Mark: The worst advice you can get is 'follow your passion.' Even worse? 'Wait until you're ready.' Today, we’re exploring a book that argues the secret to success isn't finding your passion, but building the muscle to figure anything out, especially when you feel like a total fraud. Michelle: Oh, I love that. Because 'wait until you're ready' is the ultimate permission slip for procrastination. You're never ready! You just stay stuck. So what's the antidote? Mark: The antidote is the core idea behind Marie Forleo's #1 New York Times bestseller, Everything Is Figureoutable. Michelle: Marie Forleo... she's the one with that huge online presence, right? The life coach and entrepreneur. Her style is so high-energy. Mark: Exactly. She's built a massive digital empire, recognized by Oprah as a next-generation thought leader. And what's fascinating is that this whole philosophy came from her mom, who grew up in the projects in New Jersey and had this incredible knack for fixing anything, from a leaky roof to a broken radio, with sheer grit. That's the DNA of this book—it's not ivory-tower theory; it's scrappy, in-the-trenches resourcefulness. Michelle: I like that. It feels grounded. So, where do we start with this idea that everything is figureoutable?

Mark: Well, Forleo starts with a story about her mom and a Tropicana orange radio. It was this cheap promotional gadget that broke, and instead of throwing it out, her mom just sat down, took it apart piece by piece, and tinkered with it until it worked again. When a young Marie asked how she knew how to do that, her mom just said, "Nothing in life is that complicated. Everything is figureoutable." Michelle: That's a great line. It’s so simple, but it’s a whole worldview, isn't it? It’s the belief that a solution exists, even if you don't see it yet. Mark: Precisely. Forleo argues this isn't just a nice, optimistic phrase. It's a belief that functions like a command to your brain. When you believe something is figureoutable, your brain starts searching for solutions, looking for openings, and connecting disparate ideas. When you decide something is impossible, your brain just... shuts down. It stops trying. Michelle: Okay, but a broken radio is one thing. What about something huge, like a terminal illness or systemic poverty? The book has been criticized by some readers for being overly optimistic, almost like "bubble gum" positivity. Surely not everything is figureoutable? Mark: That's a fantastic and necessary question. And Forleo addresses this head-on. She makes a critical distinction. It's not about believing you can magically cure cancer or single-handedly end world hunger. The philosophy isn't about controlling every outcome. It’s about controlling your approach. It's the belief that you can always figure out the next best step. You can figure out how to find the best care, how to raise money for research, how to bring comfort, how to advocate for change. Michelle: Ah, so it’s about agency, not omnipotence. It’s about focusing on what you can do, rather than being paralyzed by what you can't. Mark: Exactly. And this isn't just fluffy self-talk. The book brings in some fascinating science to back this up. Think about the placebo effect. Forleo tells this incredible story about an orthopedic surgeon, Bruce Moseley, who was skeptical about a common knee surgery. Michelle: I think I've heard about this. He did fake surgeries, right? Mark: He did! He performed a randomized, double-blind study. Some patients got the real arthroscopic surgery. The other group was put under, the surgeon made three small incisions, and then just pretended to do the surgery for 40 minutes before sewing them back up. Michelle: That is wild. What happened? Mark: The results were stunning. The group that got the sham surgery reported the exact same amount of pain relief and improved mobility as the group that got the real thing. At one point, the placebo group was actually doing better. Michelle: Wow. So their belief that they were being healed was powerful enough to create a physical change. Mark: It was. And that's the point. Our beliefs aren't just thoughts; they are instructions that can rewrite our physical and cognitive reality. Adopting "Everything is Figureoutable" is like giving yourself the most powerful placebo in the world—one that primes you for resourcefulness and action. Michelle: That’s a much more compelling frame than just 'be positive.' It’s less about magical thinking and more about activating our brain's problem-solving capacity, which we shut down the moment we decide something is impossible.

Mark: Exactly. And the two biggest things that make us shut down that capacity are excuses and fear. Forleo has a really provocative take on this. She says that for most of us, the phrase "I can't" is just a polite euphemism for "I won't." Michelle: Oof. That stings a little because it's probably true. "I can't go to the gym" usually means "I won't prioritize it." "I can't start that business" means "I won't take the risk." Mark: Precisely. She boils it down to the three most common excuses: I don't have enough time, I don't have enough money, and I don't have the know-how. And she systematically dismantles each one. The time excuse? She points to research showing we spend hours a day on our phones, often without realizing it. The money excuse? She cites billions in unclaimed grants and scholarships. The know-how excuse? We live in an age of unprecedented access to information. Michelle: That's a tough pill to swallow. It really forces you to take responsibility. Can you give me an example of someone who had every excuse in the book but still figured it out? Mark: The book is filled with them, and they are incredibly powerful. Take Dr. Tererai Trent. She grew up in rural Zimbabwe, was married off at age 11 for the price of a cow, and had four children by 18. She was denied a formal education because she was a girl. By any standard, her dream of getting an education in America was impossible. Michelle: I mean, that's not just an excuse, that's a mountain of systemic and personal barriers. Mark: A mountain. But she didn't see it that way. She secretly taught herself to read and write using her brother's books. An aid worker inspired her to write down her dreams on a piece of paper, which she buried in a can under a rock. Her dreams were to study in the US, get a BA, a Master's, and a PhD. It took years of relentless work, saving money, and facing abuse, but she eventually got accepted to Oklahoma State University. She moved to the US with her five children, often living in extreme poverty, but she never gave up. In 2009, she earned her PhD. Michelle: That's... breathtaking. It just completely reframes what's possible. It makes my 'I don't have time' excuse feel pretty flimsy in comparison. Mark: It does, doesn't it? And then there's the story of Bethany Hamilton, the surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack at thirteen. Everyone would have understood if she'd never gone in the water again. But one month later, she was back on her board. A little over a year after the attack, she won her first national surfing title. She refused to let her circumstances define her future. Michelle: These stories are the heart of it, I think. They show that this isn't about figuring out small, everyday problems. It's a fundamental principle for facing the most profound adversity. It’s about choosing to focus on the result you want, not the reasons you can't have it. Mark: And that’s the perfect bridge to the other dragon: fear. Forleo argues that fear isn't the enemy; waiting to stop feeling afraid is. Fear is just a signal. Often, it's a signpost pointing directly at what you're meant to do.

Michelle: Okay, so we've adopted the belief and we've called out our excuses. But how do we actually start, especially when we're terrified of failing or looking stupid? That's the part where most of us get stuck. Mark: And Forleo has a very personal and hilarious answer for that. Early in her career, she dreamed of being a big-time speaker. But she was just starting out, bartending to make ends meet. She decided to hold her first workshop. She made these cheesy workbooks with Microsoft Word clip art and held it in her friend's basement. Michelle: Oh no. How many people showed up? Mark: Five. And two of them were her parents. She said she felt pathetic and cringeworthy. But in that moment of embarrassment, she had a realization that became a core rule for her: "Starting small and sucky beats staying stucky." Michelle: I love that. "Starting small and sucky beats staying stucky." It's so permission-granting. It gives you the grace to be a beginner. Mark: It does. And it's the perfect antidote to perfectionism, which she calls "self-abuse of the highest order." Perfectionism isn't about high standards; it's about fear. Fear of judgment, fear of failure. The book pushes this idea of "progress, not perfection." Just take one small, imperfect step. Michelle: This feels directly connected to the fear of being a "fraud." The book mentions that impostor syndrome affects a whopping 70% of us. So this 'progress not perfection' idea is the antidote to impostor syndrome? Mark: It's the antidote, and it scales infinitely. Forleo uses it to get over a bad workshop. But then you have someone like Leymah Gbowee, a peace activist in Liberia. Her country was being destroyed by a brutal civil war. She had no power, no army, no political standing. But she refused to be refused. Michelle: I know her story. She won the Nobel Peace Prize. How did she do it? Mark: She started small and sucky. She organized a handful of women to protest in a fish market. They just sat there, day after day, in their white t-shirts. They were ignored, threatened, and dismissed. But they kept showing up. Their numbers grew. They organized a sex strike. They eventually blockaded the presidential palace during peace talks, refusing to let the warlords leave until they signed an agreement. They refused to be refused. Michelle: Wow. So from a cringey workshop in a basement to ending a civil war. That's the real power of the principle. It's the same muscle, whether you're starting a business or starting a peace movement. It’s about persistence in the face of rejection and imperfection. Mark: That's it exactly. It’s the belief that you can figure out the next step, and the one after that, and you just keep going.

Michelle: When you put all the pieces together—the core belief, slaying excuses, and then this engine of imperfect action—it feels less like a self-help trick and more like a complete operating system for your life. Mark: It really is. And that's the core of it. This isn't just a feel-good mantra. It's a cognitive tool that forces you to take responsibility for your own agency. The book cites the work of Bronnie Ware, a palliative care nurse who recorded the most common regrets of the dying. The number one regret? "I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me." Michelle: That gives me chills. Because this whole philosophy is a direct challenge to that regret. It's a tool to help you live that life now. Mark: It is. It’s a call to stop outsourcing your power to your circumstances, your fears, or your excuses. Because at the end of the day, your life is your responsibility to figure out. Michelle: It makes you ask, what problem have I already decided is 'unfigureoutable' in my own life? And what would happen if I just... tried to figure out the very next step? Mark: A powerful question to end on. We'd love to hear your thoughts. What's one thing you're going to apply this mindset to? Let us know and join the conversation. Michelle: This is Aibrary, signing off.