Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Almost everyone thinks they are a good thinker, but in reality, few people really are.

  • A truly great thinker is constantly growing and evolving, so take a look around you: how

  • many people do you see moving forward in life?

  • How many people do you see solving problem after problem?

  • And on the contrary, how many people do you see running in circles?

  • How many people do you see still trying to solve the same problems they were working

  • on years ago?

  • The better you get at thinking, the better you get at solving problems.

  • And good thinking begins with clarity.

  • A clear thought is unambiguous, captures the essence of a thing, and is formulated logically.

  • A clear thought can be communicated through a simple if-then statement.

  • For example, if you turn on the tap, then you can get water.

  • A clear thought leads to clear and intentional action.

  • For example, the statement "if you turn on the tap, then you can get water" leads to

  • clear action when you're thirsty.

  • And clear and intentional action leads to clear feedback.

  • When you go to test the tap for water, you will immediately find out whether your original

  • thought was true or not.

  • Either water will come out or it won't.

  • And because clear feedback proves or disproves your thought, it helps improve your understanding

  • of the world.

  • Either you'll find out that your understanding of the world is correct or incorrect, and

  • finding out you are incorrect helps you move closer towards correctness.

  • And the more correct your worldview is, the better you'll be at solving problem.

  • Let's take a look at an example.

  • Marcus Aurelius earned the titles of "the last of the Five Good Emperors of Rome" and

  • "philosopher-king" by becoming a great leader.

  • And he became a great leader by becoming a great thinker.

  • And he became a great thinker by learning to think clearly.

  • And he learned to think clearly by writing a private philosophy for himself which we

  • now refer to as his _Meditations_.

  • In his _Meditations_, Aurelius organizes his thoughts in a logical way, reflecting on the

  • relationship between his actions and their effects.

  • And if you want to think clearly and improve your ability to solve your own problems, it

  • would be wise of you to do the same.

  • Organize your thoughts.

  • Reduce their ambiguity and make them clear by turning them into simple if-then statements.

  • Clear logic leads to clear thoughts.

  • Clear thoughts lead to clear and intentional action.

  • Clear and intentional action leads to clear feedback.

  • Clear feedback leads to an improved understanding of the world.

  • And a clearer understanding of the world leads to a better ability to solve problems.

  • For example, let me formulate a clear, logical thought: “if I publish a how-to video with

  • a philosopher in the title, then it will get over 100 000 views".

  • That's a clear thought with clear logic.

  • That clear thought leads to clear action: I will write that video and publish it.

  • Now when this video is published, I'll get clear feedback.

  • We'll both find out if that thought is true.

  • And once I find out whether that thought is true or false, my understanding of the world

  • will improve.

  • And by improving my understanding of the world, I'll be better equipped to solve my problem

  • of being a successful YouTuber.

  • So in conclusion, good thinking begins with clear thinking, and clear thinking begins

  • by turning your thoughts into unambiguous, logical statements.

Almost everyone thinks they are a good thinker, but in reality, few people really are.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it