<!DOCTYPE html>

...

10 Things Every Man Can Learn From The Movie Limitless

limitless

Table of Contents

How would you like to be able to access 100% of your brain? To be able to build massive success, feel great and master every area of your life (Including the ladies). This is what Eddie Morra (played by Bradley Cooper) is able to accomplish in the cult hit limitless. After taking a pill (NZT-48), Eddie is able to unlock the full potential of his brain, achieve a 4-digit IQ, and acquire all the sex, money, and danger that comes along with it.

While in theory, the 4-digit IQ is a pipe dream, I’m here to tell you that the transformation he goes through (minus the danger) is certainly not. And by simply learning from and mimicking what Eddie does on a daily basis while achieving full brain control, you can have the same results. It will just take a little longer.

So to get you there, I outlined the 10 characteristics that Eddie adopts after ingesting NZT-48, and how you can achieve them without it.

But first, let’s look at Eddie before the NZT, and why his life, success, and relationships were all in the gutter.

(Oh yeah – and if you are interested in increasing your IQ and higher brain function part, we’ll have an article on that next – see the bottom of this post)

Eddie Before NZT:

When the movie starts, Eddie is a struggling writer. His life is dull, his motivation is lost and inspiration is at zero. He looks like shit and is easily confused with a homeless man – while his apartment is a cluttered dark mess. Essentially he sucks.

What I’m getting at here is that a lot of men live their lives like this. In a constant mess, on the perpetual treadmill of low performance and feeling like shit. And when you’re in such a rut, it’s hard to get out. Then they wonder, “Why?”

No high-performing successful men live like this. And if your apartment is a mess, you often leave the house in just sweatpants, and you are more familiar with the couch than the outside world, then this post is perfect for you. Here are 10 things that the NZT-induced Eddie Morra does to achieve rapid success, that you can start doing today. With or without a magic pill.

1 – “Home. But This Couldn’t Be My Home, Could It? Who Would Live Like This? My First Thought – Torch It. But Saner Minds Prevailed.”

30 seconds after ingesting NZT-48, the foggy-minded Eddie suddenly awakens to enhanced cognitive function. “I was blind and now I see.” After using his newly acquired skills to impress, seduce, and fuck his landlord’s wife, he walks into his apartment and the first thought that goes through his mind is the quote at the top of this section. Who could live like this he asks himself, and he spends the next 5 hours (guess) cleaning his apartment.

Why would a guy who just unlocked the full potential of his mind waste his time cleaning? Because he can’t get anything productive done in an environment like that. No one can. One of the staples of success and productivity is being clean and organized. If you are living in a mess, with pizza boxes everywhere, you are not at high performance – and your first action should be to clean up your life. I firmly believe that until you do, you will not find the success you desire.

When your life is a disorganized mess, you get easily overwhelmed. When you get easily overwhelmed your body is often in an unrelaxed state of fight or flight. When your body is in an unrelaxed state of fight or flight you are producing different brain waves and pumping out cortisol. When you are producing different brainwaves and pumping out cortisol you can’t think clearly. When you can’t think clearly you end up living at home at the age of 40 without a GF.

Don’t end up living at home at the age of 40 without a GF.

Clean your shit.

What I Recommend:

Start a small habit of simply making your bed every morning. After a month, progress this to cleaning your room spotless every day before you go to bed. Progress this to never leaving a dirty dish in the sink and cleaning everything you use before you do something else. Enjoy the boost in productivity, clear thinking, and motivation.

2 – “What Was This Drug? I Couldn’t Stay Messy On It, I Hadn’t Had A Cigarette In 6 Hours, Hadn’t Eaten..”

This drug is a conscious endeavor.

Smoking cigarettes, binge eating, constant snacking, and messing. They’re not habits of a highly successful man. Not even close.Apologies, but there seems to be no text present to rephrase. Could you kindly provide the data required?

We’ve covered cleaning.Apologies, but there seems to be no text present to rephrase. Could you kindly provide the data required?

But if you’re smoking cigarettes while trying to improve your life, you’ve got bigger problems at hand.
And if you want to be limitless and achieve the highest levels of performance, you’ve got to have your diet in check.

He mentions he hasn’t eaten. One may think that that’s unhealthy at first. We all have to eat. But many people don’t know the power of intermittent fasting.

Studies constantly show (1) (2) that people who practice intermittent fasting (eating for 8 hours and fasting for 16) see a huge increase in mental performance, physical performance, health, and energy levels. This is one of Phil Drolet’s secrets to becoming superhuman in his book “On Becoming Superhuman.” It literally took his luminosity scores from average to the 99th percentile. (Learn more about intermittent fasting)

Constant eating means your using a big chunk of energy digesting. The energy could be used far more effectively elsewhere.

And if you’re digesting heavy carbs all day, you’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

What I Recommend:

If Intermittent fasting is too hardcore for you, just clean up your diet. Cut the fast & processed food, cut all sugar (except whole fruits), and eat more veggies, healthy fats, and lean meats. You’ll be amazed at what just that can do.

3 – He Catches A Glimpse Of His Bum-Like Appearance. Won’t Have It.

Day 2 on NZT-48, Eddie catches a glimpse of his stubbly longhaired homeless man appearance. Can’t have it. He gets a fresh cut, grabs some new threads, and heads to the tailor. Living each day without taking care of your appearance keeps you on the same snowball of low performance that living in a messy environment does.

Top motivation & success blogger, Victor Pride from BoldAndDetermined.com has a guideline he calls “always dress sharp.” He’s an internet entrepreneur who doesn’t have to leave his house. But each and every day, as part of his 30 days boot camp for developing discipline, he showers, grooms and dresses his best.

It’s because this breeds success.

What I Recommend:

Start every day with a cold shower, look your best, and dress sharp. Even if you work at home like me, and especially if you don’t. How you look is your first impression that registers in people’s subconscious before you ever open your mouth.

4 – He Hits The Gym

In the montage of Bradley in the salon and getting tailored he is working out in the gym.

In the next scene, he is running along the Hudson River while learning a foreign language.Apologies, but there seems to be no text present to rephrase. Could you kindly provide the data required?

He can do ANYTHING now and understands what needs to be done. And that includes exercising daily.
Richard Branson’s #1 tip to success is to exercise, and it’s proven (3) to increase your brainpower.

What I Recommend:

Exercise doesn’t have to be a grueling task. Do something you love. Play squash with your friends, go hiking with a pretty girl. Just make sure you get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. It will add to the snowball effect of your success.

5 – “I Learned To Play The Piano In 3 Days. Math Became Useful And Fun. And Even Half Listening To Any Language I Became Fluent.”

As I mentioned above, when he’s running along the Hudson River Bradley’s character is learning a foreign language.

While his fast achievement is probably unrealistic, he is constantly feeding his mind – as a successful man is always doing.

Tony Robbins recommends self-educating for at least 1 hour every day as one of his top success secrets.

And I agree.

And it’s worth saying. Guys like Tim Ferris have learned to become fluent in new languages in as little as 3 months. These things are doable.

What I Recommend:

Listen to podcasts. Reading is great, but you can’t do it while you’re driving or working. Listening to a podcast in the commute to and from work instead of the mindless morning show is a quick change that will yield huge results. I recommend The Menprovement Podcast (of course), The School of Greatness, and The Addicted to Success Podcasts.

6 – “I Wasn’t High, Wasn’t Wired, Just Clear. I Knew What I Had To Do, And I Knew How To Do It.”

He’s clear. He knows what he has to do, and he knows how to do it.

Knowing your purpose in life and having a clear vision of what you want to achieve is a key pillar to success. If you don’t know what you want to do, you’ll never do it.

Also, no matter how smart he gets throughout the movie, this doesn’t replace hard work. And this is important to note. He does it all at an inhuman pace, but he does it.

What I Recommend:

Figure out what you want to do in your life. Find your purpose. Don’t know yours? Here’s a go-to: “To become the best version of myself and live life as fully and openly as I can.” Then create actual goals, write them down, and frame them on your wall. Then do at least one action every day that takes you towards your goals.Apologies, but there seems to be no text present to rephrase. Could you kindly provide the data required?

Baby steps can take you to the top of Mount Everest if you just keep taking them.

7 – “All My Fear, All My Shyness – Gone.”

One thing you can notice is that when Eddie is feeling good, he’s often out in the club, out at penthouse parties, and making big friends who fly him out to beachfront parties.

Essentially he becomes a honorable social butterfly.

I’m not saying you have to be going out every night, but I am saying that working on your social skills is so important. If you are a shy single guy, learn to approach and seduce women. If your are any guy, learn to master the art of conversation, hold great body language, work a room and be the life of the party.
It will go a long way.

8 – “But Mere Lounging Wasn’t Enough”

As he races through the streets with a pretty girl in his sports car, he acknowledges that with his newly found IQ, mere lounging wasn’t enough.

Stagnation is the enemy.

It’s a law of physics, objects in motion stay in motion.Apologies, but there seems to be no text present to rephrase. Could you kindly provide the data required?

Yes, we all need to wind down, decompress and lounge. But most people have never earned that lounging.
Mere lounging should never be enough. Go live.

What I Recommend:

Get out of the house. That’s the first and most important step. There’s a lot going on out there. Yoga, sports, girls. Learn to dance. Just do something.

9 – “The Only Problem Was, If I Wasn’t Moving Forward – Then I Felt Like I Was Going To Explode.”

Again, stagnating in mediocrity should not be accepted. When you start to create a successful life, with successful habits you feel stagnation when it occurs. And it should make you feel like you are going to explode.

You should always be moving forward, growing, progressing – while enjoying the process.

Because the process is never-ending.

This was a realization that I had to make recently.

Let go of waiting for things to be done.

– “I’ll do this when..”
– “I’ll be happy if..”

Growth is never “over.” You will never be “complete.” The only thing to do is to keep moving forward but enjoy every second of the journey and process, because that journey is your life.

What I Recommend: 

Commit to continued self-growth. There is no finish line and always something to improve. So set your goals, and then enjoy the process of life. Life happens in the journey, and if you keep waiting for the finish line to relax and be happy, you never will.

10 – “And Then I Began To Form, An Idea. Suddenly I Knew Exactly What I Needed To Do.”

This is how it works.

Like Doc Watson hitting his head and seeing the flux capacitor when you align your thoughts and actions with your higher purpose, the universe throws its hat into the ring.

Call it what you like, but when you’re in line with your desires in life, fully, then you’ll get your “AHA” moment. It seems like it shoots down into your brain, right when you need it.

Mine was in the car when the idea for Menprovement.com came to me. Scrapped my old website the next day.

What I Recommend:

You may know what you want to do in the big picture, but you may not know how you’re going to get there. That’s fine. Just keep working towards your purpose/big goals and align your thoughts, beliefs, and actions with them. Know that you will get there eventually. Things will start unraveling for you. Trust me.

Bonus #1:

“You do not know what I know because you have not earned those powers… You haven’t had to climb up all those greasy little rungs. You haven’t had been bored blind at the fundraisers, you haven’t done the time in the first marriage with the girl with the right father…You haven’t had to bribe or charm or threaten your way to a seat at that table. You don’t know how to access your competition, because you haven’t competed.” – Carl Van Loon

This quote was from Carl Van Loon (Played by Robert De Niro).

Eddie works for him on Wall Street during the movie and Carl tells him this. It couldn’t be more realistic.

To get to the top, you’ve got to hustle. You’ve got to put in the time and as Arnold says, “the reps and miles.” It’s the only way to the top and the key for overall self-improvement. Eddies ascent is unrealistically fast. You’ve got to put in the work, embrace any failures and never give up.

Bonus #2:

You’ll notice in the film, that as soon as the NZT wears off, every character’s body deteriorates. His ex can hardly walk. Adkins is using a cane. And post-NZT Eddie is stumbling around.

It just goes to show that the body is really a reflection of your mental state. It all starts in the mind.

Pro Tip:

I meditate daily which puts my mind at peace. If you want to learn how to start meditation I highly recommend an App like Synctuition – it’s extremely affordable.

One of my favorite fortune cookies has been, “In order to have magical bodies, we must have magical minds.”

It’s so true. Get your head right and the rest will follow.

Mistakes He Makes, That You Can Avoid

Yes, he crushes it in this movie – but he makes two big mistakes (besides doing everything illegally).

1) The first mistake is that he waits until he has a magic pill to do it.

He didn’t need a pill to clean his apartment. He didn’t need a pill to dress sharp, work out and learn other languages.

You can do all these things now.Apologies, but there seems to be no text present to rephrase. Could you kindly provide the data required?

And you may be in a demotivated rut right now, but you can start incorporating these habits into your life slowly and be a new man in 6 months.

2) He wanted it all too fast and took a shortcut

Like Carl Van Loon says, success takes a long time, and taking shortcuts will always rebound on you. In the movie, this rebound almost kills him from NZT-48 withdrawal. But in real life, shortcuts like getting rich quick schemes and fast weight loss diets will rebound on you by failing in 3 months putting you right back at the start.

Commit to playing the long game and creating lasting success the right way.

You are limitless.

And you can achieve enhanced cognitive function. Without a pill.

You’ve just got to know what to do, and then go do it. Day in a day out – for years. But at the end of it all, it’s well worth it.

Learn More >>> How To Overcome The Nice Guy Disease.

Did you enjoy this article?

Get a weekly update of all of our latest articles to your email + learn about the latest and greatest innovations for men on the planet. There’s no spam, just unapologetic, uncensored, limitless self improvement & motivation. See you there.

Meet The Author:

EDITORIAL PROCESS

Our evaluations are conducted by a group of specialists based on actual experiences before they are penned down. To learn more read our Editorial Methodology.

Several links in this piece might be affiliated, meaning we may receive a commission at no extra charge to you if you opt for a paid service. We fully support and have personally tried these products. This website is not designed to offer financial or medical guidance. For more info read our affiliate disclosure and privacy policy.

"THE MOST POWERFUL WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FOR MEN...EVER"

Join over 100,000 men and stay informed on the latest and greatest innovations for men.

Table of Contents

Become The Best Lover She's Ever Had.

We’ve teamed up with sex expert Jakob Wulfe to bring you what we believe to be the best massage training for men on the planet. 

+ 3 Bonus Programs For a Limited Time Only

Unlock Your Potential: Dive into the 12 Game-Changing Habits That Turn Boys Into Men Beasts

The 12 Habits That Turn Boys Into Men Beasts