1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,360 Speaker 1: We all want to be successful, and as How I 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Work listener, you're probably actively looking for tools, tips and 3 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: tricks that'll help you get there. You're seeking out the 4 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: best modern minds and trying to understand what's made them successful. 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: Good on you, but before you celebrate, you might need 6 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: to consider the complete opposite approach. Darius Farrou writes a 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: hugely popular blog for people who want to keep growing 8 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: wiser and wealthier. So he spent a lot of time thinking, reading, 9 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:39,519 Speaker 1: and writing about the art of investing. The most powerful 10 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: tool that he's come across in his years of research, 11 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: sourced from the investing giants like Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett, 12 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: is a very simple thought experiment which involves inverting the question, 13 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: so how does asking yourself what would make you unsuccessful 14 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: actually help you achieve the opposite. My name is doctor 15 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: amanthe Immert. I'm an organizational psychologist and the founder of 16 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,759 Speaker 1: behavioral science consultancy Inventium, and This is How I Work, 17 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: a show about how to help you do your best work. 18 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: On Today is my Favorite Tip episode. We go back 19 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: to an interview from the past and I pick out 20 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:28,320 Speaker 1: my favorite tip from the interview. In today's show, I 21 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:32,759 Speaker 1: speak with Darius Firo about how to invert a question. 22 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:38,759 Speaker 2: When you invert a question, you basically look at something 23 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 2: you should not do. Or let me just give an example. 24 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 2: So a lot of people might ask themselves, how do 25 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 2: I become successful? The thing is, in life, there are 26 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 2: many ways to become successful, and there are also many 27 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 2: definitions of success. But if we invert the question, and 28 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 2: if we look at the opposite of success, and let's 29 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 2: say in this case, will just you know, super simple 30 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 2: say the opposite is being unsuccessful. And if you inverted 31 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 2: and you say, well, how do I avoid becoming unsuccessful? 32 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 2: And when you look at it that way, you kind 33 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 2: of figure out that those answers are quite straightforward. And 34 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 2: I actually learned this technique from Charlie Monger and Warren Buffett, 35 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 2: you know, two of the greatest investors of all time. 36 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 2: And that's a thought exercise that they would apply to 37 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 2: the companies that they wanted to invest in, and by 38 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 2: looking at are these companies doing things that might run 39 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,919 Speaker 2: them into the ground. So, for example, if I ask 40 00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 2: myself how do I avoid becoming unsuccessful? I could say, well, 41 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 2: avoid being lazy or you know, sleeping in every single day, 42 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 2: or avoid eating a lot of junk food every single day, 43 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 2: or you don't have you know, all of those very 44 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 2: simple and straightforward things that everybody knows. But the thing 45 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 2: is that often we know what's not good for us, 46 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 2: but we we still do it. And I don't think 47 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:32,799 Speaker 2: we do it on purpose, you know, Like I've had 48 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 2: many years where I would just, you know, spend all 49 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 2: my evenings full of entertainment, and I just wasn't aware 50 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 2: of the alternative. I wasn't aware that some people actually 51 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 2: don't watch TV all evening long, right, Like they might 52 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 2: read a book, or you know, they might do something 53 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 2: that they enjoy, like writing or drawing, creating art, you 54 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 2: name it. So that's how I really use inversion. If 55 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 2: I really want to achieve something that's a little bit 56 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 2: complex and there are multiple answers, I try to look 57 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 2: at the opposite and see whether that gives me a 58 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 2: little bit more clarity. And if I can avoid the 59 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 2: bad thing, I already have better odds at making sure 60 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 2: that I do succeed. 61 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: I wonder if you have something floating around in the 62 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: back of your mind that you're trying to gain some 63 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: more clarity around, I'd love to hear how you go 64 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 1: inverting the question and seeing what solutions or thoughts that 65 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: brings to mind. If you're looking for more tips to 66 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,159 Speaker 1: improve the way that you work, I write a short 67 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 1: fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things that I've discovered 68 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: that helped me work better, ranging from software and gadgets 69 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: that I'm loving three to interesting research findings. You can 70 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: sign up for that at Howiwork dot code That's how 71 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: I Work dot co. I Work is produced by Inventing 72 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: with production support from dead Set Studios, and thank you 73 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:07,919 Speaker 1: to mart Nimba who does the audio mix for every 74 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: episode and makes everything sound so much better than it 75 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: would have otherwise. See you next time.