How to Read People(The Big Tell)👀

Aug 27, 2025

Greatness doesn’t just show up in results. It shows up in conduct.

When you look at the greatest inventors, athletes, and creators — the true authors of their fields — you’ll notice something: their posture is different. They don’t talk like predictors. They don’t hedge like forecasters. They act, and they own it.

Prediction Posture

Take Warren Buffett. He has openly said he’s not the smartest, and that luck plays a massive role in his success. That’s alignment — his edge is probabilistic allocation over time. He doesn’t control bursts. He can only ride randomness with patience.

Prediction posture = humility about luck, patience, probability.

The Finance/Billionaire Dichotomy

Here’s the irony: many billionaires and finance professionals posture socially as if they’re completely in control. They carry themselves at the top of the hierarchy, with the aura of mastery. And in life — building companies, hiring teams, managing power — they often are in control.

But the moment they speak about markets, the contrast is obvious. Suddenly it’s about probabilities, “we’re not the smartest,” “luck matters.” They drop from authorship language back into prediction language.

That’s the tell. They know how to posture as if they’re sovereign, but when it comes to markets, they reveal their dependence.

If they viewed markets from the frame of authorship — continuity, receipts, causality — their posture would align with their social stature. But prediction forces them into humility and deference.

Authorship Posture

Now compare that with the true authors across fields:

Michael Jordan: Told you what he would do, then did it. Smoked cigars, gambled, talked trash — because he knew he was in control.
Steve Jobs: “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” No deference. Full authorship.
Elon Musk: “I don’t ever give up.” A statement of continuity, not probability.
Muhammad Ali: “I am the greatest.” Not a hedge. Not a report. A receipt, reinforced with every fight.
Donald Trump: When dependent on advisors, consultants, and capital markets, he sounds vulnerable. But when he authored — The Apprentice (executive producer), best-selling books, or as President — his posture was unmistakably authored. He has even said, “I could act like this, but let’s get to the truth.” That’s the split: prediction when dependent, authorship when in control.

The Big Tell

Would an author admit they aren’t the best? Rarely.

Would an author talk about luck as the main driver? Almost never.

Because when you are in true control, when causality flows from your actions, to posture as if you’re not is inauthentic.

Predictors emphasize luck because randomness rules them.
Authors emphasize control because they rule tempo.

Closing

The greatest in any profession don’t posture like predictors. They posture like authors. They don’t defer to luck. They don’t hedge. They speak with receipts, not excuses.

That’s how you know.

The Big Tell!