Instead of asking how to succeed, ask what would guarantee failure — then avoid all of it. Solving the problem backward often reveals what forward thinking misses.
What is inversion? Read the full idea →Don't only list what makes it great; list what would ruin it — lost passport, no charger — and prevent each.
Munger's move: ask 'what would wreck my health?' and simply not do those things, rather than chase every supplement.
Instead of 'how do I sound smart', ask 'what would confuse a reader?' and delete it.
Don't just ask how to delight them; ask what would make them leave, and fix those first.
Run a pre-mortem: imagine it failed badly, then work backward to the causes you can stop now.
That's just how memory works. Lock inversion in with a 5-minute active-recall session — spaced repetition, no signup.
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