Most people think that the “skill” is the ultimate requirement to be successful in doing anything. That’s not entirely correct. There is something more fundamental needed.

I see "skills" as the outcome of doing something rather than the requirement. When you do something over and over again, you gain the skills, and it gets improved. Skills are developed and continuously refined. Do not get tricked about “you have to have the skills before start doing this and that”. If you just get started, of course, you have no skills.

So if you are a beginner, how can you start something and be successful? increasing the odd, the luck, the confidence, or the probability of success in doing anything, or be anything? You might hear it thousand times that people say: “Just do it”. Don’t just do it. Do it differently this time. “Do it” with this formula:

🔑 Higher Success Rate in Be/Do Anything = 
Pick The Right Mindsets + Pick The Right Framework +  Do It

When the right mindset meets the right framework, you can increase the chance of success in doing or being anything.

Let's get to know each parameter.

Mindset

I’m always curious when there’s a new book that breaks down the steps to achieve something. If you read most self-help books, they have similar patterns. They always start by telling you to prepare the right mindset. They always start with the mindsets. Want to be rich? First, they tackle your mindset about money. Want to be a successful startup founder? First here are the entrepreneur mindsets you need to have. They always laid the foundation with mindsets.

Mindset is your collection of beliefs, attitudes, assumptions, and "what you accept as true". Mindset shapes your behavior, mental model, and your choice of actions. Your mindset sets your perspective. It determines what you see as right or wrong. It is something inside you, that makes you become “you”. I can argue that your mindset determines the course of your life. The reality we will have tomorrow is part of the product of the mindset we have today. It is powerful. Check out this short video about human mindset.

The mindsets change what people strive for, and what they see as success. They change the definition, significance, and impact of failure. They change the deepest meaning of effort.

It is so sad to see some young professionals oftentimes hate when somebody talks about mindset to them. They thought it was something abstract that had no impact on their life. They ignore to understand about mindset. They avoid the conversation about mindset. They thought it was useless and irrelevant. In fact, mindset shapes how you see and approach things. A person with the mindset "live to work" is different in their behavior compared to a person with the mindset "work to live". Mindset is the one behind someone who is "grit" and persistent.

When you enter someone’s mindset, you enter his world. I love to imagine mindset as the landscape of a city with buildings, roads, and bridges. The person designs his “city”. Some people's cities are fixed and rigid, some are flexible and open to changes. If you’re unfamiliar with the notion of “fixed mindset & growth mindset”, I recommend you to dig into the book “Mindset - Updated Edition: Changing The Way You Think To Fulfill Your Potential” by Dr Carol Dweck.

When your mindset is ready, some problems are simply not problems anymore.

The right mindset prepares you to do or to be anything. In order to be a Navy SEAL force, besides your physical and intelligence strength, you need to have the mindsets of resilience, teamwork, adaptability, and mental toughness.

To be a successful entrepreneur, no questions asked, it is the mindset that you need to get it right first, the “entrepreneurial mindset”, how you see risk and opportunity.

To be a world-class athlete, you need to upgrade your mindset, and your belief system. You need to push the limit, you need to break new records. Your belief about competition and human body limitation is important. You need to see a limitation as something to break.

Any role, any job, any work, needs certain mindsets to be adopted first to do it optimally.

The wrong mindset hinders you from learning certain things

One of the problems is we overrate the hard skills and underrate the mindset. We think it's all about skills. We think that the main cause of our failure is the lack of skills. In fact, sometimes it could be the mindset that you got wrong, that hinders you from achieving certain skillsets.

For example, If you believe “I can not be rich”, just because your current salary is at an average minimum wage, you won’t even bother to think to read those books about “wealth management, how to manage your capital, steps into the capital market”. The mindset locks you up in your current state.

When you have the “I’m just not the type of person who speaks in a meeting, because I am not that interesting. Nobody wouldn’t listen.” mindset. With that mindset, you set your standard and make yourself believe that yes you are not interesting. You’ll miss developing leadership and communication skills. It just automatically does not come out as your agenda. Because the mindset hinders you from even thinking about it. Things were going to be different, if you just had the mindset of “Everybody has a voice, I have my own voice too”. With that mindset then you go explore “How can I communicate or articulate my voice/idea so everybody could understand?”. I surely believe you’ll unlock new skills, right?

If our life is like a computer, the mindset is like the specs of the computer. So some tasks can not be performed if the specs of the computer are not capable of doing so. It is not about the skill of the person using the computer. It is just the specs that are not capable enough.

You can take control of your mindset.

Be careful with your mindset, meaning be aware of the beliefs that you choose to believe. Do not just let it built automatically. You can choose what beliefs or attitudes you wanna build. You can grow your mindset. You can learn to develop a new mindset.

Start by being aware of what mindsets are needed to perform certain things.

Next time when you google “how to be a world-class software engineer”, instead of just doing that, also ask “What is the mindset required to be a world-class software engineer”.

Acknowledge and leverage the power of mindset.

Framework

Our second parameter in the formula is the “framework”. Recently I stumbled upon the notion of “Thinking in Frameworks” inspired by Vicky Zhao's videos on her YouTube channel. Her mission is to help people communicate better by having "clear thinking". And to achieve clear thinking, you need to "think in framework". She explores many frameworks in her videos. The keyword “framework” then hit me with inspiration. I know you are familiar with the phrase “nothing new under the sun”. Somebody would’ve invented a framework for doing certain things. Why don’t we just learn and apply it?

Basically “framework” means the way or structure of doing things. A framework comes from the wisdom and experiences of doing certain things, then the author realizes that there is a pattern in doing that process to make it successful. Then the author formulates and simplifies the steps of the process into a “framework”, so anybody else can follow it and gain benefit from it. I would say this is the wonder of humankind! Somehow we humans could pass our knowledge and successful secrets to our successors.

There are millions of frameworks invented by wise people who lived before us, that are worth considering and using as our weapon and strategy in doing anything. A framework simplifies the way of doing things in clear steps, to achieve something. These are gems of life, I would say. Explore, learn, and apply them. It is so unfortunate if you miss these.

There is Almost Any Framework To Do/Be Anything

To be a world-class learner, there is a framework called “Challenge Based Learning” by Mark Nichols. To be a successful entrepreneur there is the framework called “D.E.A.L (Definition, Elimination, Automation, Liberation)” by Tim Ferris. To be innovative there is this framework by Tina Seelig called “Invention Cycle: Imagination - Creativity - Innovation - Entrepreneurship”. To be a great teacher there is a framework called “The 5E Model” by Rodger Bybee. To develop a great product for the market, there is a framework called “Value Proposition Canvas” by Dr Alexander Osterwalder. To make a good goal you’ll need to check “S.M.A.R.T” framework developed by George Doran, Arthur Miller, and James Cunningham. For creative brainstorming, there is a framework called “Six Thinking Hats” developed by Dr. Edward de Bono. To improve your problem-solving skills, there is a framework called “SCAMPER” by Bob Eberle. To know more details, you can just google it.

If you are curious enough to find it, there is almost any framework to do anything. They are inside books, videos, talks, publications, or any research document. Sometimes they are named “techniques”, “methods”, “formula”, “tools”, “steps”. Be aware. They are truly gems written by gracious authors to pass the knowledge to others. I love to collect them in my notebook.

Of course, as a human being, our challenges keep increasing. Our problems are becoming more complex from day to day. Do not worry, maybe you will be the author of a new framework.

The Benefits

There are benefits of applying the invented frameworks. First of all, the obvious one, is that you don’t have to figure it out from scratch. They serve you as a starting point. You can follow the existing knowledge and wisdom gained from lessons learned, failures, and successful experiences. Proven effectiveness is also one of the benefits. There is value in frameworks because they have been test-proven and effective in addressing certain challenges or achieving specific goals. You don’t have to fall into the same common mistakes, the frameworks help you avoid that in advance. The other important benefit is that sometimes a framework also gives you priority, meaning the steps inside a framework are already sorted by priority. And the priority matters because it guarantees success. If you mix up the step's priority you might have problems or fall into the common mistakes that most of people make. Framework also gives you simplification and clarity of doing things. Within a framework, ten of the steps could be compacted into three steps.

I am not against the idea of inventing a new framework. I believe it’s worth it to apply the existing framework first and then refine them by your own experience. You could even invent a new one after you make some personalized adjustments according to your experience. Like cooking, it's effective to apply what's already there. There are hundreds of existing proven cooking frameworks, you don’t have to invent a new one, you apply them first. Make sure you do your research first, is there any framework existing yet? How does it work? What challenge or benefit does it offer? Does it serve the same goal as my intention? If it is yes then it is worth to try.

The Magnificent Combo: Mindset + Framework

It becomes powerful when you combine the two: Mindset + Framework.

Have that in mind when you wanna start something. When you are set with the right mindset, you’re unstoppable. Don’t stop there, work smart, and look for the right framework to do it.

What do you want to be? You wanna be that great software developer? successful investor? do big presentations on a big stage? You wanna be that pro-basketball player? Do you want to date that amazing girl?

Pick any goal you want, and instead of looking for tips and tricks, ask these two questions:

• What are the right mindsets required to do this?
• What are the frameworks already exist today regard to my goal, and how can I pick one that suits me?

Mindset and frameworks, these two are the gems of life.