple of days you can push through to get that start-up started!

For more info on microdosing methods click here! 

And of course, good luck on all your endeavours! You can do it!