My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Victim vs Responsible Framework
A mental model that distinguishes between taking a victim stance (blaming external circumstances) versus taking complete responsibility for outcomes and responses
How It Works
You're responsible for your response to events, not the events themselves. The word 'responsible' breaks down to 'response-able' - your ability to choose your response determines your trajectory.
Components
Tell your story from the victim perspective first
Retell the exact same story taking 100% responsibility
Identify the choices and signs you ignored
Focus on what you can control going forward
Take ownership of your emotional responses
When to Use
When facing setbacks, conflicts, failures, or any situation where you feel wronged or unlucky
When Not to Use
In situations involving actual victimization where responsibility assignment could be harmful
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Example
“Instead of saying 'My business partner screwed me over,' you reframe as 'I ignored red flags, didn't do proper due diligence, and chose to trust without verification. Now I know what to look for and how to structure partnerships differently.'”
Related Knowledge
Develop the ability to read people's true intentions and emotional states
Ability to sense when someone is lying, uncomfortable, confident, or hiding information through behavioral cues
Handle adversity, losses, and setbacks without self-destructive behavior
Ability to maintain good decision-making during losses, avoid chasing bad decisions with worse ones, and use adversity a
early_success_trap
Startup Sale Readiness Assessment
A four-question framework to assess whether you should sell your startup by comparing your current beliefs against your founding assumptions.
Too Hard Pile Decision Making
A decision-making framework where you categorize opportunities into 'obviously good', 'obviously bad', and 'too hard to judge' - then only act on the obviously good ones.
Breakdown to Breakthrough Framework
A mindset that reframes adversity and failure as opportunities for growth and transformation rather than setbacks