The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
—Marcus Aurelius
There’s a story that occurs constantly in the biographies of creative and brilliant people. It goes something like this: As a kid they have a question—maybe it’s about how car engines work, or what Antarctica is like. It doesn’t matter what the question is about, really—history, science, animals —because their parents all have the same response. They say, “I don’t know, but let’s go figure it out!” So they go to the library or the hardware store or the computer and they dig around until they find the answer.
What this experience did for the young versions of these notable figures was instill in them a few essential lessons that would then set them on their paths: (1) their parents actually listened and cared; (2) curiosity is the starting point of a great adventure; and (3) there are places, like the library or the internet or some wise old neighbor, where answers can be found.
Most important, though, they learned something well expressed in the title of Marie Forleo’s book: Everything Is Figureoutable. Problems can be solved. Ignorance can be eliminated. Answers can be tracked down. The unknown can be made familiar. Things can be discovered.
Show them how this works. Point them to the library or the laptop, the telephone or their science teacher. Teach them that everything is figureoutable. Big and small.