Making The Obvious Work Better

There are two strange but wildly effective ways to overcome a challenge.

The first is to imagine your original idea never existed. Poof. Gone. If you were planning a drip campaign, you’re now banned from using email. If you were organizing an event, pretend the venue just vanished.

This isn’t masochism…it’s more like mental composting. The absence of the obvious forces the mind to stretch, to find new nutrients in the dirt.

You might discover that the real connection you wanted to spark didn’t require email at all, but timing, conversation, or curiosity.

The second is to pause before pressing go, and ask: how could I make this more personal?

Most ideas die not because they’re bad, but because they’re indifferent. We automate too early, standardize too quickly, and forget that people don’t respond to “solutions.” They respond to meaning.

Personalization isn’t just adding a name to the subject line; it’s finding the thread that ties your effort to someone else’s heart, habit, or humor.

Together, these two lenses—eliminate and personalize—turn challenges from blockades into creative detours. They make the work feel alive again. When you strip away the easy path or make the familiar feel intimate, you stop solving problems mechanically and start solving them artfully.

Stay Positive & One Two Punch The Solution Up