Lifesmithing Progress Update #002 - The Genesis

What it means to be afflicted by ideas

Photo by Aphiwat chuangchoem

Ideas

Some people describe me as an ideas guy. I've grown to say that I'm afflicted by ideas.

When you have ideas, there is always something else. Something simple sprouts into complexity. I'm the prince with a katamari.¹ It's not enough to imagine a restaurant that serves just cheeseburgers, the idea grows into an international franchise.

I'm not complaining—but it does create problems.

It's hard to stay focused on an idea. Not because they don't interest me, but because they expand in size until they paralyze. I don't tackle one thing, I embark on a lifelong pursuit.

An idea is a prediction. My predictions tend to compound. When it comes to product development, planning too far in advance is futile. By the time you make something, reality has changed and priorities have shifted. New data renders predictions invalid. Planning one or two steps ahead is fine—knowing the big picture is useful—but too much detail is folly.

I've overcome my tendency to grow ideas by turning my predictions backwards. Instead of predicting what's next, I predict what comes before. I'll admit this is not easy—it takes commitment. The future of an idea is far sexier than what's required to get there. Instead of a process of addition, it's one of abstraction. It's not a planning exercise—that's boring. It's an examination of value by dissecting the essential pieces of a greater whole.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood

Product people call this working towards a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Since modern thought leaders require weekly content, even this simple idea has grown into a school of thought. There are some that say MVP should stand for Minimum Valuable Product, others talk about Minimum Marketable Product (MMP), Minimum Testable Product (MTP), or Minimum Viable Experience (MVE). Product hippies progress even further into Simple, Lovable, and Complete (SLC), Minimum Lovable Product (MLP), and Minimum Awesome Product (MAP).

The words are different but the goal is the same.

How can you validate an idea with minimal investment?²

False Starts

I can tell you with confidence that a book is not MVP. I know this because I did it. In 2020 I finished a first draft of a manuscript and promptly shuttered the project. It was a failure³ and I haven't looked at it since.

That project was called Refactor Your Life. The idea was to think of your brain as a computer and use software development principles to improve your life. Someone would examine their operations as "source code" and refactor them. Refactoring is a discipline software developers use to restructure their code. It's called that because "factoring" is a mathematical process of breaking down complex expressions. Sound familiar? Refactoring is about simplifying your original implementation—the same process as deriving an MVP.

Photo by Google DeepMind

It wasn't conscious, but while the project was shelved, my brain worked on refactoring it. Bits and pieces surfaced out of my notes. I broke some concepts apart and combined others. Eventually, I'd refactored the idea into something unique, something different, something that would differentiate me from traditional productivity and personal development advice.

I was ready to dive back in, but I didn't learn my lesson.

I began writing another book.

I'm lucky I couldn't crack it. I took five stabs at an outline. I wrote and rewrote chapters. The idea grew and grew. My approach is meant to be flexible enough that it can be used in a multitude of areas with a variety of entry points. That non-linearity doesn't lend itself well to a book. Then I decided to write it as gamebook. For the unfamiliar, gamebooks present the reader choices which leads them to different sections of the book.⁴ It took me longer than I care to admit that I was repeating the same mistake as before. I was creating more problems than I was solving. The idea had not been tested enough.

I needed to predict backwards.

The process was messy and time consuming but it was worth it. I landed on an MVP that would require a fraction of the effort. My plan was to test the ideas socially, either online or in person. I would identify what resonated and iterate from there.

In retrospect, it sounds logical. It was probably fear that got in the way. Fear of testing something unpolished. But that fear wouldn't be diminished by a book, it would only compound. One should consider the full scope of investment when testing ideas—which includes an investment in your confidence.

Through my social testing I discovered the first tension I would tackle: scrolling on social media. From my previous product update:

The fact I don't have to explain the tension demonstrates its gravity and our struggles with alleviating it. The evolution of these platforms from social networks to social media highlights the perniciousness of the interaction. These systems no longer have a goal of connection—their goal is consumption.

Generated by Midjourney

The next question was how I would assist people with this tension. What product would I develop?. Let's start with its name: Banish Scrolling Digital Booster Pack. I'll explain it word by word.

• Banish - I'm leaning into my "white mage" branding. I thought this was universally known but I've discovered not everyone understands what that means. A white mage is a character class from the video game series Final Fantasy. They cast spells to protect and heal their party. My healing is focused on systems. Most of a white mage's spells are defensive, but Banish is one of the first ones that deals damage. It felt fitting. Scrolling needs more than defense.

• Scrolling - The tension potential customers would be experiencing. It's what's being banished.

• Digital - In pursuit of an MVP, digital is far more minimum than a physical product. It allows me to test viability with minimal investment. There is a physical future to the product if it's successful, but the content will remain digital to allow for future iterations where required.

• Booster Pack - A booster pack is a sealed package of cards. It's used in collectible and trading card games (CCGs and TCGs). Popular examples of these are Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon. This approach differentiates the product while fitting my strategy of building for my self. A booster pack will contain 10 to 15 concepts with a 5 to 10 minute essay accompanying each. There are two reasons I'm developing it this way:

  • Individuals with this tension are going to be on their phones and their attention will be under siege. The content must be short, but if it's too short it will be ineffective. People can pace themselves with separate cards. It could be binged in a matter of hours, or consumed over the course of a week or two.

  • I intend to reuse cards for future tensions. For example, one core concept is "commitment"⁵ and it will be necessary for nearly everything. While it's a little more difficult up front, packaging it into separate cards allows me to save time in the future.

I'm still kicking around on the delivery method. I'm leaning towards a PDF, but it could also be a website. It's going to be whichever is easiest for me to create. Eventually, I'd like to make physical decks of cards in the style of Pip Decks or Kitted. But the idea needs testing before I make that jump.

But Wait! There's...Less?

In the process of writing this I realized I could predict even further backward. I'll cover that in next week's post.

Question

I've been struggling with something that I'd appreciate feedback on.

Does the name lifesmithing resonate?

So far I've only heard one person say they like the name lifesmithing. I've got no ego about it—I'm approaching everything an experimental mindset.

Tell me what you think. Be honest! I can handle it.

1. This is a reference to Katamari Damacy, a game where you play as a prince with a magical ball that picks up anything smaller than it.

2. Even if that means abandoning the idea.

3. I don't associate failure with pain. Failure is feedback and feedback is fuel for the engine of change.

4. The most popular gamebooks are the Choose Your Own Adventure series.

5. The philosophy isn't called Commitment Theory on accident.