What is the first principle? 99% of people don’t understand the underlying logic!

What is the first principle? Why do Musk and Buffett use it? 99% of people don’t really understand its core value!

Mastering this underlying logic will help you avoid 90% of detours in the workplace, entrepreneurship, investment, sales and other fields. You will be one step ahead, and you will immediately unlock the upgrade of your thinking! 🚀

First principles: seeing through the essence and winning in life

Have you ever wondered why some people can always easily see through the essence of things, while others are trapped in superficial appearances?

This is not a talent, but a difference in thinking.

This is the power of first principles.

What are first principles?

First principles (First Principles Thinking), which is essentially a way of thinking that “breaks down to the most basic logic”.

Its core is:Do not be bound by existing rules, but return to the most basic components of things and then derive new conclusions from scratch.

In simple terms, its logic is:Break superstitions, reshape cognition, and establish your own thinking framework.

If you think this is too abstract, let's change the perspective - there are two kinds of people in the world:

• One type is the "habitual thinker" who accepts the rules that others tell them and follows them without thinking.
• The other type is people who use “first principles thinking”. They break down problems, get to the bottom of them, and find the most effective solution.

Who is more likely to succeed? The answer is self-evident.

Why are first principles so important?

In an age full of information noise, 90% of the information we receive every day is second-hand opinions, subjective judgments, or even wrong perceptions.

If we don’t train our thinking abilities, we will become pawns of others rather than masters of our own lives.

Therefore, the value of the first principle lies in:It helps us bypass superficial symptoms and get to the heart of the matter.

As physicist Richard Feynman said:“You can’t just know the name, you have to really understand what it is.”

Truly powerful people never believe in appearances, but use first principles to deduce their own answers.

How can first principles change your workplace?

Workplace: Scarcity value, not hard work and achievements

Many people believe that those who work the most overtime and work the hardest in the workplace will be promoted and get a raise.

But what about the facts?

You must have colleagues around you who work hard every day, 996 or even 007, but are still eliminated from the workplace after a few years.

why?

Because the first principle of the workplace is:Your value depends on your "scarcity" rather than your "hard work".

In other words, your efforts must be based on market demand, otherwise it is just "low-value repetitive work."

For example, an ordinary PPT maker who works overtime until the early hours of the morning still cannot surpass an AI Efficiency of production tools.

But if he is proficient in data analysis and knows how to use PPT to tell valuable business stories, his value will be completely different.

Think about it: Is your work ability "scarce"?

Entrepreneurship: Market demand, not personal preference

The biggest mistake made by many people who fail in entrepreneurship is...Do what you like, not what the market needs.

Just because you like it doesn’t mean others are willing to pay for it.

Jobs’ success was not because he loved Apple, but because he discovered users’ desire for the “ultimate experience”.

Musk created SpaceX not because he simply likes rockets, but because humans have a need to explore space.

First principles tell us:The core of entrepreneurship is not your idea, but market demand.

If your product doesn’t fill a niche, it’s doomed to fail.

Health: A habit, not an afterthought

Many people believe that health means “getting treatment when you’re sick.”

But the truly smart people have long understood thatThe first principle of health is good habits, not making up for it afterwards.

• You drink milk tea, stay up late, sit for long periods of time, and finally want to rely on "insurance" to solve your health problems? Is this feasible?
• You don't exercise, you don't control your diet, and you end up relying on the "hospital" to fix it? What's the cost?

It's like building a house. If the foundation is not laid well, no matter how advanced the decoration is, it will be in vain.

The essence of health is long-termism, not just fixing the problem after the fact.

Education: Cultivate abilities, not grades

How many people are kidnapped by “scores” all their lives?

When we were young, we took extra classes to improve our grades, and our parents anxiously watched the rankings.

But first principles tell us thatReal education is not about scores, but about the cultivation of abilities.

Scores are only short-term results, but what really determines the height of your life is your learning ability, curiosity, and spirit of exploration.

Why can those who dropped out of school still become industry giants? Because they masteredSelf-learning ability, rather than simply taking exams.

Make money: Popular products + will sell

What is the essence of making money?

Two points:

1. Make a popular product.
2. Let it sell.

Both of these points are indispensable.

Many people think that as long as the product is good, they can make money naturally.

But the truth is, if no one knows about your product, then no matter how good it is, it is just a “sunk cost”.

On the other hand, if your product is average but you market it well, it can still make a lot of money.

If you want to make money, ask yourself: Is your product actually needed by the market? Can you sell it?

Sales: Find the first batch of seed users and achieve exponential growth

Sales experts never cast their net blindly, they only do one thing——Find the first batch of seed users.

They know that what can really bring about exponential growth is not advertising, but word-of-mouth fission.

Once seed users recognize your product, they will take the initiative to help you spread it.

Just like Tesla, the initial target users were geeks and high-end car owners, and only after they recognized it did it drive the mass market.

The first principles tell us that the essence of sales is "influence" rather than simple sales promotion.

How to train first-order thinking?

1. Don't follow blindly, learn to question everything.
2. Break down the problem and find the underlying cause.
3. Reason from scratch rather than applying ready-made conclusions.
4. Cultivate interdisciplinary thinking and gain diverse perspectives.

Just like the classic line in the movie "The Godfather":

“The person who sees through the essence in one second and the person who still can’t see through it after half a lifetime live completely different lives.”

Which one do you want to be?

Conclusion: The first principle is the thinking mode of the winners in life

The world is changing at an accelerated pace, and the information explosion makes people lose their way.

If you don’t want to be eliminated by the times, the best way is to——Cultivate first-principle thinking, see through the essence, and take control of your life.

Smart people will never believe in existing rules, they only believe in their own reasoning and judgment.

And you can start changing now.

From now on, train your first-principle thinking and become the person who can “see through the essence at a glance”!