We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein
🔍 What are First Principles?
First principles thinking is a mental model from philosophy and science, famously used by people like Aristotle, **Elon Musk *, Steve Jobs.
It means:
“Don’t reason by analogy (i.e. ‘this is how it’s always done’).
Instead, strip everything down to the basic truths—and rebuild from the ground up.”
🛠️ In business, this looks like:
- Asking: What are we really trying to solve?
- Questioning: Why do we assume things have to be this way?
- Inventing: Is there a better, simpler, more aligned way?
For example:
-
Instead of “How do I make a better online school?” → First principles thinking asks:
What is learning at its core? What does a human need to truly understand and grow? -
Instead of “How do I compete with Slack?” → It might ask:
What do humans actually need from communication in a digital world?
🔥 let’s say you have a movement business:
You might start by asking:
- “How do other wellness coaches grow on Instagram?”
- “What kind of membership model do successful creators use?”
- “Should I use Kajabi or Teachable like everyone else?”
These are valid questions—but they’re based on what others have done.
They start from the template, not the truth.
🌱 First Principles Thinking in Your Work:
Instead, ask questions like:
🧠 1. What is the core problem I want to solve?
People are deeply disconnected from their bodies, their truth, and their creative life force.
🧠 2. Why do they feel this way?
Because modern life prioritizes productivity over presence. Because we’ve been conditioned to silence our intuition.
Because trauma and social norms have severed us from our sensuality, movement, and expression.
🧠 3. What does a human truly need to return to themselves?
A safe space.
Ritual.
Permission.
Witnessing.
A path to move and be moved.
💡 then we build from those truths.
So instead of asking, “What’s the best course platform?”
You ask: “What kind of experience will awaken someone back into their body?”
Instead of asking, “How do I get people to pay monthly?”
You ask: “What would make someone feel so nourished they want to stay?”
Instead of asking, “What should my brand look like?”
You ask: “What feels like my soul when it moves through fabric, color, voice?”