Andrew Bustamante didn’t grow up aspiring to be a spy. He wasn’t a rebellious defector or an idealistic revolutionary. He was, as he puts it, simply curious. That curiosity would eventually lead him to the CIA, where he would be trained in field tradecraft, taught to see the world not as it appeared, but as it truly was. Today, Bustamante uses the skills he honed in the world’s most secretive organization to teach others how to break free of the barriers that hold them back. But, as he says, the first step is shattering the hazy glass through which most of us view our reality.

The Lens We’re Given

“Most people are still seeing the world through a lens that was built for them,” Bustamante explains. It’s a lens clouded by societal conditioning, one that tells us to follow a predictable path: get good grades, find a stable job, work hard, and wait for success to come. But as Bustamante’s career and life experiences taught him, that narrative isn’t the truth—it’s a construct.

“We’re conditioned to believe in systems,” he says. “Education, industry, even religion—they all rely on structures that keep us in a comfortable shed, staring out at a sunny forest we can’t quite reach.” The forest, in his analogy, represents our unfiltered reality, our true potential, or simply the world outside the confines of convention.

This realization came to Bustamante during his time at the CIA, particularly during his training at the legendary Field Tradecraft Course—known as “The Farm”—where the organization broke down his preconceived notions about the world. “It wasn’t about cleaning the glass or taking me out of the shed,” he recalls. “They shattered the glass entirely, leaving me no choice but to see things as they really were.”

Seeing Beyond the Shed

After leaving the CIA, Bustamante founded Everyday Spy, a company designed to teach people how to use spy skills in their daily lives. The mission is straightforward: empower individuals to break barriers and achieve their goals. But for Bustamante, it all starts with awareness.

“The first step is understanding that you’re in a shed,” he says. “Most people don’t even realize that the rules they’re following are arbitrary. They think they have no choice but to stay where they are. But the truth is, those rules are breakable.”

One of the foundational exercises he teaches is called “Get Quiet.” The practice involves clearing your sensory inputs—giving your mind a chance to reset. “When you quiet your senses, your brain starts to index,” he explains. “It processes information at a deeper level, making you more aware of the world around you. It’s the first step to seeing things from a new perspective.”

The Power of Perspective

At the heart of Bustamante’s philosophy is the distinction between perception and perspective. “Perception is what you believe to be true about the world around you,” he says. “Perspective is what someone else believes to be true. The magic happens when you can step into someone else’s perspective.”

He illustrates this with an example from the business world. A coffee shop owner might believe their Ethiopian roast is the best in town, but what matters is the perspective of their customers. Are they tired parents looking for a moment’s peace? Are they young professionals seeking fast Wi-Fi? “If you want to build influence,” Bustamante says, “you have to see the world through their eyes.”

This principle applies to everything from entrepreneurship to personal relationships. One of his most transformative lessons for clients is teaching them to listen deeply. “Most people hear with the intent to respond,” he says. “But when you listen with the intent to understand, you gain insights that give you a true advantage.”

Breaking Barriers

Bustamante’s clients range from CEOs to individuals looking for personal growth, and his methods have helped people achieve remarkable results. One client used his frameworks to negotiate a $32,000 raise. Another landed a dream job they thought was out of reach. “These are people who were stuck in their sheds,” he says. “All they needed was a new way of seeing the world.”

But Bustamante doesn’t just teach people to succeed—he teaches them to challenge their assumptions. “The problem with traditional education is that it’s designed to teach you what to think, not how to think,” he says. “At Everyday Spy, we focus on frameworks that help you test what you learn. That’s how you turn information into knowledge and knowledge into experience.”

The Courage to Try

While Bustamante’s insights are grounded in years of intelligence work, his philosophy is deeply human. “Courage is doing the thing you’re afraid of,” he says. “Most people are afraid to step outside the shed because it’s uncomfortable, but that’s where growth happens.”

His own courage comes, in part, from a recent personal loss: the death of his grandmother. “It made me realize how fragile life is,” he says. “It’s easy to get consumed by scaling a business or chasing arbitrary goals, but at the end of the day, what matters are the people around you and the impact you make.”

Shattering Your Glass

Andrew Bustamante’s story isn’t just about espionage or business; it’s about breaking free. It’s about stepping outside the shed, shattering the glass, and seeing the world for what it truly is. Whether through spy skills or simple awareness, his message is clear: the power to change your life is in your hands. You just have to be willing to see it.

Andrew’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Andrew-Bustamante