Once you know what the principle is, you can create your own tactic and achieve far better results. To promote the book, I scheduled talks and keynotes across the country. 71 Likes, 2 Comments - Ozan Varol (@ozanvarol) on Instagram: “Climbing up the steep path that Friedrich Nietzsche walked every day during his stay here in the…” Copyright 2020 Outatime LLC | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Affiliate Disclosure | Terms of Use |, Get a free copy of The Contrarian Handbook and a weekly email with one big idea you can read in three minutes or less. Step 1: Write a book. What’s the purpose of a book tour?” Engage with readers. Why didn’t you think of that sooner, Ozan? But you’re not Brene Brown. I also consciously make an effort to create more than I consume. And even what’s healthy can become toxic in high doses. The 3-step formula for making $20,000/month. Because I was too blinded by what other authors were doing to see things differently. I could already see the hashtags attached to these woes (#firstworldproblems). YOU ARE A CONTRARIAN, AND THIS IS YOUR TRIBE. Ozan Varol Professor of Law. Step 2: Go on book tour. Does this add meaning to my life? Why did this pandemic happen right when I was publishing my first book, cancelling my book tour and scrapping my carefully laid plans? Sure, that photo of hundreds of people waiting in line for Brene Brown to sign books looks impressive. “What’s on your digital morning rotation?” he asked. It keeps us looking at ads. This was the digital equivalent of gorging on a giant bucket of M&Ms for breakfast every morning. My morning dose of notifications—delivered drip, drip, drip like an IV into my mind—would morph my brain into the shape of the latest political gossip, transfer rumors for my soccer team, and what everyone and their cousin chose to announce on Facebook and Instagram. A renowned professor, author, and speaker, Ozan writes and speaks often about creativity and critical thinking. Ozan Varol is a rocket scientist turned award-winning law professor and bestselling author. Here’s the thing: We’re all walking repositories of epiphanies hidden in our subconscious. I went back to first principles, and began to question the wisdom of a book tour. All of this might seem obvious in hindsight. 231 Likes, 12 Comments - Ozan Varol (@ozanvarol) on Instagram: “Packing for our summer in Germany, focusing on the essentials.” And then there’s junk information dressed up as healthy. I’m definitely not the sort of person who has a “digital morning rotation,” I was about to blurt out indignantly. Adopt this morning routine to skyrocket your productivity. The secret to getting your first 10,000 followers on Instagram. Just because others are using a tactic or a tool doesn’t make it the most effective way to accomplish your objective. Before I digest any piece of information, I ask myself—as Marie Kondo might with a pair of socks—does this spark joy? Decluttering your mind is the key to unlocking those epiphanies that might lead to your next breakthrough. Information is like food. The op-eds masquerading as unbiased reports designed to inflame our emotions. Here's the biggest thing holding you back. To add to that, Amazon decided to prioritize shipments of essential items, and books—according to the Amazon gods—were decidedly not essential, delaying some shipments by days or weeks. Since that conversation about my digital morning rotation, I significantly cut back on what I consume. Stop being a hunter-gatherer of other people’s tools, tactics, and formulas. The clickbait title might change, but the underlying idea is the same: If you adopt this one tactic—if you follow the formula in this article—you’ll get the same result. That is, after all, what respectable authors do. The 3-step formula for making $20,000/month. What’s more, when you copy the “proven” tactics of others, you end up basing your decision only on success stories. “The first few apps or websites you check every morning.”. Lewis & Clark Law School 10101 S. Terwilliger Boulevard MSC 51 Portland OR 97219 USA I was copying their tactics. Once I identified the principle, I could zoom out of a flawed tactic and see other possibilities lurking in plain sight. This was my version of the failproof 3-step formula that ended up failing spectacularly. Get a free copy of The Contrarian Handbook and a weekly email with 1 big idea you can read in 3 minutes or less. https://www.orderofman.com/how-to-think-like-a-rocket-scientist-ozan-varol Get a free copy of the Contrarian Handbook and weekly strategies to innovate your thinking. I spent several, deeply unproductive days wishing that the universe had dealt me a better hand. I went back to the drawing board and asked myself, “What is the principle behind the tactic? Copyright 2020 Outatime LLC | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Affiliate Disclosure | Terms of Use |, Get a free copy of The Contrarian Handbook and a weekly email with one big idea you can read in three minutes or less. email ovarol@lclark.edu. But tactics, as Neil Gaiman reminds us, can be the subtlest of traps. I prefer audiobooks over podcasts, books over blog posts, and evergreen articles over breaking news. Get a free copy of The Contrarian Handbook and a weekly email with 1 big idea you can read in 3 minutes or less. In other words, I was imitating other people. If the answer is no, it gets tossed, without even being thanked (don’t judge, Marie Kondo). My book, Think Like a Rocket Scientist, was published on April 14th. Some of it is toxic. It destroys our creativity by cluttering our mind with “information” we don’t need and focusing our attention on how things are rather than how they could be. Sucking on our digital pacifiers numbs our minds. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. Will this help me move the needle on what I’m building?