I’m surprised the equality police don’t ban frameworks.
They give you an unfair advantage in life. The point of a framework is to simplify decisions through further clarity of a common problem.
These are the best frameworks to use for your big 2023 decisions.
See what a normal person does and do the opposite
If you want to live an extraordinary life, examples from normal people likely won’t get you there.
Most people go about their goals the wrong way.
In any field I’ve found it’s smart to see what normal do and then do the opposite. I did this with business. Everyone told me to make it complex. To write a business plan, hire hundreds of people, raise capital, use consultants, etc.
I’ve only succeeded in business because I ignored what normal business people suggested. This approach also works well if you’re trying to build a truly innovative business.
The worst-case scenario framework
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
This question is at the heart of this powerful framework. If you don’t know the worst case you can risk losing everything.
The other day I spoke to my accountant about an investment opportunity. There were risks. I worked out I could lose $800K if everything went wrong.
That’s a risk I wasn’t prepared to take. I told my accountant to relook at the opportunity and cap the downside at no more than $200K. That’s a number I can sleep at night with.
Making decisions based on how you’ll sleep is a powerful life hack.
Nine times out of ten the worst-case scenario is never as bad as your imagination dreams up.
The hourly rate framework
Decisions made in 2023 should factor in the cost of your time.
The trouble is most of us don’t know what an hour of our time is worth, so we easily piss our time up against the wall. The easy framework to follow is to work out how much money you made in total last year.
Divide the number by 2000. Now you know your hourly rate.
Next time you get asked to do work, don’t accept any amount of money lower than your hourly rate. Now you’ll be able to do more high-value work, make more money, therefore doing less overall work.
The “Do Something” framework
Motivation is tough.
Unless we understand how it works, it’s hard to achieve our 2023 goals. Author Mark Manson has a great formula.
Inspiration → Motivation → Action
is actually:
Action → Inspiration → Motivation
Lead every new decision or goal with action. Even if you don’t know what to do, just do something. Start with the smallest possible task.
Want to join the gym? Don’t join. Just call up a gym and ask a few questions. Or do a tour of a gym with zero intention of signing up. Once you’re in the gym you’ll get the right vibes. Thoughts will come rushing in. You’ll hear new conversations you haven’t heard for a long time.
That’ll make you inspired. Then you’ll be motivated to hit the gym.
Conquer the resistance in your mind with one tiny action. Let action cause a snowball of momentum to creep up behind you.
The “seeking advice” framework
All 2023 goals will require some form of advice.
None of us have a monopoly on thoughts, experiences, and information. The trouble is a lot of advice is bad or not curated into the correct categories. Use this formula to sort advice out:
Highest: Been there + took someone just like me there
High: Took someone just like me there
Mid: Took someone there
Mid-low: Been there
Low: Knows someone who went
Lowest: Giving their two cents
Focus on strategies from the top-tier advice givers.
Stay away from the “giving my 2 cents mate” category. That’s where smart goals go to die with people who have no clue.
Use the “hidden effort” framework
People who achieve big goals similar to the ones you have often make it look easy. The hidden effort framework says there’s always ten times more practice and effort that goes on behind the scenes than you realize.
But most people don’t want you to know. They want their success to look easy, often, so they can sell you a ticket to learn from them.
No big goal is easy. You’re smart and know that.
So do an uncomfortable amount of practice on your goal. Do 10,000 hours if you dare! True mastery is where all the fulfillment hides.
Design an anti-vision for your life
This framework is based on Charlie Munger’s anti-goal theory.
Many of us struggle to know what we want. We flounder around trying to work out our passions or how we’ll make money online. An anti-vision is where you focus on what you don’t want and work backward.
Old way: I want to be a Hollywood actor.
Anti-vision: I don’t want to wait restaurant tables for the rest of my life.
The 10 Reps framework
The gym is full of powerful metaphors.
If you’ve ever lifted weights like my skinny ass has, you’ll know that when you attempt to lift heavier than ever before it feels impossible. The solution is to try and do one rep of a heavier weight.
Normally you can do at least one rep. Next time you try again you’ll probably be able to do two reps … and so on.
Seth Godin says if you can do one rep you might be able to do ten. The process helps you climb to bigger goals and develop true skill. Everyone starts somewhere with a new goal.
Start with one rep.
You can win most games in life by being around longer than a reasonable person would
I first met blogger Nicolas Cole back in 2015.
We were both early to the world of online writing. We stayed in touch over the years as our careers progressed. Neither of us is what I’d call brilliant writers. We’re slightly above average.
Yet here we are still writing 8 years on. Both of us have made 7-figures writing. There’s something to be said for sticking to a daily goal for longer than 99% of people.
Talent can always be built on a long enough timeframe.
The trouble is most people don’t stick at a goal for enough years to find their pot of gold.
Regret minimization framework
What deathbed regrets will you have if you don’t take action on this goal?
I think about this framework all the time. It caused me to quit my job and have a kid. I knew if I was about to die and had never achieved these two goals, I’d have huge regrets. Free motivation unlocked.
What-ifs die in the context of your own death.
The fix it now framework
A lot of problems start small says Atomic Habits author James Clear.
The temptation is to solve problems later because it takes energy and can be stressful. Don’t.
Solve small problems in the moment before they snowball into enormous problems that take even more time and energy to fix.
Ditch the tourists in every field
This framework comes from Shaan Puri.
All of us have traveled at least once. We’ve met locals and we’ve met tourists. Tourists are the most annoying, right? It’s better to be around locals.
Tourists focus on the short term. They’re easily excited and are obsessed with surface-level stuff that doesn’t matter. They come and go. They’ll only stick around if the weather is good.
Locals are different. They live in the spot you’re visiting long term. They’ve seen it all. Whether it’s thunderstorms or sunshine, they’ll be there.
I see this framework all the time in the creator economy. Tourists come for the dollars and good times when a new platform enters the scene or they see enough “how to get rich from writing” Youtube videos.
As soon as a recession strikes or Yolo Elon buys up their little birdy app, they get scared and run off back to their jobs. Then they sit on top of the hill and scream s-c-a-m!!! at every legitimate creator opportunity.
Then there are locals like me. We started online when platforms didn’t pay money for content. We started to write for fun. We made it a habit.
Writing is our obsession. We’d happily do it for free. And many of us have been in the game 5+ years. It doesn’t matter how hard times get. We will always be part of the creator economy until we die.
Attach your 2023 goals to locals and ditch all the half-assed tourists.
