‘The New Universe’ is a radical “escapist” technique. Instead of trying to fix a problem in this world, you imagine an entirely new universe where the “laws of nature” are different. By defining these new laws, you can find innovative metaphors and principles that you can “import” back into our reality to solve impossible problems.
The Architect of Reality
In our universe, gravity pulls things down. In a “New Universe,” gravity might pull things together based on their “usefulness.” By changing the most fundamental rules of existence, you force your brain to find new ways for things to interact, work, and grow.
Define the 'Old Laws'
List the laws of “Our Universe” that make your problem hard.
Example: “Marketing is hard because people have limited attention (Old Law) and there is too much noise (Old Law).”
Design 'The New Universe'
Create 3 new “Laws of Nature” for your imaginary world.
- Law of Attraction: “In this universe, people are naturally drawn to things that are ‘true,’ even if they are quiet.”
- Law of Persistence: “Great ideas emit a constant ‘hum’ that gets louder over time, while ‘noise’ fades instantly.”
- Law of Resonance: “If two people share the same goal, they are instantly teleported to each other’s location.”
Solve the Problem in the New Universe
How would the “Alien Versions” of you solve the problem using these new laws?
“We don’t need ‘ads’ (noise). We just need to build a product that is ‘True’ (Law of Attraction). The ‘hum’ of our quality will naturally pull the right people to us, and they will ‘resonate’ (Law of Resonance) with each other to build a community without us even trying.”
Import the Principle back to Earth
What is the “Earth Version” of that alien solution?
- Alien Principle: Truth attracts, Noise fades.
- Earth Action: Stop all paid advertising for 3 months. Spend that entire budget on “Truth-Building”—creating deep, high-value content and improving product quality until the “Hum” (word of mouth) becomes undeniable.
Practice
Problem: “Our team is disjointed.” New Universe Law: “Every time you help a teammate, you gain 1 hour of extra life.” What is the Earth version of this “incentive structure”?