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In this guide, you’ll find a list of useful mental models and their short
explanations.

I’ve also added article links in case you’d like to know more about a specific
idea.

It’s a concise guide and takes around 5 minutes to read.

I promise you’ll get a good return on your 5-min investment.

Let’s start.

Ozan
Founder - Frontera

Frontera
Website: Fronterablog.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fronterablog/
Contact: hello@fronterablog.com
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1. Input Goals
Most of the goals you set are output goals, based on outcomes (becoming a
millionaire or getting a six-pack).

But the outcomes are never under your control.

Focus on input goals to achieve your goals.

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2. The Eisenhower Matrix

President Eisenhower had a method to use 24 hours most effectively which
was later called after his name: Eisenhower Matrix.

It’s a simple matrix that allows you to make a distinction between what is
urgent and important.

Urgent tasks require your immediate action. Important tasks are the ones you
need to do to achieve your goals.
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3. Framing Effect
The framing effect is one of the most effective tools in public relations and
marketing.

People react differently to the same event, product, or price depending on

different frames.

10% death risk from a surgery sounds scary, while a 90% success rate sounds
safe.

That means you can always persuade people if you use the right frame.
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4. The 80/20 Rule

20% of the causes create 80% of the outcomes. Also known as The Pareto
Principle.

Identify 20% of the activities that give you 80% of the results.

If it’s a positive outcome activity (investments, productivity) focus on that

20%.

If it’s negative (causes of stress, or bad health) cut that 20% first.

5. Talent Stacking
Talent stacking is increasing your chances of success by becoming good at
many skills, rather than trying to become the best at one.

Because becoming the best at one thing is almost impossible. But becoming
good at different skills is an easier way to extraordinary success.

One example is Alexandra Botez. She is a good chess player, entertainer, and
social media creator. She is not the best at any of them.

And her unique talent stack made her the best chess streamer in the world.
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6. Via Negativa
It means “The Negative Way” in Latin, or as Nassim Taleb puts it solution
through subtraction.

Instead of looking for things to add to a system, a project, or your life, you
look for things to cut.

Want to improve your health? Don’t buy expensive supplements; remove

smoking, sugar, and drinking.
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7. Luck Surface Area

Imagine lucky events as random arrows flying around. They are like Eros’
arrows; you want to get hit.

The best way to get hit by a random arrow is to increase the surface area of the
target — in this case, your luck surface area.

The bigger the surface, the more chances you have to get lucky.

So to get lucky:
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- Meet new people regularly, allow serendipity
- Market yourself and your work. Not only do but also tell.
- Build a personal brand (become known for something)
- Follow your curiosity to build deep knowledge in different topics, so you
can identify opportunities
- Take luck as an improvable skill
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8. The Feynman Technique

The Feynman Technique is a teach-to-learn method that focuses on
understanding. Richard Feynman —legendary physicist and Nobel Prize
winner— used it to learn complex ideas fast.

You explain what you’re learning to an imaginary 10-year-old audience in

simple words without jargon.

It allows you to find and fill your knowledge gaps, and understand the topic
better as you try to explain it in simple language and analogies.
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9. Lateral Thinking
Sometimes, logic becomes a burden to find the right solution to complex
problems.

Because it limits us to logical constraints before discovering all other

possibilities. Lateral thinking forces you to break the barriers that limit your
creativity.

Like asking “What would Napoleon do?” to solve a business problem. He

engaged the enemy quickly when he saw an opportunity. So the solution can
be: "Launch the existing product without losing time."

Use it to generate a lot of ideas to find solutions nobody else can see.
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10. Second-Order Thinking

Every decision has consequences.

But consequences also have consequences.

Second-order thinking is evaluating not only the apparent first-order

consequences; but the events that can occur following them.
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11. Inverse Thinking

When options are broad, making the right decision is hard. Inverse thinking
makes it easier by avoiding the negative.

So instead of: “What should I do to be happy in my life?”

Ask: “What things would make my life miserable?”

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12. Regret Minimization Framework

Jeff Bezos’ mental model to make big life decisions.

Before quitting his lucrative Wall Street job and founding Amazon he
projected himself as 80 years old.

Would his old self regret not joining the internet wave and selling books
online?

After framing the decision this way, he clearly saw his path. He quit his job
and became one of the early adopters of the internet.
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13. A-B-Z Framework

Having a long-term goal for yourself is good. But it might be overwhelming
when you start thinking about how to get there.

The A-B-Z Framework makes it easier: Assess where you are (A), set your
direction (Z), and decide on your immediate next step (B). Take that action.

Idea Credit: Shaan Puri

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14. Personal SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is a tool that executives use to have situational awareness of
their companies.

It stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Personal SWOT analysis makes you reflect on your life as you haven’t done
before.

So you can find the best path for yourself.

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15. Commitment Bias

Your mind tries to be consistent with your past actions and words.

So people get stuck with ideas, investments, or business decisions that don’t
make sense anymore.

Only because they had committed to them with their money, effort, or words.
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16. Unlearning
Unlearning is identifying the limiting beliefs, biases, and habits that don’t
serve you and removing them. Examples:

“I’m terrible with numbers.”

“I can’t make a speech in public.”
“I’m gonna fail at this again.”

So pay attention to how you talk to yourself. Identify if you have any
self-limiting beliefs. And unlearn them by changing the narrative.

Example: Change “I’m not good with languages.” to “I've never put in a serious
effort to learn Spanish. I can learn it easily if I want to.”
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17. Hindsight Bias

After we know how things turned out, our minds ignore all other possibilities
and explain the past as it was inevitable.

The danger with Hindsight Bias is its impact on your future decisions. It
creates false confidence.

People think if it’s so easy to explain all past events they can also predict the
future.

To avoid it, be aware that the future is unpredictable and full of surprises.
Instead of trying to predict, prepare.
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18. Fosbury Flop

Dick Fosbury changed the high jump when he rejected to listen to people who
say “We’ve always done it this way.”

He asked himself: “What if there is a better way?” and invented his own style
to dominate the high jump.

After he won an Olympic Gold Medal with his new style, everybody started
using his technique. Steve Jobs did the same with iPhone (removing the
physical keyboard). Elon Musk did it with reusable rockets.

What can be your Fosbury Flop?

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19. The Lindy Effect

As we get older, we have less time to live.

But ideas don’t have a lifespan. According to The Lindy Effect, the older an
idea, a technology or a company gets, the longer it will live in the future.

It’s aging in reverse.

Some examples are the wheel (technology), Sun Tzu (ideas), and Coca-Cola
(company). So if you’d like to know what will survive in the future, look at the
past to see what survived the longest.
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20. Parkinson’s Law

Projects expand to fill the time available for their completion.

So even if the project with a two-week deadline could be finished in three

days, you’d still tend to use all the time you have.

And the additional time you spend wouldn’t even improve the quality of the
work.

Hence, people waste a lot of time and effort –without realizing it– to get the
same outcomes.
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Now What?
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
— Wayne Dyer

As I promised at the beginning, I hope you’ve taken away at least five useful
ideas from this guide.

If you did, I’m glad.

Mental models are powerful tools. And if you use your learnings, you’ll
become more effective in business and life.

Now, I’m writing about new mental models to send your way. Looking forward
to sharing with you more.

In the meantime, feel free to send this guide to a lucky friend who would also
find it useful.

And if your friend sent you this guide, join the Life-Changing Concepts
Newsletter here to get more mental models into your inbox every week.