How To Go From Drowning In Problems To Swimming In Success

I’m so tired of people complaining.

I get it; there seem to be a lot of things going wrong in the world today. Everything is in chaos, and institutions we used to trust seem to have lost their way. The list of problems feels never-ending;

inflation is destroying savings and investments, and people are struggling to buy food
multiple wars are happening at a large scale
social media and the resulting instant dopamine hit have addicted vast swaths of the population
people are anxious, depressed, and suicide rates are skyrocketing
the population is aging, and social systems are heading towards collapse as a result
few people can find housing they can afford
artificial intelligence is rising and there’s so much uncertainty around what jobs it may destroy

You get the point; I could probably go on for pages with all the things that feel broken today. It feels like…a lot. It’s overwhelming to think about.

But I’ll let you in on a secret…

More Problems —> More Opportunities.

‘Consistently adding value’, which means solving problems, paves the path to success. While you can’t fix any of those big, structural problems listed above all on your own, you certainly can find a problem in your world where you can make things better. You won’t have to look hard; the problems are everywhere.

My recommendation is to start fixing the thing that pisses you off the most. You’ll get the inevitable sense of satisfaction which comes with making something better. Share what you’re doing, and engage with other people who are interested in the same thing. I guarantee you’ll find others who feel the same. That’s the beauty of the internet and the global connectivity it offers; you can find the others like you, the ones who’ve had enough of a particular issue, and who are ready to contribute to making things better.

🤔 It is the times of change and disruption that offer the most opportunity.

That means that right now, today, amidst all the chaos, there are opportunities everywhere.

You probably think I’m a lunatic. That’s okay. But I am sick of the pervasive – and toxic – sense of powerlessness in society today!

We have:

the ability to connect with people globally
jobs that allow many people to work from home
access to conversations amongst some of the greatest thinkers in the world
endless free learning opportunities from some of the top educational institutions
powerful computers that we carry with us everywhere
connectivity from basically anywhere we are
access to clean water
food from all over the world in our grocery stores
social systems to protect the most vulnerable

And again, I could keep expanding that list for a really long time. We have SO MUCH!

So why is everyone so ‘Debbie-Downer’? Why aren’t people ready to lean in, do the work, and start solving problems?

My theory – we’ve been led to believe that we can’t solve them. That we’re not smart enough. That we need to elect new leaders to fix things for us. We need some new rules to make life fair.

Sorry, but I am NOT BUYING that.

What we need is for people to take ownership of their lives and to do what they can, from where they are, with what they’ve got.

That’s the way out of this; it’s always been the way out of problems.

Don’t believe me?

Look at these examples.

Airbnb: Innovation Born Out of Necessity

During the 2008 financial crisis, the founders of Airbnb faced personal financial difficulties and needed to make some extra money. The approach they took was to rent out air mattresses in their apartment to attendees of a local conference when hotels were fully booked. This simple idea blossomed into a multi-billion dollar company, revolutionizing the hospitality industry. By solving the problem of expensive and scarce lodging, Airbnb created a new market and added significant value for both hosts and guests.

(See what they did there? They solved their most important problem, on a small scale. And it made something beautiful.)

Hostess: The Birth of an Icon During a Depression

Even during the Great Depression, with unemployment soaring to around 25%, Hostess Brands thrived. Consumer spending was obviously plummeting, and the company was facing enormous financial pressures.

James Dewar, a bakery manager at Hostess, sought to make better use of the company’s shortcake pans, which were only used during the strawberry season. He came up with the idea of a year-round treat, a sponge cake filled with banana cream, and thus, the Twinkie was born. This inexpensive, long-lasting snack quickly became popular among cash-strapped Americans looking for affordable treats.

When World War II led to a banana shortage, Hostess switched to vanilla cream filling, which became the standard flavour. The adaptability and innovative spirit behind the Twinkie not only helped Hostess navigate the economic downturn but also established the brand as a staple in American snack culture.

(I certainly don’t view the invention of the Twinkie as a net positive for society, but it’s a great example of how problems —> opportunities).

Slack: Rising Out of the Ashes of Failure

In 2013, Stewart Butterfield and his team were working on a game called “Glitch,” which ultimately failed to gain traction and failed. However, during the development of the game, the team created an internal communication tool to facilitate collaboration. Recognizing the potential of this tool to solve a widespread problem in workplace communication, Butterfield pivoted the company’s focus from gaming to messaging.

In 2014, the company launched Slack as a standalone product, designed to streamline team communication and reduce email clutter. The timing was perfect, as remote work and digital collaboration were becoming increasingly important in the business world. Slack offered an intuitive and integrated platform that allowed teams to communicate efficiently, share files, and collaborate in real time.

The pivot from a failed game to a communication platform transformed Slack into a highly successful enterprise, with millions of users worldwide and a significant impact on how businesses operate.

(They had a problem that was bugging them, so they built a solution to solve it for themselves. And out of that, a tool that reshaped corporate communications came to be).

Conclusion

I may have been ranting a bit during this article, but I can’t help it. I’m fed up with people not accepting that the only path to success is to take ownership of your life and get to work solving the problems you have. Observing the problems and complaining about is the first step, but it’s not helpful to just do that. You need to take it to the next step, which is to pick a problem and start working to solve it. Or to at least improve the situation.

As you’ve noted from the examples above, it is not just possible – it is literally the way forward.

Embrace the fact that there are problems, and gratefully accept the fact that you’ve got a lot of tools and resources at your fingertips, if you choose to use them for good.

Get to work. Share what you’re doing and why. And find others to partner with. We’ve got a lot of problems to solve. No one is going to fix them for you; it’s on you.

Quotation that I’ve been pondering

The quote that I’ve been thinking about this week comes from Anthony De Mello, who was an Indian Jesuit priest and psychotherapist. He became popular thorough his writing on spirituality and enlightenment.

“It’s not that we fear the unknown. You cannot fear something you do not know. Nobody is afraid of the unknown. What you really fear is the loss of the known.”

This is a profound insight. I have to admit that I was definitely in the camp that believed most of us were afraid of the unknown. De Mello’s reasoning is so simple, and so deep. It’s why change is so hard.

Journal prompt

What tasks are you adding to your to-do list to avoid the pain of doing the thing you really should do? Can you instead choose to dig into the one thing that you most need to focus on?

Your call to adventure

Feeling overwhelmed by the challenges in your work and life? Not sure how to move forward?

I’m here to help.

Don’t stay stuck, feeling powerless and alone. Only you can change the way you experience your world. But everyone can benefit from having a helping hand.

Stop drowning in problems. Don’t just keep treading water. It’s time to unlock success.

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