"When you're told that something is impossible, is that the end of the conversation, or does that start a second dialogue in your mind? How to get around whoever it is that's just told you that you can't do something" - Eric Weinstein on high agency.

The normal paradox: We hide our weirdness and act out “normal” behaviour to be liked by the tribe — but the tribe forgets the normal behaviour.

‍ Thought experiment: If the reward for solving the problem was a trillion dollars, and the consequence for not solving the problem was the death penalty -- would you find a way to solve the problem?

‍ Attachment Trap Escape Route: What would I do if I had 10x the agency?

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This question from Nick throws a first principles grenade into your mind. It forces you to start the problem again from a fresh perspective free of past assumptions. You often realise the real problem wasn’t the problem itself. It was the assumptions you were viewing it... See more

The Swedish House Mafia Technique

Step 1 - Collect the smartest people you know.

Step 2 - Tell them about your 3rd world jail cell. (Problem you're stuck on)

Step 3 - Lock the door. Block out the outside world.

Step 4 - Keep rallying ideas back and forth like a tennis game. Take immediate action on the best ideas.

Film director Kevin Smith tells a story of his father who lived his life playing by the rules:

‍ "My father was a good guy. Not many good men in the world, but this was a good guy. He worked at a post office, canceling your stamps - what a soul-killing, horrible job that is - for years, just to pay for a family. Who knew if he had dreams?...

I get a... See more

One tool to make this easier is to reframe decisions as experiments . You’re no longer a perfectionist frozen on stage with everyone watching your every move, you’re a curious scientist in a lab trying to test a hypothesis. E.g. “ I’m 60% certain that moving to New York is better than 40% of staying in Doncaster...Ok. It’s time to Blitzkrieg. ”... See more

When Nadal warmed up, it was sheer aggression. He sprinted up and down like a man possessed with his shirt dripping in sweat.

When Djokovic warmed up, it was pure emotionless calibration. He was measured and scientific with every shot.

When Federer warmed up, you could hear him giggling before he arrived. He was doing trick shots, caressing the ball... See more

When faced with a problem, ask your brain, “ Does this defy the laws of physics? ” — it will reply with “ No ” — and begin generating ludicrous ways this could be possible. Asking your brain this question wipes your mental whiteboard around the problem and knocks on the door of your sleeping creativity.