๐จHillary Clintonโs 2019 plea to China on live television has gone viral:
โSince Russia is clearly backing Republicans, why donโt we ask China to back us?โ
Can we throw this traitor in prison? Thank you!
@blknoiz06 Either Im writing this all off on my taxes or maybe I forget to mention I put it all on solana:9cRCn9rGT8V2imeM2BaKs13yhMEais3ruM3rPvTGpump and let them figure it out.
The biggest lesson I learned in intelligence had nothing to do with secrets. People often assume intelligence is about having access to classified information. It isn't.
The best intel officers I worked with weren't successful because they knew more than everyone else. They were successful because they noticed the little things that others overlooked.
Before the attacks on September 11th, there were clues. Before COVID became a global pandemic, there were clues. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, there were clues. Before the Taliban rapidly retook Afghanistan, there were clues.
The problem wasn't that there was no information. The problem was that the information wasn't connected, prioritized, or ACTED upon.
Good intelligence starts by asking different questions.
What changed?
What's missing?
Why now?
Who benefits?
Those same questions matter just as much outside the intelligence world.
Whether you're evaluating a news story, making a business decision, preparing for hurricane season, or simply trying to understand what's happening around you, the goal isn't to know everything. It's to recognize patterns before everyone else does.
One unusual event rarely tells you much. But when several small indicators all begin pointing in the same direction, that's when you should pay attention. Your goal is not to predict the future, it's to reduce a surprise.
The next time a major story breaks, don't immediately ask whether it's true or false.
Ask:
(1) What do we actually know?
(2) What information is still missing?
(3) Who benefits from this narrative?
(4) Has something like this happened before?
(5) What would change my mind?
Most people consume information.
Think like an analyst instead.
The world doesn't need more opinions. It needs more people willing to slow down, ask better questions, and pay attention.