High Agency

George Mack's obsession with "high agency" began around 2018 when Eric Weinstein mentioned the concept. Unlike most ideas that fade, George couldn't let this one go. He was fascinated by the idea that some people—like the protagonist in Ted Lasso—could achieve dramatically more through sheer confidence and willingness to act, despite having less knowledge or resources. He started tweeting about it, blogging about it, and became determined to write a comprehensive handbook exploring this framework. Despite early advice that the idea would "never take off," he persisted for five years, refining his thinking.

The core of High Agency is elegantly simple: a framework distinguishing between two modes of being. Person A, waiting passively on a desert island, uses driftwood to spell "HELP" and hopes for rescue. Person B uses that same wood to build a raft and paddle to safety. The difference isn't intelligence or resources—it's agency. George developed this into a full essay exploring how agency compounds across every domain: business, relationships, health, finance. He created practical exercises like "turning bullshit into reality"—replacing a mechanical to-do list with a values-driven model where you write down what you want to embody, then brainstorm creative ways to display that value.

George didn't launch High Agency as a product to sell—he gave it away. His distribution strategy was pure high agency theater. He wanted the domain highagency.com, but it was owned by someone else. Rather than accept that constraint, he researched domain brokers, found that the owner's registration was expiring, waited for it to go into auction, and won it for near-free (beating out a cannabis marketing agency). Then, to promote the essay, he faced another obstacle: getting attention in a crowded media landscape. Instead of traditional marketing, he cold-emailed his way to a Times Square billboard takeover on the day of launch, putting his face and highagency.com on one of the world's most expensive advertising spaces.

George deliberately avoids vanity metrics. He doesn't track pageviews or impressions. Instead, he measures success through "death metrics"—quality DMs and emails from engaged readers, and the unexpected side effect: people DMing him that the essay made them cry. This focus on depth over breadth became his north star. The Times Square billboard and the story of acquiring the domain became part of the narrative itself—a living example of high agency. The idea went viral organically, especially after being discussed on popular podcasts. George notes that the concept has grown "bigger and bigger" since initial conversations, becoming a genuine meme that's reshaping how people think about action and initiative.

High Agency exists as a free essay and philosophical framework rather than a monetized product. George has positioned himself as the leading voice on agency in entrepreneurship and personal development. The framework is being adopted by founders, investors, and individuals seeking to break free from passive, algorithmic lives. He's also applied the principles practically: building custom algorithms (the "kale algorithm" that filters YouTube to videos over 30 minutes), breaking his own speed bars on personal projects (buying a piano in 24 hours instead of waiting weeks), and using language deliberately to reshape reality. High Agency represents not a startup seeking venture capital, but a memetic movement built on the principle that ideas themselves, when executed with conviction, become their own distribution.