ON:

THE INTROVERT’S GUIDE TO TURNING IT ON

by Min Liu

© 2016 Min Liu. All Rights Reserved.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
My (Short Backstory)
A (Very) Brief Discussion on Neurochemistry
The Four Guiding Principles
Fifteen Techniques to Turn It “On”
Conclusion
Special Bonus Announcement
About Min Liu
Also by Min Lin
 CHAPTER ONE
Introduction

“I'm self-sufficient. I spend a lot of time on my own and I shut off

quite easily. When I communicate, I communicate 900 percent, then I shut
off, which scares people sometimes.”

-Björk, rockstar and famous introvert

Welcome to On: The Introvert’s Guide to Turning It On.

In recent years, introversion and introverts have finally arrived into

mainstream consciousness. Previously, most people including myself, knew
very little about introversion and the traits of introverts. While I vaguely knew
of the term “introvert”, I didn’t even realize that I was an introvert! In fact, I
thought all people had the same default state as I did and felt the way that I do
when dealing with too much social interaction.

With the release of bestselling books such as Quiet: The Power of

Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain, the world has
come to a better understanding of introverts. Formerly misunderstood or
completely ignored as a distinct human personality trait, through Ms. Cain’s
book and her top-rated and top-viewed TED talk, introverts were thrust into
the limelight and the world was forced to take notice and recognize differences
in people’s social inclinations that were not previously recognized or
understood.

The world has come to understand that introverts are not necessarily shy,
socially awkward, or anti-social. The world has also come to understand that
introverts have their own unique strengths and traits (and weaknesses too).
And as introverts, we have also come to find self-understanding and self-
acceptance.
 However, even through this sea change of finding understanding and
acceptance by the mainstream, what we introverts have not found as much of
are solutions and tools to help us cope with our daily challenges.

In particular, one of the daily and biggest challenges faced by introverts is

the inability to perform at their best in social, work, or business situations
where they have to be “on”. The truth is that introverts need significant quiet or
alone time. This quiet or alone time, however, tends to make it difficult for
introverts to come out of their “introvert shell”, especially during times when it
is necessary for introverts to display their charisma, charm, and powers of
persuasion and influence.

How does a introverted rockstar like Björk “communicate 900 percent” in

order to bring a stadium full of thousands or tens of thousands of people to
their feet? How does an introvert like Johnny Depp bring himself to play the
lively and gregarious Captain Jack Sparrow on screen? How does Warren
Buffett captivate Berkshire Hathaway shareholders so much that they hang on
his every word in his annual shareholders meeting?

This book seeks to start answering these questions for you. If you’ve ever
struggled to turn it on, like I have before I discovered the fifteen techniques
described herein, this is the book for you. Now, this book is NOT about how to
turn introverts into extroverts. I do not believe this is possible. Instead, what I
would say this book lays out ideas for how introverts can bring out their best
selves instead of a shell of themselves when they need to, and how to best take
care of themselves when they do.

To turning it on,

Min Liu

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 My (Short) Backstory

A few years back, I stumbled upon this quote: “The mind follows the body,
and the body follows the mind”.

To this day, I’m not exactly sure who uttered these words but these words
ended up being the foundation upon which I discovered some of the techniques
in this book as I searched for tools and solutions to help myself cope with the
challenges of introversion.

For me, what are those challenges?

As a corporate lawyer, I have to bring out my charisma, charm, and powers

of persuasion on a daily basis, and because I am moderately introverted,
having to do this daily has always been a challenge for me. On most days, my
natural predisposition is to go into my office, close the door behind me, and
work on an agreement or do some legal research all day long. I don’t mind
socializing a little bit, but I generally don’t prefer being disturbed.

And on days I feel like this, I don’t really want to be on the phone or attend
meetings, I don’t want to have verbal confrontations with other people, and I
don’t feel like negotiating deals with other companies. I would much rather
have a quiet day with minimal distractions or interruptions by others.

Unfortunately, that’s as much a life of a corporate lawyer as being loud and

rowdy is the daily life of a librarian. Most days I have to be “on” so that I can
successfully do my job. Being successful in my job relies on channeling the
best of my people skills. And for introverts, channeling the best of our people
skills BEGINS by getting out of our introverted shell, at least temporarily.
 A (Very) Brief Discussion on Neurochemistry
Before we get to the techniques to “turn it on”, let’s get into a little bit of
neuroscience, just enough to get ourselves into trouble. If you know this
information already, bear with me, as I want to make sure everybody is on the
same page about the techniques you are about to learn, and why they were
developed to do what they do.
Research on the brains of introverts and extroverts have shown that they are
each activated differently depending on their circumstances due to dopamine,
a neurotransmitter that controls the brain's reward and pleasure systems, and
acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that also relates to pleasure.
Dopamine
Extroverts are less sensitive to dopamine and introverts are more sensitive
to dopamine. When engaging in social interaction, this sensitivity difference
causes extroverts and introverts to experience social interaction (and the
world) differently.
Extroverts gravitate towards more social interaction so they can feel
dopamine’s pleasant effects. Because they are less sensitive to dopamine, they
need more social interaction to feel the pleasure derived from dopamine.
That’s why they can’t get enough!
However, because introverts are more sensitive to dopamine than
extroverts, they have the opposite reaction to social interaction. Too much
social interaction, which causes a release of dopamine, ends up making
introverts feel overstimulated (and exhausted) because of their increased
sensitivity to dopamine.
This helps further explain why introverts have a natural
disposition towards spending time by ourselves. Since the release of “Quiet”,
it has become common knowledge that introverts tend to feel more energized
(and I would say more natural) from spending time alone or doing less
stimulating activities, while extroverts gain energy and pleasure from being
with others.
 Acetylcholine
Now, introverts and extroverts also have a different reaction to
acetylcholine, another neurotransmitter which also causes a subtle “happiness”
bump in the brain. Whenever an introvert reads, concentrates, or uses his/her
mind in any way, he/she feels good because of the release of acetylcholine.
However, extroverts have a different reaction to acetylcholine (in which
they do not register the effects of acetylcholine release as greatly) which
causes them to not gravitate towards such activities. You could say that
extroverts are more dopamine seeking.
Okay, maybe you didn’t understand all of that, but that’s okay. It took me a
long time to understand it myself. All you need to do is keep these two
concepts in mind as we go on to the next part:
1. Introverts are too sensitive to dopamine and cannot handle too much
dopamine for an extended period of time.
2. Introverts are acetylcholine seeking, which is the underlying basis of
their preferred or natural disposition.
 The Four Guiding Principles
In discovering the techniques that you are about to learn, I developed four
guiding principles or assumptions that helped me give man-birth to the
techniques.
I didn’t want the techniques to be developed randomly or merely by trial
and error, so these guiding principles were developed after taking the
neurochemistry of introverts into account.
So, without further ado, here are the FOUR guiding principles:

Principle #1
As introverts, we need to view social interaction in a similar way to
athletic competition that you need to prepare and WARMUP for. You wouldn’t
run a 100 meter sprint without first warming up, stretching, doing some light
jogging, and practicing your start and finish in order to get yourself into the
right frame of mind and state to compete, so why would we get into social
interaction without first preparing our minds and body?
Principle #2
Managing introversion is largely an issue of ENERGY MANAGEMENT
and in particular, ensuring that our energy does not get DRAINED by social
interaction. So, doing anything that drains your energy more than normal is
BAD, and taking measures to preserve or boost your energy is GREAT.
Principle #3
As I wrote in the previous section, there is a saying that the mind follows
the body and the body follows the mind. This means that when you need to be
“on”, you are looking to QUIET the thinking that goes on in your mind. And you
do this by “GETTING INTO YOUR BODY”. By getting into your body, you
end up influencing your mind.
 “The mind follows the body and the body follows the mind.”
Principle #4
Also, a large part of getting out of an introverted state is getting into the
MOOD to socialize. Our predisposition is towards spending time in our heads,
so when we need to be “on”, we need to take steps to move from an inward
looking state towards an externally oriented state.

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 CHAPTER TWO
Fifteen Techniques to Turn It "On"

Technique #1: Take Advantage of the “Snowball Effect”

Let’s start with techniques that help us with Principle #1, which is
“warmup”.

This particular technique is about using the “snowball effect” phenomenon

to gradually help you “turn it on”. Just like a tiny snowball that starts on top of
a mountain which rolls down a hill and ends up a massive snowball, you need
to think of your day as that tiny little snowball.

When you know you need to turn it on for a given day, you need to force
yourself to start socializing or talking to get yourself rolling as early as
possible on those days. It’s very difficult for introverts to suddenly have to turn
it on and its a lot easier for us to gradually get into a more social state.

So, from the beginning of the day, start making small talk with anybody you
can talk to. Maybe its the barista or somebody standing in life. You don’t have
to get into any deep conversation or say anything impressive. Just treat it as a
warmup for your day.

When its time for you to be “on”, you will have a much higher likelihood of
being in an optimal state if you do this, as opposed to having to suddenly turn it
on and be social and dynamic.
 Technique #2: The Brain Warmup

Let’s continue with another technique that helps you “warmup”.

I learned this technique from a blogger named Mike Cernovich who uses it
as part of his morning routine. Supposedly, this brain warmup was originally
developed by the sports psychologist of the great tennis player, John
McEnroe’s, and it was further modified by Mr. Cernovich.

This warmup is supposed to “integrate” both hemispheres of the brain. I

made my own slight tweak to this. Mr. Cernovich’s exercise was meant to be
done quietly in your head. However, since we are trying to get out of our
introverted shell gradually, we don’t want to go further into our heads.

So, instead of doing this exercise in your head, do this exercise as a

spoken/verbal exercise first thing in the morning. The goal is to think AND
verbalize, which is what you have to do when you turn it on.

Here is the exercise:

Step 1: Count backwards from 100. Do this as fast as possible.

Step 2: Find a noun that fits each letter of the alphabet. Don’t just think
of an object. Imagine the colors and shapes and sizes of the noun. This will
activate your right brain (colors, images, shapes, sizes) and left brain (verbal,
think of a word) simultaneously. This “brain crosstalk” will improve
your overall cognitive performance.

a – apple
b – boy
c – cronut
d – etc.

Step 3: Create a numbered list of female names, 1-10.

 1 – Lisa
2 – Tina
3 – Sherry
4 – etc.

Step 4: Create a numbered list of male names, 1-10.

1 – Edward
2 – Tom
3 – Bob
4 – etc.

Step 5: Close your eyes and take 10 deep meditative breaths. As you
breath deeply, focus on oxygenating your brain.

Once you finish Step 5, open your eyes and start your day. How are you
feeling now?!
 Technique #3: Morning Routine

Now, let’s start talking about energy management.

Because introverts are easily drained by social interaction, they need to

have an abundance of energy on days they need to be on. One of the ways to
ensure that you have an abundance of energy on certain days is by developing a
morning routine that energizes you.

For me, I like to do a quick 10-15 minute workout in the morning, either
going for a walk up and down a hill or doing some pushups, sit-ups, and pull-
ups at home. After doing that, I’ll take a cold shower. And then all throughout
the morning, I will drop down once every hour or two and pump out 15-25
pushups. I know all this physical activity sounds like it might be
counterproductive to energy management, but it actually has the opposite effect
and helps me stay energized throughout the day.

I don’t recommend a specific morning routine, as things like a cold shower

are not for everyone. You will have to discover what’s most energizing for
your morning routine, but I really do recommend that you adopt at least some
morning exercise.
 Technique #4: Diet

Let’s continue with energy management.

In order to have an abundance of energy on days you need to be on, you

need to be very careful about what you put into your system on those days.
Avoid anything that makes your energy levels fluctuate, such as any meal that is
heavy, high in carbohydrates, and you may even want to limit your caffeine
intake.

Talking about caffeine, on days that I need to be on, I find that green tea
works better for me as the energy boost it gives me is more measured and
gradual than coffee. I find that its easier for your energy levels to crash on
coffee. Again, this may not be for everyone, so experiment with this change to
see if it works for you on the days you need to be on.

Right before the time you need to be on, my preference is to avoid food
altogether. I find that its too risky to eat right before because there’s always the
chance that whatever I eat will make me sluggish.

Right before the tie you need to be on and during your social activity, you
should avoid alcohol altogether or limit it. Alcohol has a sedating effect, and
we know that is not optimal for introverts who need to manage their energy.
 Technique #5: Sleep

Continuing with more energy management:

This is pretty self-evident, but many people don’t take sleep seriously
enough. They will workout and diet like crazy but fail to get proper sleep,
which ends up undermining all their other efforts.

On the days you need to be on, you must make sure you get a good night's
sleep the night before, and preferably for many nights before. Your optimal
energy management depends heavily on you getting proper sleep. There is no
way to perform optimally both physically and mentally without proper sleep,
and this is particularly true for introverts engaging in social interaction as the
social interaction itself is draining for introverts whereas social interaction
energizes extroverts.

In addition, it is ideal to take a power nap of no more than 20-30 minutes

before the time you need to be on, so you have as much energy as possible
during your event or activity. The whole idea is to have your energy levels
peak at the time you need to be “on”.

If you want to know the specific steps (and products) I utilize to ensure
proper sleep, check out my bonus videos:

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 Technique #6: Try This Supplement

Yet another technique in the energy management realm:

Considered the “Indian ginseng,” ashwagandha is an “adaptogen”, which is

an herb that helps the body cope with various forms of stress. Ashwagandha
has been used medicinally in India since at least 6,000 B.C., making it one of
the oldest known medicinal herbs.

As we know, social interaction is a stressor for introverts, so anything that

helps us cope with the stress of social interaction that is also not potentially
self-destructive, could be helpful.

This technique may not be for everyone, but if I know I need to be on for an
extended period of time, such as a few days at a time, I will take some
Ashwagandha during that week. I find that it helps me cope with the stress of
socialization and helps me stay energetic.

The recommended dose is 600-1000 milligrams twice daily.

If you want to know the specific brand of ashwagandha I take, check out my
bonus videos:

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 Technique #7: Right Before and During the Event

A little more on the energy management front:

Right BEFORE the time you need to be on, make sure you are not doing
anything strenuous for a period of time beforehand. I know, this is very self-
evident. Remember that the goal is to preserve your energy, so you need to be
smart about how you use your energy on these special days.

And DURING social interaction, you need to learn how to take breaks from
the social interaction. Let the dopamine spikes level out a bit from time to time
before engaging in more social interaction. This is similar to the concept of
“pacing yourself’. Don’t feel bad about having to take breaks from others.

Finally, you also need to know when to make an exit. Make sure you are in
tune with your body cues. When you start feeling restless, bored, or a headache
common, its most likely time to leave. Again, don’t feel bad about having to do
this.
 Technique #8: Charge Your Body Up

Now, let’s move on to “getting into your body”:

Right before the time you need to be on, even though you have gradually
warmed yourself up, you need to charge your body up to get that final energy
boost for yourself. The way you charge your body up is personal and specific
to yourself. There is no one way to charge your body.

It could mean dropping down and doing pushups like I do sometimes. It

could mean running down the hall and yelling. It could mean clapping your
hands together for thirty seconds. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as you get
a spike of energy from it. But whatever you do, don’t get this spike of energy
artificially since you will probably find yourself crashing very soon after.

To give you some examples, I like to do a few different things to boost my

energy in the moment before I have to be on. One is a “power pose” and I also
do a few other quick exercises get me into my body and into the “on” state.

If you want to know the specific exercises I do to charge my body up, check
out my bonus videos:

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 Technique #9: Verbalize Your Thoughts

Here’s another technique for “getting into your body”:

This step specifically goes towards QUIETING the thinking that’s in your
head. Instead of staying in your head with your thoughts, start VERBALIZING
your thoughts during the day. The thing about thoughts in your head is that more
you do of it, the deeper and deeper you get into your introverted state. And, this
is not what you want to be doing on the days you need to be on. Verbalizing
your thoughts will make you come up for air.

Do verbalizing with more frequency throughout the day as you approach the
time you need to be “on”.
 Technique #10: Spend Less Time Doing Things That Avoid Social
Interaction

Final technique for “getting into your body”:

On the days when you need to be on, spend less time on your smartphone
and computer and less time doing things where you avoid social interaction.
The more you do of these things, the deeper you get into an introverted state.

Spending less time on your smartphone and computer will not necessarily
help you get into your body, but it will stop you from getting deeper and deeper
into your head, which is very important.

Combine this technique with Techniques #8 and #9 in order to fully get into
your body.
 Technique #11: Reframe Social interactions

Now, let’s get into the right MOOD to socialize.

Sometimes, introverts see social interaction as a burden. If you continue to

view social interaction as a burden, you will never be in the mood to socialize.
So, before you need to turn it on, think about the upside in the people you are
going to meet and/or the situation you will be entering. Reframe the interaction
as an ADVENTURE or an OPPORTUNITY instead of a burden.

For example, if you need to be making a presentation in front of a group of

people, don’t think of the presentation as a burden. Instead, think of the benefits
you stand to gain from making the presentation instead of how painful or
burdensome the presentation will be. Write this down in your journal if you
have to or talk about it into the voice recorder in your phone (this is preferred -
remember that verbalizing is good).

You don’t have to read or listen to it again, but you are just trying to get
yourself into a positive MOOD for the social interaction you are about to
engage in.
 Technique #12: Boost Your Mood

Here’s a bit more about getting into the right mood:

In addition to reframing social interaction from something burdensome into

something adventuresome or beneficial, you also want to take affirmative steps
to boost your mood. What I like to do is to watch a funny movie or TV show
before I have to socialize. Its a little dorky, but you can recite the lines from
the show out loud. This always helps me get in the mood to socialize!

In particular, I like to watch a clip of the TV shows “Californication” or

“Entourage”, but you can watch whatever works for you. Simple, but effective.
 Technique #13: Avoid Poor Advice

Here’s a note about ensuring you maintain the right mood:

I have heard other writers advise introverts to meditate before social

activities, as if meditation is a magic pill. I think this advice is well meaning,
but using my personal experience, I disagree with this advice.

While meditation can be very helpful in general, and something I love to

do, it is not helpful right before you need to turn it on. I have always found that
meditation tends to bring me into a more introverted state as opposed to a more
outgoing mood. So, avoid meditating before you start social interaction, so that
you do find yourself in a state that doesn’t make sense at this given time when
you need to be “on”.

Instead, use meditation as a way to recover from social interaction AFTER

the time you need to be on. Don’t do it the other way around!
 Technique #14: Flip The Switch

One final word about getting into a social mood:

When its time to be on, I signal to my brain that it’s time to switch gears
from my introverted default state to a more talkative introverted mode. If you
have been utilizing all of the techniques laid out in this book starting from the
moment you got up, you will most likely already be in proper state by the time
you need to be on.

However, if you are not still quiet there, go back to Technique #8 and work
on charging your body up again. In conjunction with physically charging your
body up, I want you to just say to your brain that you need to turn it on.
Remember what I wrote earlier? The mind follows the body, and the body
follows the mind, so in order to get you into the right state, we need to be
working both angles, the mind AND the body. In order to work the mind, you
are literally going to say to your brain “Turn on! Turn on!” Do this over and
over out loud while you are also physically charging your body.

I know this is a bit woo woo, but it works for me, and I hope it works for
you.
 Technique #15: The "Afterglow"

Here’s one last technique that has nothing to do with the other techniques.
This one is for AFTER the time you need to be on.

If social interaction is like an athletic competition and you need to warmup

properly, then you also need to properly recover from the social interaction.

After your event or social engagement, carve out time to spend time alone,
meditate, and to get back into your default/natural introverted state. At this
time, you don’t want to fight your natural introverted state and predisposition.

Don’t feel bad about needing time alone even when people are knocking
down your door or blowing up your phone. If you were an athlete, you
wouldn’t let someone interrupt your cold plunge and massage time would you?
You need to treat your recovery time from social interaction in the same way.

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 CHAPTER THREE
Conclusion

Here we are at the end of On: The Introvert’s Guide to Turning It On.

I hope you will start implementing the ideas in this book and share them
with others who struggle with the challenges of introversion and real life. What
I would love to see is a generation of introverts who have learned not only to
embrace who they are, but who also know how to turn it on in order to achieve
great things that require more than what you think their natural predispositions
would allow them to achieve.

Let me close this book by saying that this book is just the beginning. I hope
my ideas spark further discussion and thought, so I would love to hear your
ideas and hope you share them with me. I look forward to hearing about the
great things you achieve treating the ideas in this book as seeds for a greater
life.

Best wishes,

Min Liu
Info@artofverbalwar.com

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 SPECIAL BONUS ANNOUNCEMENT:
BONUS VIDEOS

As I wrote in a few places throughout this book, I recorded some bonus

videos for you to demonstrate the specific exercises I do to “turn it on”. I also
give a few product recommendations for sleep and supplements.

If you want to access these bonus videos, here’s how you can access them:

********************

ACCESS YOUR SPECIAL BONUS VIDEOS AT:

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 CHAPTER FOUR
About Min Liu

Min Liu is the author of the books “The King’s Mindset: Twenty Mindsets
to Transform Ordinary Men into Kings”, “Vocal Superstar: How to Develop a
High Status Voice”, “People Games: The Ten Most Common Power Plays and
Mind Games People Play”, “Verbal Self Defense 101”, and “The New Art of
Being Right: 38 Strategies to Win an Argument in Today’s World”.

Based in San Francisco, CA, his mission is to help people not only
improve, but become EXCEPTIONAL at social and verbal skills. Everything
he knows about these things, he knows from his many different lives as an
instructor at UC Berkeley, a nightclub promoter, an international corporate and
securities lawyer, and now, an author.

He’s passionate about sharing what he has learned from his transformation
from a shy, socially awkward kid into someone who has the ability to use
verbal and social skills to get and achieve what he wants in life. He believes
everybody has the innate ability to make such a transformation by exercising
“muscles” that have not been used very much, and by sharpening the skills they
already have.

He gets especially aroused these days by basketball, kickboxing,

meditation, songwriting, reading books on psychology and inspirational
people, people who are value givers, and most of all, constantly breaking out
of his comfort zone and helping others break out of theirs. On the other hand, he
absolutely cannot stand mediocrity, unoriginal and lazy thinking, and he really
can’t stand wearing sweaters.

Media, speaking, one-to-one coaching requests, or other inquiries can be

sent to info@artofverbalwar.com.
 ALSO BY MIN LIU

THE KING’S MINDSET

The ambitious man’s guide to developing a “beautiful kingdom” for himself
(Kindle eBook and Hardcopy)

VOCAL SUPERSTAR: HOW TO DEVELOP A HIGH STATUS

VOICE
Learn the ten steps to developing a high status voice that will increase your
influence and authority (Kindle eBook)

PEOPLE GAMES: THE TEN MOST COMMON POWER PLAYS

AND MIND GAMES THAT PEOPLE PLAY
Learn how to defend yourself from mind games and power plays (Kindle
eBook and Hardcopy)

VERBAL SELF DEFENSE 101

An introduction to verbal self defense (Kindle eBook)

THE NEW ART OF BEING RIGHT: 38 WAYS TO WIN AN

ARGUMENT IN TODAY’S WORLD
A modern re-imagining of Arthur Schopenhauer’s classic book on the art of
the debate (Kindle eBook and Hardcopy)

VERBAL DOMINATION
An online course about dominating and winning verbal confrontations