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First principles thinking is a problem-solving technique used by Elon Musk to break problems down into the most basic elements. Instead of relying on assumptions or analogies, he starts with a question like: “what are the fundamental facts, the basic truths and assumptions of this problem?” He then identifies the assumptions and looks at each of them independently and asks himself: “Is this assumption true? Is it based on a fact, or is it an opinion?” By doing so, he is able to drill down to the heart of the problem and find new and innovative solutions.

Then, it could be said that first principles thinking is a way to avoid depending on the thinking of others and to develop one’s own ideas on a certain subject from the ground up. First principles thinking involves breaking down complex problems into fundamental elements, and then reimagining or reconstructing those problems to see what new ideas and solutions can be derived. This method of thinking allows you to think independently, using your own mental resources rather than relying on the work of other people, and can also lead to more creative and innovative solutions to challenging problems.

With the rise of social media, there has been an increase in the number of people claiming to be thought leaders. Unfortunately, in many cases, people who claim to be thought leaders lack the experience, expertise, and qualifications that are required to be seen as true experts. This has caused a disconnect between those who are truly knowledgeable and experienced in their field, and people who are merely claiming expertise in a certain area.

This issue has further been exacerbated by the tendency of some people to use the term “thought leader” to describe anyone with a strong opinion. This has caused confusion, as it muddies the definition of what a thought leader actually is and has led to “thought leaders” becoming seen as being of lower quality and credibility than they deserve.

The issue of fake thought leaders is compounded by the fact that it can be difficult to distinguish a true thought leader from someone posing as one. These people can often seem legitimate, due to the use of impressive-sounding titles, awards, and credentials. As a result, it can be difficult for people to properly evaluate the insights and knowledge of those claiming to be thought leaders and to be sure that their opinions come from real-world experience.

To combat this problem, it is important for people to properly vet the claims of those claiming to be thought leaders, verify their credentials, and look for evidence of real-world experience. It is also important for organizations, such as universities and associations, to create formal definitions for what it means to be a thought leader, and who is qualified to hold the title. This will help ensure that thought leaders are held to a high standard, and that those who are truly providing valuable insights and advice are recognized and rewarded.

The famous phrase attributed to Abraham Lincoln can be utilized to illuminate the human nature landscape with a perspective that is a derivative of common sense, and a deft handling of the truth. 

Someone somewhere, recently has probably paraphrased Lincoln’s astute observation. “You can fool some of the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

Any word can take the place of the word “fool”. My latest insertion is the word “outthink”, but obviously it could be anything: outsmart, beat, defeat, humiliate, convince, manipulate, heal, etc. I’m sure you can think of many human action or behavior words that would fit perfectly into this paradigm. I really appreciate how this phrase and its variations can free us from generalizations, or the one description “fits all” tendency.

Cheers!

You know you won’t keep this up, so why try, what good will it do?
What is the way to pushing forward?s
When is the day that my persistence is waiting for?
What sense will I make?
Who will care?
How will people react?
Will they think I am crazy, or will they know I am crazy? Either or both?
I can tell it won’t make any difference, at least, that’s my dream. I am a great writer, I have great ideas to share, and why should I care if no one else believes that?
How do I prove that I have an exceptional gift?
Who am I to make such an audacious claim?
I certainly can’t be an objective judge, of my own deep insights. But, perhaps appreciation and belief in oneself must start somewhere. But is it good enough, one person’s appreciation of their own intelligent ideas? Isn’t our worth best validated by another mind or many minds.
But where does one start, sharing one’s mind. and who can one believe? Naysayers, or the yeasayers? Perhaps both must be considered. How do you know how wrong or right we are until we share ourselves?
What if the reception is devastating, leaving one bereft of hope and their mind clamoring for its own demise along with others who scoffed at one’s lofty musings that barely skidded across the floor. Let’s not entirely relate our moon soaked dreams to conspiratorial ramblings of an old soak wishing beyond hope of deeper than the deepest sea of understanding and insight.
But remember, our goal was the dissolving of quandaries. What’s our quandary today?
The quandary of what came first, the recognition or the cognition of careful considerations destined for greatness, but knowing initial offerings would be compared to the greatest and the slightest preceding works of literary giants. Now back to what am I accomplishing with a rant of mediocre reasoning. A determined effort of will and imagination can leave me in an instant, unless some sense of my own appreciation isn’t forthcoming immediately. Still looking for what I am meant to reveal, what comes is the vague but definite stillness of knowing that without venturing there is no adventure. And this is one of my first steps in the journey of a thousand miles of stellar soul searching.

Would it be possible to use a drone to insert small ball bearings into an howitzer canon? Would ball bearing create an obstruction to the canon shell and cause the canon to blow up? If not ball bearings, would anything else dropped into the canon barrel create a problem for firing the canon safely? And if ball bearings would roll out the other end when the canon was loaded, could the drone be designed to squirt something into the barrel first, maybe something sticky like highly expanding foam that would trap the ball bearings in the canon, creating an obstruction?

In the world of Kant, people were convinced of the Kant condition and stifled their efforts to accomplish many things. They didn’t see the errors in their judgement, but felt justified in hanging by the gallows of Kant, succumbing to the cough of Kant, surrendering to the down spiraling mesmerizing momentum of Kant. The bliss of Kant was contagious, the habit of tossing caution and Kant to the wind became a clarion call of Kantness, and with the moving menagerie of moaning Kanters, they harvested the Kant consequences.

The heralds of Kant were everywhere, even in the most cherished of hospitable Kant conscious collectives, where Kant eradication was supposed to take place. Great efforts were made to escape the harrowing horrors of the Kant virus and became of prime importance. But even when education was available, and vigilance exercised, and when they thought they were free and clear, impervious to the tempting allures of Kant, they found that Kant had infiltrated their hearts and they could not make basic strides toward their goals without being accosted by Kant tendencies.

Even after a diligent search for truth, and the adoption of a friendly relationship with truth, there yet existed a tendency to settle for Kant consciousness, because, it was surmised, they were either lazy or just lacking in vigilance.

Nevertheless, they chose not to subscribe to the mediocre madness of pretending to be what they were not, and pretending to adhere to principles that were beyond their kin and kind.

They can see now, that they preferred to belong to the faction of Cann, because aligned with the Cann collective, they could do all that they wanted to be and do, and nothing would hold them back, nothing would keep them down, and they would succeed regardless of the difficulties, regardless of the obstacles, regardless of the problems at hand and in hand, and they knew they would find the happiness they sought. Regardless of the persistent problems, they would finally vanquish vanity, and conquer Kant if they persevered and exerted patience, care, caution and were driven by a spirit of Cann. They would find that they could think that they could, know that they would , and therefore must triumph over difficulties and achieve the final emancipating peace.

Are we in tune with an eternal, infinite, divine consciousness, if not how do we get in tune with that eternal, infinite, divine consciousness, or are we tired of trying to resonate with it? 

Will we allow a sense of tiredness and frustration to stop us? 

How can we maintain a sufficient loyalty to our visions and goals, to ensure continuity of effort?

Can we motivate ourseleves to strive for and achieve possibility outside of our customary experience?, 

Where do we go to get the inspiration, insight, and guidance to explore a transforming possibility paradigm?

Is a guru, our best chance for a permanent cure to the mortal malaise that confounds us?

What is the secret of activating a inner transformational habit?

What positive imperative must we pay better attention to?

How will this inner transformation work, this transition from melancholy, and dullness to happiness, joy, and brilliance?

How will we do better, and employ that secret power that will inspire us to develop, or invent our unique contribution to mankind that will seal our worth in a transcendent balloon of spiritual satisfaction?

What do we do now to establish a new behavior, habit, or lifestyle of creativity that uplifts and invigorates us with a sense of value, humble self importance, and harmonious integration with the universe?

What must we think, and how must we conceive of ourselves, and how must we be, and when will we able to create, attract, conceive, and create health, wealth and spiritual riches beyond our  wildest dreams?

How can we realize our full potential?

How can we be all that we ever wanted to be?

How can we capitalize on the conceptual consciousness of an infinite, eternal divine source of our being and existence?

What can we do to create a positive fate?

How can we have faith in our purpose?

How can we go on asking, thinking, being and developing our most magnificent, majestic metaphysical selves?

How can we find ourselves achieving, and exceeding our wildest expectations? 

What is it that we want to do? 

What is that we must do? 

What is it that we can do? 

What is it that we will do?

What must we remember in order to be all that we can and want to be?

What do we aspire to now that we didn’t aspire to yesterday?

What will be our unique contribution, our divine duty, our spiritual service, our golden goal, our vast vision, our positive possibility, our sovereign source?

How can we ensure that our lives play out in the most fulfilling manner?

 How can we constructively live with what is happening in the world? 

What is it that matters most in the ultimate scheme of things?

What is it now that must be done before it is too late?

How we can stay calm and relaxed in the knowledge that a supreme intelligence is the doer, working through us, and let go of any sense of blame, yet accepting some responsibility for the consequences of thoughtlessly allowing circumstances to carry us along?

How can we understand the paradox of pursuing perfection while living in an imperfect world, seeking happiness from a elusive supernatural reality, and striving relentlessly to solve deep subtle mysteries that seem to be impossible to crack. 

There is a spiritual organization with literature displaying the title: Unlimited Possibilities. How is that possible? … you may ask. It’s possible by not focusing too much on the seemingly inescapability of the tragedies developing around the world. Spiritual literature encourages us to think not only outside the box, but outside the world view and world stage. How is that possible? Let’s use an analogy. You’ve most likely heard the old adage, “everything looks like a nail, when all you have is a hammer”. When all we have is our mundane human means of doing things, like reasoning, and negotiation, we limit our view of what’s available and what’s possible. But what else is there? If you haven’t thought of it by now, you’ll be best advised to suspend your reflexive doubt, and disbelief and prepare to give it a deeper look, if you really want to transform and transcend your experience of the human drama. 

In order to appreciate its full potential, you’ll have to be prepared to stretch your mind into metaphysical, cosmological dimensions. This practice has been with us, at least, since the advent of the Christian tradition. It’s successful implementation requires focus, creativity, receptivity, intelligence, unselfishness, and a profound faith in an ever present consciousness of infinite possibility beyond our usual mundane experience. 

Creatives know that the squeaking of their projects, is work and requires a commitment to pushing themselves and their efforts, sometimes, beyond the point of achieving a qualitative zenith. You can call this practice anything you want. Perhaps a good way to think of it would be as a dialogue, that might seem like a monologue, with a presence that can manifest anything of benefit. 

When we want to get to know someone, most of us engage in a two way conversation, of listening and responding. Of course, now in these times, initial interactions may begin with texting, emailing and telephoning. But eventually we realize that those technologies do not allow us to develop an adequate and satisfying relationship. 

Let’s say you could and you wanted to have a meaningful and productive conversation with a beneficent metaphysical presence or being, that is rarely heard with the human ear or seen with the human eye. This is a conversation that would require real self honesty, an active conscience, and a willingness to work with an expanding, growing awareness of your presence in the world, and how your thoughts affect it. You’ve most likely heard motivational speakers suggest that we get out of our way, when trying to be successful.

Along the same lines, we need to get out of it’s way, out of the way of developing an awareness of the unlimited consciousness of possibility. Our egos need to get out of the way, and allow ourselves to develop an identity with a greater, more magnanimous awareness that can move through the barriers of self, race, nationality, and the trappings of the human drama to invigorate the spirits of the downtrodden and transform the minds and hearts of the insensitive oppressors. By persistently forcing the light into the dark places, the darkness will dissipate. 

So much time is spent focusing on the brute force of super-humans that we miss or fail to appreciate the power of divine love that has a truly transforming effect. Could it be that the movies have better advertising, than saints? Yes, besides that, real transformation and peacefully changing the world requires commitment and participation, definitely more than lip service.