Elon Musk is a big believer in First Principles Thinking.

Not just Musk — Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel and Feynman too.

Here's what it is, how to use it, and become better at it:

What it is:

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on First Principles Thinking:

It means "boiling things down to the most fundamental truths and then reasoning up from there."

A first principle is a basic truth that cannot be broken down any further.

God — this reminds me of high school chemistry when we first learnt about Atoms.

But that's what they're like! The basic foundations.

Here are 2 techniques to use First Principles Thinking:

1. The Five Whys

This is simple. Keep asking why.

Already asked why? Ask again.

Continuously ask why things are the way they are.

It'll help you discover the root causes of problems (hence helping you solve them).

You know what — Children are great at this...

Children question everything.

They keep asking why (almost to the point that it gets annoying).

Their curiosity enables them to think from first principles.

As we get older, we lose this child-like curiosity to keep asking why.

Quick note:

You don't have to stop after 5 why's but it's usually enough to get to the fundamental truth.

2. Socratic Questioning

The second technique for First Principles Thinking is Socratic Questioning.

6 types of questions you can ask to dig deeper in search of the first principle (via http://untools.co): 

Lastly, here's the video of Elon talking about First Principles in 2013: 

Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos):

Resist proxies. Don’t mindlessly follow processes, or unquestioningly accept survey data. That is reasoning by analogy. Go out and discover fundamental truths — focus on outcomes, and real customer feedback.

Peter Thiel (@peterthiel):

True innovation comes from discovering an important, fundamental truth that few people agree with you on — a secret. First principles thinking helps you discover secrets to achieve vertical progress (0 to 1).

Richard Feynman:

Do your own homework. To truly use first principles, don’t rely on experts or previous work. Approach new problems with the mindset of a novice. Truly understand the fundamental data, assumptions and reasoning yourself. Be curious.

That's it on the First Principles Thinking mental model.

I  love it because it's simply about being curious and inquisitive about things you're genuinely interested in.

Don't shy away from asking questions.

Anyway if you want to go down a reading rabbit hole this beautiful Sunday, see http://aaditsheth.com

Also — drop a follow for more!

First Principles Thinking

Top 5 deathbed regrets...

You don't want to make the same mistakes in your lifetime:

If you're wondering if I'm making this up — no, I'm not.

I initially got curious because I don't want any regrets in my life.

So I read up on Bronnie Ware. She worked in palliative care (support for people who are nearly at the end of their life).

Sounds good? Here's regret 1:

"I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."

We want what others want. We want what others make us want.

But what do you truly want?

Ask yourself when you're sitting quietly (not distracted by Instagram, or music or the world)

"I wish I didn’t work so hard."

From the study in 2014:

Huge cost of working: missing your children's youth.

I like work. It's fun to me.

But not at the cost of relationships, friendships, family time etc.

"I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings."

If you love someone, just tell them.

Life is too short to not let someone know how you feel. 

It's how you feel — you deserve to let it out, they deserve to know.

"I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends."

Friendships are hard. It takes a lot — effort, expectations, love, jealousy, support.

Remember: we're social beings. Don't let success or failure affect friendships.

Today is a beautiful day to call a friend out of the blue.

"I wish that I had let myself be happier."

At the end of the day, happiness is a choice, not a result.

A simple test to prove this:

Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be happy. For example...

When everything is going great, you can let even one negative thing affect happiness.

Similarly, when everything is going south, even one positive experience/person/situation has the power to make you happy.

Happiness is a choice.

I'm no life guru. I'm not a professor. I'm not a celebrity.

Just an average 20 year old sharing what he's learnt through building online and talking to smart people.

If you enjoyed this, the best thing you can do is share it with your children so they have no regrets in life: https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1521868886504873984

Top 5 Deathbed Regrets

Interestingly, the Twitter algorithm pretty much kills the engagement of a tweet/thread after 24 hours.

So if you're going to go viral, make sure it's in the first 24 hours. 

All my statistics are available (at no cost to you) here: http://ilo.so/aaditsh

Lie: There are no such things as stupid questions.

In fact, there are.

At school, you can ask anything.

But in the real world, it's a waste of time.

Don't ask things that are easily google-able. It's a disservice to both parties).

You'll seem lazy, and annoying. 

Lie: Reading will make you smarter.

Being forced to read at a young age will only cause you to hate reading.

When curiosity inspires you to pick up a book, you'll learn how to learn fast, think well, and extract tangible actions. 

Lie: "You must work hard to find success in life."

Working hard is overrated. 

Other factors are more important (h/t @naval):

• What you work on
• Who you work with
• The relevance to society 

Lie: "It doesn't matter where you are from."

It matters where you come from.

Born in an upper-middle-class family gives you way more opportunities in life than someone born in the slums of India (on average)

The internet minimizes the opportunity gap but it will always exist. 

Lie: "You should know what you want to do with your life by the time you graduate college."

Some of the smartest and wealthiest people I know are still figuring it out.

They're trying different and new things everyday.

Everyone's timeline is independent of one another. 

Lie: Education ends after university.

"After I finish these 4 years, finally I can stop studying." — every college student ever.

As long as you keep the child-like curiosity in yourself alive, learning will be lifelong. 

Lie: "If it's important, I'll remember."

This is a huge life we tell ourselves when we forget something.

The smaller, forgotten things may have improved your quality of life marginally.

Do yourself a favor: Write stuff down.

It's a lifesaver. 

Lie: The end goal is to be famous.

First, I wanted to be rich and famous.

Then I just wanted to be rich. Fame is overrated — too much drama.

Your peace of mind is the highest form of wealth. 

Lie: Success is linear.

Our brain tricks us to think that the more effort we put, the more results we get.

But success is not linear...

"Success comes slow and then all at once." — @shl 

Lie: Mega-successful people made it on their own.

They didn't. You can almost never do it on your own.

The 5 people you surround yourself with, inspirations, co-founders, teachers, location all come into play.

If you want to go far, spend time understanding your environment. 

Lie: An exam defines your worth.

School teaches you how to do well on a test. But it doesn't define  success or your self-worth.

I know a lot of people average at school and exceptional at life. 

It's about priorities and self-worth. 

Lie: If you do more, you are more productive.

Doing more means more context switching. Which equates to more time wasted.

The most productive people do less but better. 

We’ve been told lies all of our lives but not due to wrong intentions but the difference in perspectives in the world.

This is my understanding of the world.

If you found a new perspective, share and reply to the thread so that Twitter shows it to more people: https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1516409942911107077

The visuals were made by the talented @drex_jpg - drop a follow!

I share audience-building and business tips - follow @aaditsh if you liked the thread!

12 Lies You Were Told Growing Up

Firstly:

You won't be able to reach Elon Musk using this approach...

So if that's what you were looking for, I'm sorry to disappoint.

But you can reach your favorite podcaster,  creator, or thinker on Twitter using this:

Start on the timeline

Most of the people worth reaching out to get tons of messages a day.

It's difficult to catch their attention in the DMs if they haven't seen you somewhere already.

Here's how to be seen:

1. Turn on notifications for your favorite thinkers.

2. Reply with something valuable in the first 10 minutes.

It doesn't have to be a genius breakthrough in scientific discovery.

It could be a counter-approach, a piece of evidence, some experience, or a respectful opinion.

Here's how you turn on notifications for an account:

1. Go to their profile.
2. Press the bell icon. 

After having engaged with them for a few days, your profile photo will have been printed in their mind.

(This is more effective than you think... so don't keep changing your profile photo).

Now you'll want to reach out via DM. But make sure you don't mess this up:

Make sure the promise you make is more valuable for them than it is for you.

Appreciation messages are fine but note that they probably get tons of those anyway.

You're not standing out by saying how much you love their content.

If you really want to eventually become mates with this person, make sure there's something in it for them.

Otherwise, why should they listen? It's simple.

If it doesn't work, it's probably not a good idea to message anytime soon.

Look for another opportunity to jump into a conversation (later) and help out once again.

Twitter is an open party:

Help out whenever you want. Nobody is stopping you.

If you want to check out my best threads: http://bio.link/aaditsh

Also — drop a follow @aaditsh so you never miss future threads.

How to reach nearly anyone on Twitter

If you use it right, your Twitter account is worth more than your degree.

But 98.8% suck at it.

Here are 10 unique ways to turn Twitter into a crazy valuable asset:

Curate Your Following

Most users use Twitter to follow news. It’s okay.

But you won't make Twitter an asset then.

To make it an asset, you need to build a high-signal information diet.

Let me show you...

Use Twitter Lists

There’s too much drama on the Twitter timeline.

I use Twitter lists to cut the noise and amplify the signal.

Bonus: Lists aren't affected by the algorithm.

So you’ll see what you want to see. Not what the algorithm wants to show you.

Here’s a guide: 

Use Advanced Search

Normal search is pretty bad.

To find the best content, use these search functions (play around with the parameters):

(from:aaditsh) min_faves:500 until:2022-09-01 since:2020-05-01

This function will spit out:

Tweets from @aaditsh with more than 500 likes

Mute Trolls

Trust me — trolls are not worth your time.

If you’re not enjoying someone’s attitude, mute them:

1. Go to their profile. 

2. Click "more" → "mute profile".

Their content will become hidden on your timeline.

Now, it’s much more peaceful (like it should be). 

Polish Your Bio

Your bio is your one-line identity on the internet. Make it crisp.

Know what you want to be known for:

Mine: "I deconstruct how the top 1% play the game of business and life.“

Here are some great examples to learn from: 

Integrate Your Newsletter with Twitter

If you have an email list/newsletter, use this Twitter feature to maximise sign-ups.

I have seen 2x subscribers arriving at my newsletter (per day!)

Seriously - this is a game-changer. 

Write Twitter Threads

There’s so much noise on Twitter.

Instead, you can deconstruct complex topics into simple actionable tips for others.

You’ll end up building a community of curious folks here to learn! = Valuable asset.

More on threads:

https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1434912202713022465?s=20&t=wcQ3DxC1tBOc01u7Rt6zjA

Don’t Network, Make Friends

You can literally reach anyone via Twitter DMs. It’s such a powerful tool.

If you go in being “salesy” and only asking for stuff, you’ll be ignored.

If you go in with a “give-first” mindset, you’ll win.

Use Tweetdeck:

This is a no-brainer.

Tweetdeck will make your Twitter experience 10x better.

You finally feel like you have control over your information diet.

Here is what it looks like: 

Hope you learnt something new here:

This thread took some time to make (especially the video tutorial).

Anyway, try a couple of these tips out.

If you liked this, I’d appreciate a retweet (it tells the Twitter algorithm to show it to more people): https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1491094779605975040

If you want to check out my best threads: http://bio.link/aaditsh

Also — drop a follow @aaditsh so never miss future threads.

If you're willing to invest in your growth, check out Makers Mark!

It's a community of founders, builders and creators getting started on Twitter:

• 3-week live cohort
• Super engaged community
• Frameworks &amp; systems for content creation
https://maven.com/brandonaadit/makersmark/

Turn Twitter Into An Asset

10 things that I've seen have the highest ROI:

Connect 2 people together

Bringing two like-minded people together is the best thing you can do for your network.

If they're truly compatible (in business, friendships, or love), they'll remember you forever.

Play the positive-sum game.

Be kind (go the extra mile)

Going the extra mile for someone is never forgotten:

It often takes some more time or a little more effort but completely makes someone's day.

And then they pass the energy on to someone else. You've created a chain reaction.

Arrive 5 minutes early to zoom meetings

It's a small yet effective gesture. It shows that you are punctual.

If you're attending a class,

It's one of the best ways to stand out and be remembered (trust me — I say this as a teacher and student).

Write online

Publishing your thoughts online is the best way to find like-minded people.

I love this quote from @mkobach:

"Twitter lets you be a lighthouse for like-minded people"

Take a one-week break

It's easy to get stuck in the race:

You're doing a ton of things. But nothing progresses you towards your goals.

When you feel like you're stuck in a race,

Take a step back and do something different. Take a break.

Go on walks

Plus points if you don't look at your phone...

Walks are one of the best way to detach yourself from work and immerse yourself in the environment.

Teaching

Surprisingly, a lot of my happiness comes from teaching nowadays.

Helping other people in whatever way possible is my favorite way to energize myself.

Plus point: you also get better at your craft when you teach.

It's a win-win.

Be impatient with actions

Inspiration diminishes quickly over time.

If you wait for too long, you won't be motivated enough to execute.

Being impatient with actions helps gain initial traction which will inspire you further:
https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1305899317606178820

Be patient with results

Most things in live compound.

The fruits are not seen until 2, 5, or 10 years into something.

But most people will quit before the major returns are on their way.

Keep at it. 

Hope you learnt something new here:

I definitely didn’t know that teaching would bring me so much happiness.

Anyway, definitely try a couple of these things out.

If you liked this, I’d appreciate a retweet (it tells the Twitter algorithm to show it to more people): https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1490374744667041793

Now that you're here, here are my best threads: http://bio.link/aaditsh

Drop a follow @aaditsh to never miss my future writing.

If you’re a founder, builder or creator getting started on Twitter, you’ll be interested in Makers Mark:

• 3-week cohort
• Super engaged community
• Frameworks &amp; systems for creation
https://maven.com/brandonaadit/makersmark/

High ROI Things

Today, I turn 20. I feel old. But also younger than ever.

A message to everyone: 

Here’s what I mean by “a lot of money”: https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1474772540644114433

I'm 20. A message to everyone:

I gained 100,000 followers in a year.

But it's no rocket science — people just don't know where to start.

Here's how I'd do it again (without getting lucky):

Firstly: followers aren't everything.

Maximize for this:

Attracting like-minded individuals to your profile. Why?

Life is just more fun. You play the game of business and life with people that just get you.

5 tactics for setting you up for success on Twitter:

Tactic: Specificity &gt; Generalization:

Be specific about the topics you discuss.

Unless you are a movie star or artist, it'll be difficult to grow a following naturally.

But when you spend months talking about the same topic, people start noticing you as an expert.

Tactic: A unique bio.

This is simple: Use your bio to be "known" for something.

For example:

@aaditsh: deconstructs 1% in business and life.
@george_mack: marketing + mental models.
@ShaanVP: building a $100M kids brand.

Ask yourself: what do you want to be remembered for?

Tactic: Get better at the Twitter game:

If you want to win big, you need to be obsessed with the game.

I've already written about the advanced features you should look out for.

Here's how to be a Twitter pro:
https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1432369566764634112?s=20

Tactic: A creator's mindset:

A creator consumes. Good.

But a creator creates more than he/she consumes.

I have this rule:

For every piece of content you consume, create a piece of content. 

• Write about your experience.
• Elaborate on the idea.
• Share your perspective.

Tactic: Writing content that hits:

Threads are the preferred format on Twitter.

But they're getting oversaturated.

How to write threads that crush it on Twitter:

1. Find a complex topic or pain point.

2. Ensure it's ultra-specific (to avoid jargon).

3. Distill it down into bullet points.

4. Write a killer hook.

https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1434912202713022465?s=20

Tactic: Authentic Direct Messages (DMs):

Once you send your first DM to someone, it's done.

It has been marked forever.

There are so many first-time DMs I receive asking for my time, money, effort (with no upside for me). It's awkward.

Here's the hack:
https://twitter.com/george__mack/status/1479146658780880906

Tactic: Build side-projects.

Something more fun than building a 100,000+ person audience is working on projects with some of the smartest people I've met.

• Bounce ideas off of each other
• Build together
• Ship together

Utilize this positive-sum community.

Remember:

To be interesting online, you have to be interesting in real life.

If you enjoyed this 100k thread, I'd really appreciate it if you jump back to the first tweet and hit the retweet button: https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1479830782684377089

If you’re a founder, builder or creator getting started on Twitter, check out Makers Mark 3.0:

• 3-week cohort (Start date: 24th Jan)
• Super engaged community of beginner audience-builders
• Frameworks &amp; systems for content creation
https://maven.com/brandonaadit/makersmark/

Audience-building Playbook

I'm 19.

My perspective on work, life, and happiness has changed a lot over the past year.

Here are 7 lessons I'm taking into 2022:

Value your time alone:

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." — Blaise Pascal

We spent a lot of time alone in 2021 — learnt a lot about ourselves.

Lesson: Go on more walks alone.

Don't take anything anyone says personally:

People are going through their own sh*t too. You never know.

It's not their intention to put you down.

At the end, what you think about yourself matters most.

Lesson: Your opinion of yourself is the most important.

Find yourself a group of Positive-sum friends:

Majority of my growth in 2021 has come because of others.

Learning from the best.
Creating for the best.
Building with the best. 

I still talk to people I met at 100 followers.

Lesson: Stick with your community throughout.

Impatient with actions, patient with results.

Have an idea? Take action.

Motivation to take action diminishes over time.

Lesson: Act short-term. Think long-term.

You can't predict the future:

If you told me 1 year ago that I'd be here, I'd laugh.

But here we are.

The future is random. Opportunities are random.

Lesson: Welcome random opportunities with open arms.

Don't rely on motivation:

Motivation will change your day.

Habits will change your life.

Lesson: Build a system of habits.

Work hard. But not always.

If you're always working hard, you'll burn out.

Instead, really work when you feel like it or rest.

Lesson: Work like a lion, not a cow:

https://twitter.com/ShaanVP/status/1364621980692004866?s=20

Lifestyle approach to life:

Ask yourself what does "freedom" mean to you?

House, car, relationships, office, work... What do you want?

Then work backwards and write down how much you want to make.

Lesson: Choose your lifestyle first (h/t @dvassallo)

Everyone is sharing their 2021 lessons on Twitter. Here are mine.

In 2022, I'm gonna try making $202.2k:

I'm gonna be as transparent as possible so drop a follow @aaditsh to keep up.

If you enjoyed this, jump back up and retweet the first tweet: https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1474772385840697347

If you’re a founder, builder or creator getting started on Twitter, you’ll be interested in Makers Mark:

• 3-week cohort
• Super engaged community
• Frameworks &amp; systems for creation

https://maven.com/brandonaadit/makersmark/

My Perspectives on Work, Life and Happiness

Lie: School sets you up for the real world.

If you want to win at life, you need to learn to figure it out.

How to figure anything out:

Accept that you don't know it all:

First, normalize not knowing everything. It's okay.

The ones that know a lot continue to ask questions.

Speak less. Ask more.

Curiosity wins:

Be ready to be a student again. Know that it never stops — lifelong learning.

The universe appreciates genuine curiosity.

Friends, the internet &amp; communities will give you what you want if show genuine interest.

Be positive-sum — want others to win:

The more you give, the more you get.

If people around you are winning, you will win (at some point).

Surround yourself with winners and help them win big.

Use Youtube:

The greatest search engine of all time

You can literally learn anything for free if you:

• Are curious enough
• Show up every day

Here are some of the best places to learn:
https://twitter.com/BrianFeroldi/status/1424107725114560513

Invest in yourself:

Put money on the line when it comes to learning (if you can).

Things move faster:

• Gives you instant credibility
• Access to higher quality material
• Connects you with the right people

If you don't invest:

These things will just take longer.

Use Reddit:

A great place to find straight-up, no BS, helpful advice.

I've used it to learn from people that are 100x more experienced than me.

Here's how to use it effectively:
https://twitter.com/blakeaburge/status/1459535386460315652

Write about it:

It's the best way to learn something.

No need to be an expert — just share what you know.

Writing is a great mechanism to identify gaps in your knowledge:

How it works:

1. Start writing
2. Stuck? Don't know something?
3. Time to get curious!
4. Write more.

Be crazy about it:

Just a little crazy.

At the end of the day, the drive should come from within.

Intrinsic motivation always wins over external motivation.

If you find yourself dropping everything and going all-in, don't be scared.

Just be safe. But a bit crazy.

The coolest ones are still figuring it out. That's why they're so cool.

If you enjoyed this thread, jump back up and hit the retweet button:
https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1469698749488406535?s=21

At this point, I've written more than 10 threads.

Find past threads @aaditsh. Follow for future ideas