Upgrade Science
(noun)- 1.The study of the nature, structure, and character of deliberate change for the better.
- 2.The discipline of replacing the default human operating system with a conscious, repeatable architecture.
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
The Paradigm That Governs All Others
The Upgrade Paradigm
An upgrade is any move from where you are to somewhere better. A goal hit. A problem solved. A transformation – in your health, your money, your marriage, your work. Different areas. Same move.
Aristotle observed that every action, every pursuit, aims at some good. Every single one. Which means upgrading isn't only something you do. It's the reason you do everything.
Every action aims at some good.
Paradigm First Principles
- 01The motive behind all human action may be understood as the desire to improve (aka upgrade) one's life or the lives of others.
- 02So, your brain is an "upgrade calculator."
- 03Thus, your "upgrade calculator's algorithm" is of prime importance.
- 04Your Brain is "programmable."
- 05Therefore, there is no better way to spend your time than improving your improvement engine.
Why + How Desires Become Destiny
The Natural, Universal Upgrade Process
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
The Upgrade Process: Everything that gets better follows the same five steps.
Upgrade your
Where are you? Who are you? This is your starting place – what or where you "Upgrade from."
What do you want? What drives you? This is what or where you "Upgrade to."
What do you "see"? How are you going to get what you desire? This is "How you might get there."
Opt for the status quo? What will you trade-off? This is how you will (or won't) get there.
Finally, it's time for Nike – just do it – on purpose!
Where are you? Who are you? This is your starting place – what or where you "Upgrade from."
What do you want? What drives you? This is what or where you "Upgrade to."
What do you "see"? How are you going to get what you desire? This is "How you might get there."
Opt for the status quo? What will you trade-off? This is how you will (or won't) get there.
Finally, it's time for Nike – just do it – on purpose!
Fractal Nature
Things that can possibly be upgraded include your step-one, identification of your baseline. What's the process to upgrade step one? The same process to upgrade anything, of course. Like the snowflake and many things in nature, the upgrade process is fractal – five steps inside every step.
Dynamic Nature
The upgrade process is dynamic because it interacts with the dynamics of reality, including friction and the fact that everything changes. The process is also dynamic in the sense that the five 'steps' are not necessarily sequential, but everything affects everything else.
Upgrade Phases
In travel, there are four phases: The Trip Dreaming phase, Trip Planning, Trip Booking, and Trip Optimization. Some projects, like deciding where to go to dinner, don't require anything more than the five steps. However, if you're buying a house or developing a relationship or developing software, your work is going to have more than one phase. The five steps run fully within each phase. The larger the project, the more phases you'll have.
What is an option in the ideation phase or dreaming phase turns into your desire in the planning phase, for example. We often spin our wheels by misunderstanding options for desires when we don't consider what phase we're in.
Upgrade Engine
Your Brain is an Upgrade Engine.
Upgrade Science First Principles
- 01We don't define our identity, we perceive it.
- 02Our desires and fears flow from our perception of our identity.
- 03We only see things we desire or fear.
- 04Options are what you "see."
- 05Decisions (30,000+ daily) are between "options."
- 06We can't decide against our greatest desire.
Upgrade Elements
Elements of Upgrade Reality
There are 16 primary elements of human transformation. Not 47. And not a list of tips. Sixteen elements. Every upgrade you've ever made – and every one you've failed to make – can be traced back to how well you understood and applied these elements. Every upgrade – in any domain – is made of these elements. Every upgrade – from economy to first class, from stuck to free, from struggling to thriving – is built from the same elements. Learn them, and you learn the architecture of change for the better.
About Matthew Bennett | Upgrade Science Founder
Chief Student of Upgrade Science
- 1991Began learning how the airline system works, and where its best options hide, as a minor-league pitcher with the Kansas City Royals, flying to spring training in a coach seat and wanting a better one.
- 1996Founded First Class Flyer, the longest-running publication in the air travel industry. Seven million upgrades served over the last 30 years to members including CEOs, Hall of Fame athletes, Academy Award winners, and people who report to people who run countries.
- 2001Nicknamed "Mr. Upgrade" by clients.
- 2024Discovered the Universal Five-Step Upgrade Process. Twenty-eight years of reverse-engineering how travelers got a better seat showed the same five moves every time. Also discovered that the same five are fractal – and universal – applicable to relationships, a business, a career, your health, anything. The subject was never travel. It was how anyone gets from where they are to somewhere better.
- 2026Formulated The Upgrade Formula, the method built on the process, and opened Upgrade Science, the study of the nature and practice of deliberate change for the better. v1.0.
Truth be told, I've let more upgrade opportunities slip through my fingers than you can imagine, across every area of life. We all have. Here's to upgrading how we upgrade. Matthew Bennett