Apply critical thinking to everything. First principles thinking dismantles problems to atomic truths – undeniable basics then reassembles them indicatively by ignoring industry norms. Enables breakthrough at scale by rejecting incrementalism.
Boil things down to their most fundamental truth, then reason from there.
– Evaluate the evidence rigorously
– Pierce through biases and misinformation that obscure reality
– Suspend belief until logic and data align
– Empirical truth prevails over consensus
– Ignore industry norms
Step 1: Define the Problem Clearly (What are you actually solving?)
Ask: What is the real goal? What are we trying to achieve?
– Strip away emotional language, jargon, or vague goals.
– Write it in one sentence.
Example (SpaceX):
Bad: “Rockets are too expensive.”
Good: “We need to reduce the cost of sending 1 kg to orbit from $10,000 to under $200.”
Ask: What do I know to be true, independent of tradition, analogy, or assumption?
– Deconstruct the problem into its atomic components — facts that cannot be broken down further.
– Ignore “how it’s always been done.”
Musk’s Battery Example:
People said batteries cost $600/kWh.
He asked: “What are batteries made of?”
→ Lithium, nickel, cobalt, aluminum, carbon, polymer…
→ Spot market prices: ~$80/kWh in raw materials.
→ First Principle: The physical cost is $80/kWh. The rest is design, scale, and process.
– List all assumptions people make about the problem.
– For each, ask: “Is this necessarily true? Can it be violated?”
Example (Tesla):
Assumption: “Electric cars need big batteries to go far.”
Challenge: “What if we reduce weight, improve efficiency, and build charging networks instead?”
– Using only the first principles, design a new solution.
– Combine truths in novel ways.
– Ask: “If I had to solve this with unlimited creativity but only these facts, what would I do?”
SpaceX Reusability:
First Principles:
Rockets are made of aluminum, titanium, copper, carbon fiber (~$200k in materials).
97% of cost is manufacturing + single-use.
→ Solution: Make rockets reusable like airplanes.
(Even though “everyone” said it was impossible.)
– Build the simplest possible version that tests the core idea.
– Measure against first principles (not opinions).
– Fail fast, learn faster.
Example: SpaceX tested Falcon 1 → failed 3 times → used data to make Falcon 9 → landed boosters.
Step 6: Iterate & Scale
– Once validated, scale aggressively.
– Reapply first principles at each new level (manufacturing, supply chain, etc.).
Never stop questioning.
Quick Cheat Sheet (Apply to Any Problem)
Steps & Questions to Ask
1. What is the real goal?
2. What are the undeniable truths?
3. What assumptions can I destroy?
4. How do I rebuild using only truths?
5. What’s the minimum test of this idea?
6. How do I scale this 100x?
– First-principles thinking is anti-analogy.
– Never say: “But Company X does it this way.”
– Always ask: “What’s physically, logically, unavoidably true?”
Use this framework weekly — it compounds.
1. Define: “I need to generate $5,000/month profit within 12 months.”
2. First Principles:
– Customers pay for value (solves pain or creates joy).
– I have time, skills, internet.
– Digital products cost ~$0 to replicate.
3. Challenge Assumptions:
– “I need funding” → No, I need revenue.
– “I need an office” → No, I need sales.
4. Rebuild:
→ Teach a skill online (e.g., Notion, coding, fitness).
→ Sell $97 course → 52 sales = $5k/month.
5. Test: Launch MVP in 7 days on Gumroad.
6. Scale: Automate, build audience, add upsells.
What EXACTLY is the problem?
If you can define the problem clearly enough, you almost have the solution.
Objective
How can I do this 10x faster and better at 10% of the cost / time / resources?
Measure every action, step, process and idea against CLARIFYERS.
CLARIFYERS
C – Clarity: Is the purpose of this thing or process clear enough to be understood and validated in 15 seconds?
L – Leverage: Have I leveraged every possible resource and way of doing this?
A – Accelerate: How can I do this or get the desired result 10x faster?
R – Resourceful: How many different ways can I do this and overcome hurdles?
I – Identify Bottlenecks: Every process in development encounters bottlenecks. Identify and unblock.
F – Fast Fail: Iterate to fail as often and as fast as possible to reduce development time.
Y – You’re Wrong: Assume you’re wrong 90% of the time to create an alternative forcing function.
E – Eliminate: What function, step or process can I delete NOW that’s not necessary for this?
R – Relevance: How critical is this? How does it tie-in and impact other processes?
S – Simplify: How can I simplify this to achieve the ONE thing it’s meant to achieve with only 10% of normal resources?
Sales & Marketing
→ People buy emotion and justify with logic. Sell the feeling, not the feature.
→ People don’t buy features – they buy their future. Paint it so clearly they can see themselves inside it.
→ The product is the vehicle. What sells is the destination. When they see themselves inside the result.
→ People don’t buy logic. They buy confidence. The person with the most certainty always wins the race.
→ People don’t buy when they understand – they buy when they believe.
→ Focus on simplicity in messaging. If it confuses people they’ll disconnect fast.
→ Clarity converts. Every extra click, choice, or distraction costs you sales. Simplify the path. Remove the noise. Clarity converts.
→ You are not entitled to attention. You earn it by solving a problem so well people can’t stop talking about you.
→ Selling is not taking. Selling is serving someone so deeply that they say yes to their own transformation.
→ People buy from people. Put more OF YOU into the business.
→ The secret to clicks is CURIOSITY. How can you get more people to stop and ask, HOW?
Decisions are always made with emotion and justified by logic. During the sales/discovery call, look for the 6 emotional states. Certainty, Variety, Significance, Growth, Contribution, Love & Connection.
If they agree/understand/concur with you about these 7 points, you’ve got the sale made. It’s called the “Belief Ladder.” The 7 points are: Pain, Doubt, Cost, Desire, Money, Support, Trust.
Your job is to understand their pain better than they do. Ask questions like why they reached out, what their biggest pain points are, etc. Always mirror back what you heard to earn trust, like “So it sounds like you’re struggling with X and Y. Is that right?” Then you dig deeper about what they’ve tried, why it didn’t work and what happens if they don’t fix the problem. Get them to realize that nothing else has worked so far. Use their pain points to craft stories about other people’ results can so they paint themselves into your solution. Then, at the end, you frame it so your solution becomes the missing piece of the puzzle and you become the collaborator, because you’re solving and not selling.
Listen more than you talk!!
Sales isn’t about convincing people. It’s about reflection, not manipulation. Done right the buying decision becomes their idea, not yours.
The TRUST framework helps you do that in five steps:
Most people think they’re good listeners (when they’re not). Real listening means shutting up and taking notes. It means starting a conversation with questions like:
– What made you reach out?
– What’s your #1 goal right now?
– What’s broken in your world?
Your only job here is to understand their pain better than they do.
Now mirror back what you heard. “So it sounds like you’re struggling with X and Y. Is that right?” When they say “Yes, exactly”, you just earned trust. They’ve admitted their pain in their own words.
The pitch should come after you’ve confirmed you understand their problem, not before.
This is where you dig deeper. Assume other people have already tried to fix their problem. So ask things like:
– Am I the first person you’ve spoken to?
– What have you tried already?
– Why do you think it didn’t work?
– What happens if you don’t fix [problem]?
– How would things look for you if you fixed [problem]
Your goal is to help them realize they can’t solve this alone AND surface why past solutions failed. This sets up the next step.
Stories beat a sales pitch any day.
Use the pain points they just admitted to craft a story about someone exactly like them who got results:
“We had a client with the same problem. Tried everything, felt stuck. Then we implemented one system that doubled their conversions in 60 days.”
Stories let them picture themselves in the solution.
Lastly, frame your offer as the missing piece of the puzzle:
“Your goal is X. The problem is Y. You’ve tried Z. The missing piece is [solution]. Here’s how we’ll do it in [timeframe].”
Then finish up with a “Does that sound like what you need?”
This makes you as a collaborator in their eyes. To them, you’re not selling – you’re solving.
Ultimately, sales isn’t about being slick.
It’s about being human.
Listen more than you talk. Make them feel heard. And don’t forget the money is in the follow up.
They make decisions with emotion and justify with logic.
In discovery, look for info on these 6 emotional states.
– Certainty
– Variety
– Significance
– Growth
– Contribution
– Love & Connection
If they agree/understand/concur with you about these 7 points, you’ve got the sale made.
1. Pain: The prospect must believe that there’s a GAP between where they’re now and where they want to be – No problem, no pain, no gap, no sale.
2. Doubt: It’s a bridge burner – The prospect must believe that they cannot fix this problem on their own OR that attempting to do so would waste unnecessary resources (time & money) given the other avenues available to them (aka, your offer).
3. Cost: Refers to the price they must pay if they do not change – the cost must be linked to not getting the future state… NOT TO “benefits.” “Dickens Method” – The cost of inaction in terms of time, energy, money, attention, reputation. What’s going to happen if nothing changes next year, or the year after… or in 10 years?
4. Desire: The prospect must believe solving the problem/gap would yield a better future situation (heaven island).
5. Money: The belief that the prospect has the resources and willingness to solve the problem. If they don’t have the money, it’s a condition and not an objection.
6. Support: The belief that people around them (spouse/partner/team/manager/CFO… etc) will support them in fixing the problem.
7. Trust: Do they see your solution as clearly different, unique, and superior than similar methods they’ve tried in the past? How YOU fix this problem compared to others… This eliminates the “I’ve been burned before” objection and helps them logically tell themselves why this is going to be different.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
*This is not an investment club membership. The marketing systems, strategies and software you have access to on this website do not, in any way, represent any guarantee of sales or results. By using this website or any related materials, content and software, you agree to take full responsibility for your own results, or lack thereof. Our team is here to support you, but you should always do your own due diligence before making any investment or taking any risk. You success is your duty, obligation and responsibility. By providing us with your Information, you are consenting to the collection and use of your information in accordance with our terms of service and privacy policy.
© 2025 All Rights Reserved. Master Digital Properties LLC DBA CEO CoPilot