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Most founders work hard. Fewer think well.
I used to be in the first group.
For years, I worked 12-14 hours a day, handling everything myself.
Programming upsell flows, editing VSLs.
Running ads and troubleshooting systems that never stayed fixed.
At one point I was paying a developer $6,000 just to keep things from breaking.
The work ethic was there, but the mental models weren’t.
These 7 helped change that:
1️⃣ The Fosbury Flop
↳ In 1968, Dick Fosbury won Olympic gold jumping backwards while everyone else jumped forward. He did it anyway.
↳ Where is the obvious approach in your business actually costing you?
2️⃣ Inversion Thinking
↳ Ask what guarantees failure. Then ask what drives success.
↳ For us, that meant blocked payments, unclear onboarding, and affiliates with no support. Remove the failure modes before you add new tactics.
3️⃣ Second-Order Thinking
↳ Every choice has a downstream consequence that most people don’t see coming.
↳ Before you commit: what does this create six months from now?
4️⃣ Parkinson’s Law
↳ Work expands to fill the time allotted. Give a project three weeks, and it takes three weeks.
↳ Deadlines don’t slow you down. They’re the only thing keeping execution honest.
5️⃣ Depth Over Width
↳ Bruce Lee didn’t practice 10,000 different kicks. He practiced one kick 10,000 times.
↳ Go deep on what you’re already building before you add the next layer.
6️⃣ Regret Minimization
↳ Project 30 years out. Will you regret not taking the shot? Bezos used it to leave a stable career and build Amazon.
↳ Most fear is fear of short-term embarrassment, not long-term outcomes.
7️⃣ Network Razor
↳ Two people in your network who would benefit from knowing each other? Connect them. No agenda required.
↳ Networks don’t shrink when you share them. Every introduction you make is an asset, not a favor.
When we entered the U.S., we weren’t the best product on the market.
We stopped fighting for the same ground and asked one question: what would make someone choose us anyway?
That’s inversion thinking in practice.
Fix what drives people away before adding what draws them in.
I used to be in the first group.
For years, I worked 12-14 hours a day, handling everything myself.
Programming upsell flows, editing VSLs.
Running ads and troubleshooting systems that never stayed fixed.
At one point I was paying a developer $6,000 just to keep things from breaking.
The work ethic was there, but the mental models weren’t.
These 7 helped change that:
1️⃣ The Fosbury Flop
↳ In 1968, Dick Fosbury won Olympic gold jumping backwards while everyone else jumped forward. He did it anyway.
↳ Where is the obvious approach in your business actually costing you?
2️⃣ Inversion Thinking
↳ Ask what guarantees failure. Then ask what drives success.
↳ For us, that meant blocked payments, unclear onboarding, and affiliates with no support. Remove the failure modes before you add new tactics.
3️⃣ Second-Order Thinking
↳ Every choice has a downstream consequence that most people don’t see coming.
↳ Before you commit: what does this create six months from now?
4️⃣ Parkinson’s Law
↳ Work expands to fill the time allotted. Give a project three weeks, and it takes three weeks.
↳ Deadlines don’t slow you down. They’re the only thing keeping execution honest.
5️⃣ Depth Over Width
↳ Bruce Lee didn’t practice 10,000 different kicks. He practiced one kick 10,000 times.
↳ Go deep on what you’re already building before you add the next layer.
6️⃣ Regret Minimization
↳ Project 30 years out. Will you regret not taking the shot? Bezos used it to leave a stable career and build Amazon.
↳ Most fear is fear of short-term embarrassment, not long-term outcomes.
7️⃣ Network Razor
↳ Two people in your network who would benefit from knowing each other? Connect them. No agenda required.
↳ Networks don’t shrink when you share them. Every introduction you make is an asset, not a favor.
When we entered the U.S., we weren’t the best product on the market.
We stopped fighting for the same ground and asked one question: what would make someone choose us anyway?
That’s inversion thinking in practice.
Fix what drives people away before adding what draws them in.