Snippet — High Agency
Escape Routes
- Vague Trap Escape Route: Define the problem in simple words.
- Midwit Trap Escape Route: Find it via inversion.
- Step 1 - Stop trying to be the smart guy.
- Step 2 - Find the simple ideas via inversion. Flip the problem around. And take them seriously before adding any complexity.
- Attachment Trap Escape Route: What would I do if I had 10x the agency?
- Rumination Trap Escape Route: How can I take action on this now?
- Overwhelm Trap Escape Route: What’s the smallest first step I can take?
Tools
Tool 1 - The High Agency Flow Chart
Tool 2 - 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.
Tool 3 - The Story Razor
If stuck between two potential options, ask: What is the best story?
Tool 4 - Ask For Help
“I have three mentors.
When I’m stuck on a problem and need their help, I take the time to write a good description of my dilemma before reaching out to them. I summarize the context, the problem, my options, and my thoughts on each. I make it as succinct as possible so as not to waste their time.
Before sending it, I try to predict what they’ll say. Then I go back and update what I wrote to address these obvious points in advance.
Finally, I try again to predict what they’ll say to this, based on what they’ve said in the past and what I know of their philosophy. Then, after this whole process, I realize I don’t need to bother them because the answer is now clear… None of them know they are my mentors.”
- Derek Sivers