1. The Death of Ideas: A Common Trap
Picture this. You’re sitting in a cozy café, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee ☕ mingling with the hum of quiet chatter. Suddenly, inspiration strikes. A brilliant idea that feels like it could change everything. You excitedly share it with the friend you dragged out of bed at 6 am to join you at the café, only to be met with the dreaded response.
“Oh, I’ve tried that before. It won’t work.” 🙄
And just like that, the spark dims. The excitement fades. You start second-guessing yourself, wondering if the idea was ever worth pursuing.
Here’s the truth. People who say this are often protecting their idéal imaginaire, their imagined ideal of how something should work. (Yes, that’s French! Fancy, isn’t it? 😉). They’ve tried it their way, and because it didn’t pan out, they assume no other method could succeed.
History has shown us time and again that breakthroughs don’t come from repeating what’s been done. They come from questioning assumptions, challenging norms, and daring to ask, “What if?” 🤔✨
2. The Art of Questioning Assumptions
Over two thousand years ago, Aristotle posed a deceptively simple question.
“What is true if we strip away all false assumptions?”
This question laid the foundation for First Principles Thinking, a method of problem-solving that breaks down complex issues into their most basic truths.
Take Elon Musk, for example. When he started SpaceX 🚀, skeptics told him.
“Building rockets is expensive. NASA struggles to do it, so how could you?”
Instead of accepting this, Musk asked.
“What are rockets made of? Aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber… Are these materials inherently expensive?”
He discovered that raw materials only accounted for 2% of the rocket’s cost. The rest was due to inefficient processes and outdated assumptions. By questioning these norms, Musk reduced rocket costs by 90 percent, revolutionizing the space industry and proving that different methods lead to different results.
3. Why First Principles Matter
Let’s get real for a moment 📊.
- 82 percent of daily decisions are driven by emotion, not logic 🧠❤️
- 70 percent of people can’t explain why they’re in their current job 🤷♂️
- 85 percent of startups fail not because their ideas are bad, but because they misinterpret the root problem 🚧
First Principles Thinking cuts through all this noise. Instead of relying on surface-level reasoning or copying what others do, it forces you to dig deeper, uncovering truths that lead to innovative solutions.
4. Two Ways to Think
Analogical Thinking
This is the default mode for most people.
“Everyone’s doing it this way, so it must be right.” 🤔
“It’s always been done like this.” 🕰️
“This worked for them, so it’ll work for me.” 💼
Examples include opening a coffee shop because others are successful ☕, choosing a career in tech because it pays well 💻, or copying a foreign business model without adapting it to local needs 🌍.
Analogical thinking limits creativity. It’s great for incremental improvements but rarely leads to breakthroughs.
First Principles Thinking
This method challenges you to break problems into their core components.
- Step one: Deconstruct the problem into smaller pieces 🧩.
- Step two: Identify fundamental truths, things that are undeniably true 🔍.
- Step three: Build solutions from the ground up based on these truths 🛠️.
Instead of asking:
“How do I make my coffee shop popular?”
Ask:
- “Why do people drink coffee?” Is it simply for the caffeine boost to kickstart their day? Or is it about socializing, enjoying the ambiance, or having a workspace away from home? ☕
- “What truly matters to them?” Is it the quality of the coffee beans, the price point that fits their budget, the location that’s convenient, or the atmosphere that feels welcoming? 🌟
- “Is there another way to meet these needs?” Could it be through coffee delivery services for busy professionals? A co-working café that doubles as a productive space? Or perhaps a subscription model that guarantees their favorite brew every morning? 🚚
By focusing on the why instead of the how, you open doors to ideas that others might overlook.
5. Applying First Principles in Everyday Life
Choosing a Career 🎯
Analogical Thinking. “I’ll study coding because tech jobs pay well.” 💻
First Principles.
What am I genuinely good at? What skills or talents come naturally to me, and how can I refine them further? 🌟
What do I enjoy doing for hours without tiring? What activities make me lose track of time because I’m so immersed? ❤️
What skills will be in demand five to ten years from now? How can I future-proof my career by aligning it with emerging trends? 📈
The intersection of these answers will lead you to a career that’s both fulfilling and future-proof.
Building a Product 🛒
Analogical Thinking. “Let’s copy our competitor’s features.” 🤷♂️
First Principles.
What pain points do users actually have? What frustrations or obstacles are they facing that your product can solve? 🤔
What’s the core value of our product? If we strip away all the bells and whistles, what’s the one thing that truly makes our product valuable? 🎯
What resources do we realistically have? How can we prioritize our time, money, and team capacity to create something impactful without overextending ourselves? 💰
Marketing and Sales 📣
Analogical Thinking. “Run Facebook ads like everyone else.” 🖥️
First Principles.
Where does my audience actually spend time? Are they scrolling through TikTok, engaging in niche communities, or reading trusted blogs? 📱
Who do they trust? Is it influencers, their friends, or authentic user reviews that sway their decisions? 🤝
What’s my budget, and what ROI can I expect? How can I maximize my investment while ensuring it resonates with my audience? 💵
To make marketing efforts more effective, I often use tools like Eygent. It allows me to send out surveys and collect valuable feedback from my audience. It streamlines email and SMS marketing, let my message reaches the right people at the right time.
6. Tools to Practice First Principles
The Five Whys ❓
Ask “Why?” five times to get to the root cause of a problem.
“Why is my website not converting visitors into customers?”
- First why: Visitors aren’t staying long enough to explore the content.
- Second why: The design feels cluttered and overwhelming, making it hard for them to find what they’re looking for.
- Third why: Navigation isn’t intuitive, and users struggle to locate key information.
- Fourth why: Pages are overloaded with unnecessary elements that distract from the main message.
- Fifth why: The team didn’t prioritize user experience during the design phase.
Root cause. To improve conversions, focus on simplifying the user experience and creating a design that guides visitors seamlessly.
Socratic Method 🗨️
Challenge your assumptions.
- “Is this really true?” 🤔
- “What evidence supports this?” 📑
- “Could there be a better way?” 💡
- “What if the opposite were true?” 🔄
These questions push you to see problems from new angles and uncover solutions that others might miss.
Final Thoughts
First Principles Thinking isn’t a magic bullet. You won’t use it to solve every problem, and that’s okay. But when you’re stuck, when conventional wisdom fails, or when you’re aiming for something truly groundbreaking, it’s the tool you need.
Sometimes, the best way to innovate is to stop asking:
“How has this been done before?”
And start asking:
“What if we did it differently?”
So, the next time someone says:
“I’ve tried that, it won’t work,”
Smile and ask yourself:
“What’s the real truth here? What can I do differently?” 😊
✨ Because sometimes, the boldest ideas come from the simplest questions 💡
Cherchez la vérité, as the French say. Seek the truth 🌎