Ctrl+K

The Divided House Diagnostic

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” — Abraham Lincoln

Most people fail not because they lack talent or resources, but because their conscious and subconscious aims are at war.

This diagnostic helps you discover your divided house and integrate your aims.

Take the Assessment

Aims Integration Diagnostic

1 of 6

Discover your conscious and subconscious aims, and learn how to integrate them

17% complete

Conscious Aim

What's your primary financial goal?

Understanding the Divided House

What It Means

Your conscious aim is what you SAY you want:

  • “I want to retire early with $1.5M”
  • “I want to build a successful business”
  • “I want financial freedom”

Your subconscious aims are what you’re ACTUALLY optimizing for:

  • Security and control
  • Status and validation
  • Excitement and belonging
  • Significance and legacy
  • Revenge and proving people wrong

The problem: When these don’t align, you sabotage yourself.

The Two Archetypes

FIRE Fred: The Over-Optimizer

Conscious aim: “I want freedom at 40 with $1.5M!”

Subconscious aims:

  • Security (controlling anxiety)
  • Status (being smart in the FIRE community)
  • Proof (I’m better than the rat race)

The divided house:

  • His spreadsheet says “freedom”
  • His behavior screams “control your anxiety”
  • He has the money but still feels trapped
  • He’s following the FIRE script, not HIS script

What it looks like:

  • Obsessively tracking every expense
  • Recalculating retirement plans constantly
  • Afraid to “waste” money on experiences
  • Can’t actually pull the trigger on retiring
  • Always finding reasons to save “just a bit more”

The symptom: Has $1.5M but still anxious, still working, still optimizing. The house is divided.

The integration: “I’m aiming for $100M AND I want security. I’ll keep my index funds (security) AND build something meaningful (ambition).”

Crypto Carl: The Thrill Seeker

Conscious aim: “I want $10M from crypto!”

Subconscious aims:

  • Excitement (need stimulation)
  • Belonging (insider club membership)
  • Revenge (against the system that didn’t give me advantages)

The divided house:

  • His wallet says “wealth”
  • His behavior screams “I need to feel special”
  • He chases moonshots instead of building foundation
  • Always “so close” but never arrives

What it looks like:

  • Jumping from DeFi to NFTs to AI tokens
  • FOMO buying on every pump
  • Ignoring fundamentals for narrative
  • Never taking profits (needs the excitement)
  • Burned multiple times but still chasing

The symptom: Makes money then loses it. Refuses boring strategies that would actually work. The house is divided.

The integration: “I’m aiming for $100M AND I want excitement. I’ll take asymmetric bets (excitement) WITH strategy not desperation (discipline).”

Common Divided Houses

”I Want Freedom” / “I Need Control”

Conscious: Retire early and be free
Subconscious: Control anxiety through hyper-optimization
The war: Can’t actually be free because freedom means losing control

Integration: “I’m aiming for $100M AND I want both freedom and security. I’ll build systems that provide both."

"I Want Wealth” / “I Need Significance”

Conscious: Make a lot of money
Subconscious: Matter and leave a legacy
The war: Money alone doesn’t satisfy, but won’t admit it

Integration: “I’m aiming for $1B in VALUE CREATED (significance) and capturing millions (wealth)."

"I Want Success” / “I Don’t Deserve It”

Conscious: Build something big
Subconscious: People like me don’t do that / I’m not smart enough
The war: Self-sabotage every time you get close

Integration: “I’m aiming for $100M AND I’m worthy of it. My background is my advantage, not my limitation."

"I Want Freedom” / “I Need Validation”

Conscious: Do my own thing
Subconscious: Get approval and status
The war: Can’t pursue real freedom because it might look weird to others

Integration: “I’m aiming for $1B AND I want respect. True respect comes from mastery, not conformity."

"I Want Stability” / “I Need Excitement”

Conscious: Build something sustainable
Subconscious: Need adrenaline and novelty
The war: Blow up stable things to chase shiny objects

Integration: “I’m aiming for $100M with BOTH stable foundation (80%) AND asymmetric bets (20% for excitement).”

Why Integration Matters

The Cost of Division

When your house is divided:

  1. You sabotage yourself

    • Get close to goals then pull back
    • Find reasons not to succeed
    • “Unlucky” things keep happening

  2. You can’t see opportunities

    • Too busy fighting internal war
    • Miss obvious plays
    • Others wonder why you don’t see it

  3. You stay stuck

    • Same patterns repeat
    • Different tactics, same results
    • “I’ve tried everything!”

  4. You feel empty even when successful

    • Hit the goal but it doesn’t satisfy
    • Immediately move goalposts
    • “Is this all there is?”

The Power of Integration

When your house is united:

  1. You stop self-sabotaging

    • Internal resistance disappears
    • Progress feels natural
    • “Lucky” breaks start happening

  2. You see opportunities others miss

    • Clear aim filters reality
    • Recognize patterns
    • Misaligned aims = your advantage

  3. You take aligned action

    • Decisions become obvious
    • Energy flows freely
    • Compound momentum builds

  4. Success satisfies

    • Achievement feels real
    • No empty victories
    • You’re playing YOUR game

How to Integrate

Step 1: Name Both Aims

Don’t fight or judge your subconscious aims. Name them honestly.

Bad: “I want freedom” (lying about the security need)
Good: “I want freedom AND security”

Bad: “I want wealth” (ignoring the significance need)
Good: “I want wealth AND to matter”

Bad: “I want success” (hiding the revenge motivation)
Good: “I want success AND to prove them wrong”

Step 2: Combine, Don’t Choose

You don’t have to pick one or the other. Integrate them.

The formula: “I am aiming for $1 BILLION AND I also want [subconscious aim].”

Examples:

  • “I’m aiming for $1B AND I want security”
  • “I’m aiming for $1B AND I want excitement”
  • “I’m aiming for $1B AND I want to prove them wrong”
  • “I’m aiming for $1B AND I want to matter”

Step 3: Design for Both

Create strategies that serve BOTH aims.

Fred’s integration:

  • Keep index funds (security ✓)
  • Start building business (ambition ✓)
  • Have systems for both (integration ✓)

Carl’s integration:

  • Build stable base (foundation ✓)
  • Take 20% asymmetric bets (excitement ✓)
  • Strategy not desperation (discipline ✓)

Step 4: Watch for Re-Division

The house WANTS to divide. Stay vigilant.

Warning signs:

  • Back to old patterns
  • Internal conflict returning
  • Decisions feel hard again
  • Success feels empty

Solution: Return to integration. Re-name both aims. Re-design for both.

The Truth About Subconscious Aims

They’re Not Bad

Many people think:

  • “I shouldn’t want status”
  • “Revenge is wrong”
  • “Needing validation is weak”

The truth: These are human needs. Fighting them creates the division.

Better approach: Acknowledge them, then channel them toward your billion-dollar aim.

They’re Not Going Away

You can’t eliminate subconscious aims. You can only:

  1. Stay unconscious of them (they control you)
  2. Fight them (divide the house)
  3. Integrate them (unite the house)

Choose integration.

They Can Be Advantages

  • Security need? Channel it into building truly secure systems
  • Status need? Channel it into becoming genuinely excellent
  • Revenge need? Channel it into proving capability through results
  • Excitement need? Channel it into asymmetric bets with strategy

Your subconscious aims, integrated, become fuel for your conscious aims.

Real Integration Examples

The Reformed Day Trader

Before: “I want to make money” / Really wanted excitement
Division: Blew up accounts chasing adrenaline

After: “I want $100M AND excitement”
Integration: Built systematic trading strategy (discipline) + 10% in asymmetric options (excitement)
Result: Profitable because both aims served

The Anxious Entrepreneur

Before: “I want to build a business” / Really needed security
Division: Couldn’t scale because every risk felt catastrophic

After: “I want 100MANDsecurity"∗∗Integration:∗∗Keptdayjobinitially(security)+builtbusinesssystematically(ambition)∗∗Result:∗∗Builtto100M AND security" **Integration:** Kept day job initially (security) + built business systematically (ambition) **Result:** Built to 2M revenue because security need was met

The Status-Seeking FIRE Person

Before: “I want freedom at 40” / Really wanted respect
Division: Obsessed with FIRE forums, needed validation, couldn’t enjoy life

After: “I want $100M AND respect”
Integration: Shifted to building something remarkable (real respect) vs. early retirement flex (fake respect)
Result: More fulfilled because aim was honest

Signs Your House Is United

When your aims are integrated, you’ll notice:

✓ Decisions feel obvious, not agonizing
✓ Progress feels natural, not forced
✓ Setbacks feel like noise, not catastrophe
✓ Opportunities become visible
✓ Others say you’re “lucky”
✓ Success feels satisfying, not empty
✓ You’re playing YOUR game, not someone else’s

This is what integration feels like.

The Billion-Dollar Integration

The ultimate integration:

“I am aiming for ONE BILLION DOLLARS in value created”

AND

“I also want [security/excitement/status/significance/freedom/revenge]”

Why this works:

  1. Billion-dollar aim is directional, not restrictive
  2. Value created shifts from extraction to creation
  3. AND acknowledges human needs instead of fighting them
  4. Integration stops the internal war

Result:

  • The four powers activate (filter, recognizer, resilience, freedom)
  • You see opportunities others miss
  • You stay in the game longer
  • Even “failing” to $10M means you’ve mastered fundamentals

Take the Diagnostic

Use the tool above to:

  1. Discover your conscious aims
  2. Uncover your subconscious aims
  3. Identify if your house is divided
  4. Get your integrated aim statement
  5. Learn your next steps

Remember:

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

But a house united? Unstoppable.

Next Steps

After taking the diagnostic:

  1. Write down your integrated aim - Daily
  2. Study value creation - How is $1B actually created?
  3. Design for both aims - Strategies that serve conscious AND subconscious
  4. Watch for re-division - The house wants to divide
  5. Calculate your freedom level - Know where you are

The work is integration.
The result is freedom.

“A true aim will set you free.”