How To Figure "It" Out: A Framework To Solve Any Problem

So, you have realised you were sold a lie.

Like me, you expected the conventional path was the way.

But now, you see, the conventional path no longer exists.

You must find your way.

You need to create your path.

You gotta figure it out.

But figuring it out is hard. Being in the unknown can leave you unsure of what to do.

I get it; I have been there and am still there in many ways.

In this letter, we will talk about how to figure it out—but not any one thing. I will share with you a practical framework that will solve the entire set of problems in your life.

The first step you need to take is to remove what is holding you back.

Everything is fucked

There are plenty of problems in life.

A lack of money, a lack of friends, and poor health are some of the biggest contributors to individuals' problems.

You have no control over the large-scale forces that contribute to these problems.

A changing economy, an uncalibrated dating scene, and optimised advertising and marketing that promote overindulgence and overstimulation.

Everywhere you look, there are factors you cannot control, making it more difficult to live a good life.

It can feel like everything is fucked. It can feel like the world is against you.

But I do not allow myself to give in to the temptation of holding this belief tightly. If I were to, I would become nihilistic and apathetic, and my chances of figuring it out would be reduced to zero.

I'm not asking you to be blindly optimistic. I am asking you to accept the situation as it is.

You can't stop it from raining, but don't believe getting wet is your only option.

You can do a lot more than you realise. But you gotta figure it out—the only way through is through.

Rather than thinking everything is fucked, turn your attention to what you can do next.

Bring clarity to the unclear

Before you can figure it out, you need to identify what it is.

Here's an example.

I saw a YouTube clip of Alex Hormozi describing his situation with an employee. Three managers of the company were compaining about this employee bring a dick. When Alex brought this to the employee's attention, he said, "I know, I'm working on it". Alex says, "no, no, it's ok. Here's what you do that causes people to percieve you as a dick and this is what you can do instead". One week later, the problem was completely gone.

'Stop being a dick' or 'change your life' or 'figure it out' are too vague to be useful. You need to get way more specific. The more specific you get, the better, because you begin to bring clarity to the unclear.

Whenever I feel overwhelmed and defeated by a problem, I start analysing what I can do next. I always feel better because now I have a plan of attack. Instead of waiting for something to change miraculously, I have a direction to move in.

It's not that you can't figure it out; it's that you lack clarity on where you are and what you can do next.

Once you set that direction and take back your autonomy, you will feel much better.

I will tell you three stories to bring this into context.

Story 1

As a teenager, I was observant. I noticed that my dad's financial situation made him feel stuck. I asked myself, "What can I do to avoid being in the same position?"

Once I graduated from high school, I realised that so much of my life relies on my ability to earn money, yet the only thing school taught me about money was as how to count it.

"Okay, I need to learn more about money," I thought to myself. I am grateful for the Internet. I have so many tools at my disposal. I picked up a book called The Barefoot Investor. It gave me the fundamentals: an automated saving system, an introduction to inflation, and what to look for in retirement funds.

I learnt that saving was like face planting on a treadmill. I started looking into investing because compound interest was apparently a miracle machine. I lost money on picking the wrong stock, but the mistake forced me to find a better way to invest.

At the age of 27, I have close to two years of living expenses split between cash and stocks. I have no debt or liabilities. This is a strong position, and it takes a lot of financial pressure off my decisions.

Story 2

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" is a question adults often ask children. After I got over my professional athlete dream, at 12 years old, I decided I was going to become a chemical engineer. That's what I did.

I believed that once I got this degree, everything would fall into place. Yet, in my second year of university, I couldn't shake an unsettling feeling. I reflected on my discomfort for a while. I discovered that discomfort was the uncertainty about what work I wanted to do post-graduation. I needed experience. A direction was set.

I found an opportunity for an Australian startup that uses business to solve social issues overseas. It sounded interesting, so I applied, got accepted, and worked on a sustainability project in Fiji. Boom—leadership, product development, and impact were the new targets.

Story 3

When university finished, I needed to figure out what I was going to do with all this free time. I would continue working at the power plant until I found a job opportunity that fitted my target criteria, but what about the rest of my time?

I needed a new project.

During university, I felt the pull of entrepreneurship but resisted it because I believed I couldn't make it, so why try?

Now that I had more free time, I asked myself, "If I were going to try to separate my income from my time, what would I do?" I used the philosophy of ikigai to help me decide.

My final assignment at university was to write a 1,000-word essay about my work experience. I compared my internship in Fiji against the operational experience I had in the plant while reflecting on my qualms with the university process. I had fun writing that essay.

Weird — I usually hate writing.

The next week, I built my website and started the impactful ideas blog. I was completely out in the unknown. I learnt new skills and made a lot of mistakes. Then I realised I don't read blogs; I watch YouTube videos. So I started the channel.

I am still trying to figure this thing out so I can create my own path.

How to figure 'it' out

What do each of these stories have in common?

I was in a position of uncertainty and chaos. Each time I felt that feeling of "something isn't right, I have a problem," I reflected on it to understand it better.

I identified what 'it' was in each situation and then formulated a path forward—a vision to pursue and a direction to move towards.

The process is the same in every circumstance and can be summarised in the following six steps.

1. Self belief—You don’t need full confidence, just enough curiosity and willingness to try. In other words, you need to have a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. If you don't believe you can grow, improve, and change, you won't.

2. Self evaluation — Accept things for what they are. Radical acceptance opens the mind to possibility. Don't overthink this part and pay attention to what grabs your attention. That's where you start.

3. Self education — School doesn’t teach you how to win at life. The internet has given you countless resources to self educate. Books, book summaries, podcasts, youtube videos, online courses, will help you find knowledge not founds in schools. Don't just learn for the sake of learning. Learn to solve a problem and learn to build a project.

4. Self motivation — Start before you feel ready. Start despite your fear.. Do the thing and know why you are doing it. Take the risk.

5. Self discipline — Self motivation is how you take that first step. Self discipline is about taking steps one after another. You need to stack the whys behind your project. Curiosity, enjoyment, purpose, freedom and mastery are your intrinsic motivators; stack them. Eventually, you will form the identity of someone who does these things. Discipline then ceases to exist.

6. Self adjust — Things will go wrong. You will take more losses than wins. Iterate. Try new perspectives. Like the saying goes, "you either win or you learn". There is no losing when you play the long game. Adjust until you win.

If it hasn't become clear by now, it has to start with you. Only you can do it, and only you can make a difference in your life.

One of the most painful things in life is climbing a mountain and then having to go back down. No one wants to, but the people who have achieved what they wanted in life have been able to stomach that as many times as it takes.

Remember, you can't stop it from raining, but getting wet isn't your only option.

Thanks for reading friends.

Josh