This is not random.
This is training—for a state of mind so powerful that it decides gold medals, survival, and transformation.
WHAT IS THE LAUGHING PIRATE?
Watch Mikaela Shiffrin above. She wins Olympic gold by being fractions of a second faster than tenth place.
Snap your fingers. Tenth place. Think about that for a bit. The difference? A single mental state. And she can summon it at will.
The Laughing Pirate is a state of maximum performance—where there is no doubt, no hesitation, no self-talk.
It is the moment of absolute presence, that builds on what you have learned so far.
It is summoned by your smile, and the thought: “I want this.”
Mikaela does it on command—and so will you.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE LAUGHING PIRATE
This is not just about sports. This is about how you live.
Consider these words from Lanny Bassham, an Olympic gold medalist and mental performance coach:
“You cannot control what it will take to win a competition. You cannot control what other competitors do and often you cannot even predict with accuracy what score will win a competition. But you can predict process. Process is what you can control and only what you can control. You can predict and control how many days a week you train. You can control the discipline of your efforts. You can control what you choose to think about and do. My advice is to only set goals on things that YOU can control. Keep your focus on you, not your competitors. Rehearse in your mind the process of executing a combination of mental feelings and technical moves that get results.”
This is what we are doing. The mnemonic is your process. You cannot control the chaos of life—but you can control your reactions.
The Greats Have Always Known This
- Marcus Aurelius: “You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
- Miyamoto Musashi: “There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”
- Victor Frankl: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Read Frankl’s quote again.
What does it mean?
If the only thing you ever control is your response, then how do you learn to control your response?
Read Bassham’s words again.
His answer is process.
That’s exactly what the mnemonic is. It is a practiced process of shaping your response, until it is no longer a choice—it is instinct.
THE LAUGHING PIRATE SMILE: BREAKING THE SCRIPT
Most people’s smiles and laughter are responses to a stimulus. They are reactive. A joke. A warm moment. A surprise.
The Laughing Pirate Smile is not a response. It is a deliberate interruption. It is a signal to yourself—a command, a trigger, an override.
It is Free Will, embodied.
THE ULTIMATE TEST OF CONTROL
You don’t need the Laughing Pirate Smile when times are good. You need it when everything is falling apart. When disaster hits like a tidal wave. When you are on the edge of oblivion.
Imagine:
- A terrifying moment—your wife tells you she wants a divorce, you receive an IRS letter, your company collapses.
- A life-threatening moment—a knife at your throat, an ambush in the street, a second that may decide survival.
The average person freezes, panics, collapses.
But you?
You smile. Not forced. Not fake. A true, deep, unshakable smile. Because at that moment, you are untouchable.
Because at that moment, you summon maximum performance.
THE SMILE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
Zen monks have koans—riddles to break the mind.
The famous one: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
We have our own. What is the power of a smile that is not a reaction?
This is an exercise in pure power. The Laughing Pirate Smile is not a grin.
It is a moment of transcendence. It is the knowledge that nothing—no external event, no force, no crisis—can shake you.
Because you have decided that it won’t.
THE LAUGHING PIRATE TEST: YOUR FINAL CHALLENGE
Right now, summon the Laughing Pirate Smile.
Not a forced grimace—a real, true smile.
A smile that reaches your bones.
And now, imagine:
- You receive your death warrant.
- You are on the knife’s edge of existence.
- You are facing the moment that would shatter most people.
And you smile.
FINAL THOUGHT: TRAINING FOR THE MOMENT YOU NEED IT MOST
Most people will never train for this. And then, when life hits like an avalanche, they will collapse.
Not you. When the moment comes—when you truly need the Laughing Pirate—you will already have it.
And you will smile.
