First Principles Guides - Mental Models for Thriving

First Principles Guides - Mental Models for Thriving

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6.1 Your Collection of Thinking Superpowers - The Ultimate Mental Toolbox for Smarter Decisions
The world is full of confusing problems - now you’ve got the brain tools to handle anything. Here’s how to keep sharpening them!
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Lee
5.3 Why the 10th Slice of Pizza Isn’t as Good as the First - The Law of Diminishing Returns
More is better… until it isn’t. The law of diminishing returns explains why you should stop before you ruin a good thing!
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Lee
5.2 Why Some Things Get More Valuable When More People Use Them - Network Effects
A social media app with one user? Lame. A club with only two members? Meh. Welcome to network effects - the reason some things explode in popularity!
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Lee
5.1 How Tiny Habits Turn You into a Superhuman Over Time - Compounding
Saving $1 a day, reading 5 pages, or doing 10 push-ups won’t change your life today - but compounding will turn you into a legend if you keep going!
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Lee

April 2025

4.3 How Small Actions Can Have Massive Results - Leverage
Why does a tiny seesaw move something 100x its size? That’s leverage. Use this trick in school, sports, and life to get more with less effort!
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Lee
4.2 Every Choice Costs You Something - Are You Paying the Right Price? - Opportunity Cost
If you play video games for an hour, you’re also giving up something else - sleep, practice, time with friends or that one YouTube deep dive to learn…
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Lee
4.1 Why You Keep Doing Stuff That’s Clearly Not Working - Sunk Cost Fallacy
Ever kept watching a bad movie just because you're halfway through? Welcome to the sunk cost fallacy—the reason we make dumb choices!
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Lee
3.4 Why You Only Hear About Winners (and Why That’s a Problem) - Survivorship Bias
Everyone talks about the YouTubers who blew up overnight… but what about the millions who didn’t? Here’s how survivorship bias messes with your head.
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Lee
3.3 Why We Fear the Wrong Things (Sharks vs. Bathtubs) - The Availability Heuristic
Sharks are terrifying, right? Guess what’s deadlier - your bathtub. Welcome to the availability heuristic, where your brain plays tricks on you!
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Lee
3.2 Why Your Brain Loves to Lie to You - Confirmation Bias
If you think all cats are evil, you’ll only notice the ones that hiss. Here’s how to fight confirmation bias and start seeing reality.
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Lee
3.1 Why Life is Never Exactly What the Brochure Says - The Map is Not the Territory
Your school schedule, a game guide, or even Google Maps - none of them show the full picture. Here’s how to avoid getting lost in bad info!
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Lee
2.4 The Smartest Way to Predict the Future - Probabilistic Thinking
Should you bring an umbrella? Should you take that risk? Welcome to probabilistic thinking - your personal crystal ball (that actually works).
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Lee
© 2025 Lee G
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