First Principles Thinking
How to Break the World Apart and Rebuild It on Your Terms
Most copy. A few create.
The difference?
First principles thinking.
If you're reading this, you might have a vague idea of what "first principles" are. Elon Musk popularized the term. Aristotle coined it. Everyone on LinkedIn seems to talk about it. But very few actually use it.
What Is First Principles Thinking? (And Why Most People Never Do It)
At its core, first principles thinking means breaking things down to their fundamental truths—truths that cannot be broken down further—and building from there.
Aristotle called a “first principle” the first basis from which a thing is known. In other words, the foundation.
Most people reason by analogy. They say, “Well, this worked for them, so it might work for me.”
Or worse, tradition: “That’s just how things are done.”
You’ve probably heard it in your own life:
“You need a college degree to get a good job.”
“You can’t build muscle without eating meat.”
“Online dating is the only way to meet women now.”
These are not truths.
They’re assumptions.
And assumptions are the prison bars of progress.
Elon Musk: The Star Boy of First Principles
Let’s revisit Musk for a second—not because he’s trendy, but because he’s one of the few modern examples of someone who consistently destroys convention.
When he started SpaceX, he asked:
“Why are rockets so expensive?”
The default answer was: “Because that’s just how aerospace works.”
But Musk didn’t accept that. He broke the problem down:
What is a rocket made of? Aluminum, titanium, copper, carbon fiber.
What do those materials cost on the commodity market? A few percent of the final price.
So why the markup?
Layers of middlemen, inefficiency, and an industry built on tradition, not innovation.
So he asked: “What if we built it ourselves—from scratch?”
Result? SpaceX built rockets at a fraction of the cost—and rewrote the rules of space travel.
That’s first principles thinking in action.
First Principles vs. Conventional Wisdom
Most of the world is built on second-hand thinking. People copy what others do, rarely asking why it’s done that way.
Here’s the difference…
Conventional Thinking:
"That’s how it’s always been."
"That’s too hard/impractical."
"Just follow the steps."
"Everyone says this works."
First Principles Thinking:
"What are the core truths here?"
"Let’s build it from scratch."
"Why do those steps exist?"
"Does it actually work for me?"
Here’s the kicker: first principles thinking is not just about business or tech. It can be applied everywhere: mindset, relationships, body, and bank account.
Let me show you how.
Applying First Principles to Fitness
When I first started lifting weights seriously, I hit a plateau around month six. Like most guys, I was following a routine I saw on YouTube. Push-pull-legs. Eat chicken and rice. Rest days on the weekend.
But I wasn’t getting stronger. I wasn’t growing.
So I asked myself: What are the first principles of muscle growth?
Not programs. Not bro-science. The core truths.
I boiled it down to this:
Progressive overload: muscles grow when you lift more over time.
Recovery: your body grows when it rests, not when it trains.
Sufficient protein: muscle synthesis depends on amino acids.
Everything else—weird diets, fasted cardio, drop sets—was fluff.
I stripped away all the unnecessary complexity and rebuilt my training from those truths:
Lift heavy, basic compound movements.
Track numbers and add weight every week.
Sleep 8 hours.
Eat enough.
Result? I gained 10kg of lean muscle in under a year. Not because I followed a program. But because I thought like an engineer, not a consumer.
First Principles in Dating
Now let’s apply it to something trickier: relationships.
If you're struggling with women, ask yourself this:
What are the fundamental principles of attraction?
Most guys waste years memorizing pickup lines, texting templates, or obsessing over red-pill ragebait. That’s lazy cargo cult behavior. Mimicking the rituals without understanding the essence.
Strip it down. What actually matters?
Confidence: not fake bravado, but a grounded self-assurance.
Physicality: strong posture, eye contact, good grooming.
Status and ambition: not necessarily money, but direction.
Emotional intelligence: being attuned to her cues, not just yours.
So what does that mean for you?
Stop asking, “What do I say when she doesn’t text back?”
Start asking: “Am I embodying a man who lives from principles, or one who reacts based on fear and approval-seeking?”
Big difference.
First Principles in Wealth and Business
The same logic applies to money.
Most people say, “I want to get rich,” but they don’t define the terms. They don’t question the model. They chase job titles, not freedom.
So let’s go back to basics: What are the first principles of building wealth?
Earn more than you spend.
Invest the difference in assets that grow.
Learn skills that multiply value (e.g., writing, coding, sales).
Use leverage—time, capital, or audience—to scale.
That's it.
If you make $4,000/month and spend $3,800, you’re broke.
If you make $2,000/month but save and invest $500 consistently, you’re wealthier in five years.
Again: strip away the noise.
Forget TikTok side hustles or crypto pump schemes. Focus on the fundamentals:
Get one skill that the market pays well for.
Build discipline in saving and delayed gratification.
Learn about compound interest, not just social media virality.
How to Think in First Principles (Step-by-Step)
Let’s get tactical. Here’s a process you can use on any problem.
1. Clarify the problem.
Be specific. Don’t just say “I want to get in shape.” Say, “I want to lose 10kg of fat while maintaining muscle.”
2. Break it down to the basics.
Ask: What are the essential components that must be true for this to work?
For fat loss:
Caloric deficit.
Muscle retention via strength training.
Adequate protein intake.
Consistency.
Everything else is a bonus.
3. Question every assumption.
Just because it worked for someone else doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. Test your beliefs like a scientist.
Are you really “too busy to work out”?
Or are you just unwilling to wake up 30 minutes earlier?
Is “networking” about going to events… or about offering actual value to interesting people?
4. Rebuild from the ground up.
Now that you’ve stripped things down, build your solution from scratch using only the essential elements.
Design your fitness plan. Or your business. Or your dating life. Based not on what’s popular, but what’s true.
Why Most People Avoid First Principles Thinking
Let me be brutally honest:
First principles thinking is hard.
It requires effort. Deep thinking. Intellectual honesty. The willingness to admit that most of what you’ve been doing is just mindless copying.
It’s far easier to copy someone else’s system and blame the system when it doesn’t work.
But if you want real power in life—the power to design your own solutions, not just inherit them—then you need to train this muscle relentlessly.
Final Thoughts: Build Your Life Like an Engineer
Reasoning from first principles is one of the best ways to develop mental toughness. It forces you to be honest, to face what’s actually true—not what you wish was true.
Every man needs this.
Because the world is full of second-hand dreams and borrowed goals. If you don’t think for yourself, someone else will do the thinking for you—and they’ll be happy to sell you their course while they’re at it.
Start asking “why” more often.
Not to be annoying. But to be free.
Your body. Your bank account. Your dating life. Your sense of meaning.
They’re all problems that can be rebuilt from scratch—if you’re willing to look under the hood and think from first principles.
Now you:
Take one area of your life you’ve been stuck in—fitness, money, relationships—and break it down.
What do you know to be true?
What are you assuming based on habit or hearsay?
And what could you rebuild if you started from zero?
Answer that—and you’ll stop following someone else’s map.
You’ll start drawing your own.
Want more posts like this?
Subscribe, share, and drop a comment with what topic you'd like me to tear apart next.
Let’s build something that actually works.
From the ground up.