Understanding First Principles Thinking

For the next 6 months: Become addicted to practicing first principles thinking, And you'll be a different person by December 2024: 1/ First off, what exactly is first principles thinking? It's a way of breaking down a problem into its most basic parts. You question every assumption until you get to the fundamental truths. No fluff, no preconceived notions - just the raw building blocks. 2/ Why is this so powerful? When you strip away all the layers, you can see the problem more clearly. You're not influenced by how things have always been done. It opens up a world of creative solutions that many often miss. 3/ Elon Musk is a big fan of first principles thinking. When he wanted to make cheaper rockets, he didn't just improve existing designs. He started from scratch. He asked: What are rockets made of? What do they fundamentally do? 4/ How can you apply first principles thinking in your own life? Start by questioning everything. When faced with a problem, don't just accept the usual solutions. Ask yourself: What are the core components here? What do I know for sure? Example 1: Getting fit. Most people just follow the latest diet or workout trend. But with first principles, you'd ask: What does my body need to function at its best? What foods provide those nutrients? What exercises are appropriate for my level? By breaking it down to the basics, you can create a plan that's tailored to your specific needs and goals. No more one-size-fits-all approaches. You're building from the ground up, based on fundamental truths. Example 2: Starting a business. Instead of just copying what others are doing, ask: What value do I want to provide? Who needs this value? What's the simplest way to deliver it? Avoid unnecessary complexity and focus on what matters. 5/ Practice Socratic questioning. First principles thinking isn't always easy—especially for those hesitant to challenge the status quo. You must be • Curious • Persistent • Unafraid to ask "dumb" questions One way to get better at this: Practice Socratic questioning. This means asking questions like: • What do I really know about this? • What am I assuming? • What would happen if I changed that assumption? The benefits are worth it. First principles thinking is a superpower that anyone can develop. So next time you face a challenge, don't just reach for the nearest answer. Take a step back. Question your assumptions. Break it down to the fundamentals. You might just uncover a life-changing solution. If you enjoyed this and want more in-depth content like this: Join my newsletter to learn my business principles, systems, mental models, and scaling to $20M annual revenue 👉 https://lnkd.in/ewHNVx4N

First Principles Thinking is harder than it looks. Most founders claim they use it. Few actually understand it. Here's what I mean... Last week, a founder told me they were using "First Principles Thinking" for pricing. Their solution? Copy competitors and subtract 10%. That's not First Principles. That's lazy pattern matching. Real First Principles means: ↳ Breaking everything down to core truths ↳ Then building up from scratch Take SpaceX: ↳ They didn't just ask "How do we make rockets cheaper?" ↳ They asked "What are rockets actually made of?" The insight was shocking: ↳Materials were only 2% of traditional rocket prices. ↳The rest? Legacy processes, middlemen, and "that's how we've always done it." This is the difference between: 1/ Following Industry Patterns ↳ Copy what works ↳ Make assumptions ↳ Follow the crowd 2/ First Principles Thinking ↳ Question everything ↳ Find basic truths ↳ Build from scratch Swipe ➡️ for my framework on using First Principles Thinking in your startup. Which approach resonates most? ♻️ Share to help other founders think deeper And follow Mariya Valeva for more

I just finished reading Elon Musk’s biography by Walter Isaacson. The most interesting take away? Hard work is not the (only) reason for Elon’s success. There’s no doubt hard work has played a major role in him building 3 multibillion dollar companies in different industries, but there’s something else to it. Something even more important, which you can apply too. The missing link between innovative creativity and accelerated success, which has little to do with hard work. And everything to do with thinking, and how you think. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. Just like Musk, some of the most brilliant minds of all-time — Aristotle, Thomas Edison, and Nikola Tesla — have used this framework for accelerated learning, solving difficult problems and creating great work in their lifetime. Let’s talk about how you can quickly use this genius problem solving method. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠? This is basically the practice of actively questioning every assumption you think you ‘know’ about a given problem or scenario — and then creating new knowledge and solutions from scratch. Forget solving your problems based on prior assumptions and ‘best practices’. Here’s how you can quickly use this in 3 simple steps recommended by Elon Musk himself. 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 1: 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 When next you’re faced with a familiar problem or challenge, start by writing down your current assumptions about them. 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 2: 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬. Fundamental principles = most basic truths or elements of anything. The best way to uncover these truths is to ask powerful questions. Here’s an example of how Elon Musk used this: Somebody could say, “Battery packs are really expensive and that’s just the way they will always be… Historically, it has cost $600 per kilowatt hour. With first principles, you say, “What are the material constituents of the batteries? What is the stock market value of the material constituents?” It’s got cobalt, nickel, aluminum, carbon, some polymers for separation and a seal can. Break that down on a material basis and say, “If we bought that on the London Metal Exchange what would each of those things cost?” The price comes down to $80 per kilowatt hour. 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 3: 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 Once you’ve identified and broken down your problems or assumptions into their most basic truths, you can begin to create new insightful solutions from scratch. 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 “𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵.” First principles thinking is a powerful way to break away from following the crowd, think creatively, and come up with entirely new solutions to common problems.