By Jay Topp
A fourteen-minute talk, recorded for the Real Growth community on 21 September 2026.
Nietzsche called it the will to truth: the enormous desire to know what reality is actually like, what the correct explanation is, what I should believe. Then he turned the question back on itself. Instead of asking what is true, he asked why we value truth in the first place. Why have we assumed that truth is always preferable to illusion?
There are beliefs I have held throughout my life, particularly in business, that I could never objectively prove true. I'll always find a way. If somebody else can do it, I can figure it out. My results are 100% my responsibility. Are those statements literally true in every situation? Probably not. But I have become interested in a different question: what becomes possible when I believe there is always a way?
Some beliefs don't merely describe reality. They change the nature of our participation in it, and therefore what reality becomes. Belief changes participation, participation changes action, action changes capability, capability changes results, and those results reinforce the original belief. The evidence you are waiting for is sitting on the other side of the commitment.
Three better questions than "is this true?"
1. Is this an accurate description of reality? We should care about that. We don't want to become delusional. 2. What does believing this cause me to do? 3. What becomes possible by believing this? What realities become available, what risks become tolerable, what skills does it invite, and who do I need to become?
Reality gets a vote. Sometimes it tells you you're wrong. Good: update the belief, update the model, update the behaviour. But don't make the mistake of thinking you can stand outside of life and discover the perfectly correct worldview before you begin to participate. You are already participating. Your beliefs are already shaping what you see, what you attempt, and what you tolerate.