Thought Exercises

Stuck on a problem? These are activities to help get un stuck or spur more creative thought.

Where to go Next? - Effectual Reasoning

see effectual reasoning for full explanation.

1. Determine Vague Goal
2. Identify Means via the effectual reasoning inventory

• Who are you — What are my natural strengths, traits, and abilities?
• Who do you know — Who are in my social and professional networks?
• What do you know — What is my training, expertise, interests and experience

3. Imagine Clearly Defined Ends
4. Prioritize
5. Manage risk
6. Ready, Fire, Aim

Figuring Out Career Strategy - Ask These Questions

1. What were some of your best days at previous jobs?
2. When do you most look forward to going to work?
3. When did you come home feeling excited and full of stories from work?
4. What are some experiences you didn't like? How can you negate / eliminate those into positives?

Figuring Out Wealth Strategy - Climbing The Ladders of Wealth

From Nathan Barry's Ladders of Wealth Creation

1. What rung of the ladder am I on in my journey to build wealth?
2. Which ladder is this new idea on?
3. How far is it from the rung of the ladder I am on currently?
4. What new skills would I need to close the gap between where I am now and where I want to go?
5. How long will it take to acquire those skills and get initial traction?
6. Do I have the runway (both in time and financial security) to make that jump without putting my finances in danger? #risk

Getting To Know Yourself - Coaching Questions

have a conversation and ask yourself some of the coaching questions:

1. Kickstart Question — “What’s on your mind?”
2. AWE Question — “And What Else?”
3. Focus Challenge — “What’s the real challenge here for you?”
4. Foundation Question — “What do you want?”
5. Lazy Question — “How can I help?” or “What do you want from me?”
6. Strategic Question — “If you say yes to this, what are you saying no to?”
7. Learning Question — “What was most useful or valuable here for you?”

Assessing Risk of a New Project - Fearsetting

Evangelized by Tim Ferriss in this article Fearsetting

• define the worst-case scenario, specifically, on paper, when considering choices.
• try to tackle as many "what ifs" as you can
• then, ask yourself what steps you can take to prevent those or mitigate damage. bulletproofing
• Also define the most probable positive outcomes
• specific question: "if you were fired from your job today, what steps would you take to get things under financial control?"
• Ask yourself, "what are you putting off most due to fear?"
• Ask yourself, what it costing you, physically, emotionally, financially, to put off action?
• Also ask yourself, "what are you waiting for?"

Developing a Product Idea? - Write Your Marketing Material

• Write the ideal amazon review for your idea
• Write a landing page for your idea. think about pains, dreams, fixes, objections.

Getting to Know Yourself - From Running on Empty No More

• What do you want?
• What are you passionate about?
• What do you like and what do you dislike, and why?
• Who do you like and who do you dislike, and why?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What adjectives would you use to describe yourself?
• How do others perceive you?
• What activities do you enjoy the most?