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ASSEMBLE | PART 2

Problems

OBJECTIVE

To identify the primary and secondary problems — the needs that are being threatened or left unmet — so you can design solutions that matter.

SECTIONS

  1. Types Of Problems

  2. Size Of Problems

  3. Frequency Of Problems

  4. Urgency Of Problem

  5. Awareness Of Problems

  6. Where To Find Problem

OVERVIEW

Every product, every brand, every creative act begins with a problem.
If you can’t find the problem, you can’t find the purpose.

This section is about precision — learning to see clearly what others only sense vaguely. Because if you don’t understand the problem, you’ll spend months, even years, crafting a beautiful solution to something that never truly existed.

​

Every person, everywhere, has needs. When those needs are unmet, tension arises — frustration, confusion, fear, desire. This tension is the birthplace of opportunity. It’s where your creativity is meant to work.

​

Your job is not to invent problems, but to notice them. To tune your creative instincts toward empathy. To become hypersensitive to the small fractures in daily life that others overlook. Because those small fractures, left unattended, become entire industries.

You’re not here to chase ideas. You’re here to study needs.

SECTION 1

Types Of Problems

OVERVIEW

Every creative problem traces back to one of the five needs: physical, safety, love/belonging, esteem, transcendence. These needs form the emotional infrastructure of every human life. When one is stressed or threatened, friction appears. That friction is the signal. It’s the pressure point where opportunity lives.

​

You can watch this play out everywhere in the world:

  • Physical Need → People buy running shoes because their feet hurt.

  • Safety Need → Cybersecurity exists because fear exists.

  • Love/Belonging Need → Social networks exploded because loneliness exploded first.

  • Esteem Need → Fashion, luxury, fitness — all of them help people feel seen, valued, elevated.

  • Transcendence Need → Meditation apps, retreats, spiritual content, purpose-centered brands.

​

These needs are the invisible engines behind every market, every movement, every meaningful invention.

​

Understanding which need is being threatened gives you a map. You begin to see not just what people do, but why they do it — which is the most powerful information a creator can have.

Identifying the need behind a problem reveals the opportunity:
Solve the right need… and your work becomes indispensable.

​

Value of this section:
Once you know the type of problem you’re solving, you know the entire emotional logic of your customer. You know how to speak to them, design for them, serve them, and move them. Creative confidence comes from clarity — and this section gives you that clarity.

  • Start here. Every problem begins with a threatened need — something essential that’s being strained, stressed, or broken. Before designing a solution, name the need clearly and trace where it begins.

    What need is being threatened?
    Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
    Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
    Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
    How visible is it? How repeatable?

    • What need is being threatened?
       

    • Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
       

    • Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
       

    • Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
       

    How visible is it? How repeatable?

  • Next, locate the source. Problems live either outside of us or within us — in our environment or in our emotions. Knowing where the disruption begins will help you understand how to meet it.

    Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
    What’s happening around them when it occurs?
    Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

    • Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
       

    • What’s happening around them when it occurs?
       

    • Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
       

    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

  • Every problem has a rhythm. Some are fleeting; others echo daily. Understanding the half-life of a problem reveals how deeply it’s wired into a person’s routine and how urgent a solution must be.

    How often does this problem return?
    What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
    Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

    • How often does this problem return?
       

    • What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
       

    • Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
       

    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

  • Identify the person behind the pattern. Every problem has an audience — a tribe of people sharing the same tension. Finding them is how you begin to define your market, your message, and your meaning.

    Who feels this most acutely?
    Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
    Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
    Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
    What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.

    • Who feels this most acutely?
       

    • Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
       

    • Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
       

    • Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
       

    • What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.
       

  • Most problems don’t stand alone — they’re connected. Once you solve one, another often emerges behind it. Understanding these layers turns a single solution into a system that keeps people moving forward.

    Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
    What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

    • Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
       

    • What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
       

    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

a820c533f74762063788fee9c753d05b.jpg

SECTION 2

Size Of Problems

Overview — The Scale of Impact (and Why It Matters)

Not all problems are equal in size — and that’s not a limitation. It’s the beginning of strategy.

​

Some problems are personal:
A painter noticing their brushes wear down too quickly. A photographer frustrated by tangled straps. These lead to boutique solutions, niche products, premium pricing, or custom services. Beautiful work can live here — but it requires intention.

​

Some problems are local:
A climbing community needing better chalk formulas. A neighborhood needing a coworking space. A sector needing a faster tool. These problems create the foundation for thriving businesses and creative studios. Local problems scale faster than you think.

​

Some problems are global:
Not enough people feel safe crossing streets at night → lighting innovation.


Not enough people feel connected → social platforms.
Not enough people feel inspired → entertainment, art, culture.

A global problem, even when discovered through personal frustration, can be the catalyst for massive, world-shaping companies. Airbnb was a personal rent problem. Uber was a local transit problem. Both became global answers.

Understanding the size of the problem helps you understand the size of your potential impact — and the size of the work ahead.

​

Value of this section:
Knowing the scale of a problem helps you decide whether the solution belongs in your portfolio, your business, or your life’s work. It gives shape to commitment and clarity to ambition.

  • Start here. Every problem begins with a threatened need — something essential that’s being strained, stressed, or broken. Before designing a solution, name the need clearly and trace where it begins.

    What need is being threatened?
    Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
    Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
    Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
    How visible is it? How repeatable?

    • What need is being threatened?
       

    • Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
       

    • Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
       

    • Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
       

    How visible is it? How repeatable?

  • Next, locate the source. Problems live either outside of us or within us — in our environment or in our emotions. Knowing where the disruption begins will help you understand how to meet it.

    Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
    What’s happening around them when it occurs?
    Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

    • Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
       

    • What’s happening around them when it occurs?
       

    • Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
       

    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

  • Every problem has a rhythm. Some are fleeting; others echo daily. Understanding the half-life of a problem reveals how deeply it’s wired into a person’s routine and how urgent a solution must be.

    How often does this problem return?
    What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
    Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

    • How often does this problem return?
       

    • What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
       

    • Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
       

    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

  • Identify the person behind the pattern. Every problem has an audience — a tribe of people sharing the same tension. Finding them is how you begin to define your market, your message, and your meaning.

    Who feels this most acutely?
    Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
    Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
    Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
    What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.

    • Who feels this most acutely?
       

    • Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
       

    • Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
       

    • Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
       

    • What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.
       

  • Most problems don’t stand alone — they’re connected. Once you solve one, another often emerges behind it. Understanding these layers turns a single solution into a system that keeps people moving forward.

    Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
    What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

    • Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
       

    • What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
       

    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

a820c533f74762063788fee9c753d05b.jpg

SECTION 3

Frequency Of Problems

RHYTHM OF HUMAN NEEDS

Every problem carries a rhythm — a natural pulse in the life of the person experiencing it.
Some needs return like clockwork: hunger, loneliness, distraction, uncertainty.
Others arrive in seasons: graduations, weddings, downsizing, tax time, creative block.
And some appear only once — but require ongoing care: buying a home, welcoming a child, starting a business, losing someone we love.

This rhythm is what we call frequency — the half-life of a need.

Even when a need is met, it eventually decays.
The “I love you” that restored belonging wears off.
The clean room becomes messy again.
The confidence from a well-fitting outfit fades.
The safety of good lighting disappears when bulbs burn out.

Human life is cyclical by design, and because of that, opportunity is cyclical too.

Frequency matters because it shapes the type of creative work you pursue:

  • High-frequency needs (daily frustration, emotional renewal, recurring tasks) create opportunities for continuity, retention, and long-term relationships with customers.
    These are the spaces where habits, communities, and brands thrive.

  • Medium-frequency needs (weekly routines, creativity cycles, seasonal shifts) become ideal for services, systems, content, and modular product ecosystems.

  • Low-frequency needs (big life events, rare purchases) require depth, craftsmanship, trust, and long-term meaning.
    Here, your work becomes a milestone — not a commodity.

Understanding frequency gives you more than market insight — it gives you a map of where to put your creative energy.
It tells you:

Is this a project?
Or is it a platform?
A one-time solution?
Or the beginning of a long-term relationship?

Frequency shapes the scale of your impact, the sustainability of your offering, and the emotional cadence of the people you serve.

When you identify the rhythm of the problem, you begin to understand the rhythm of your work.

  • Start here. Every problem begins with a threatened need — something essential that’s being strained, stressed, or broken. Before designing a solution, name the need clearly and trace where it begins.

    What need is being threatened?
    Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
    Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
    Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
    How visible is it? How repeatable?

    • What need is being threatened?
       

    • Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
       

    • Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
       

    • Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
       

    How visible is it? How repeatable?

  • Next, locate the source. Problems live either outside of us or within us — in our environment or in our emotions. Knowing where the disruption begins will help you understand how to meet it.

    Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
    What’s happening around them when it occurs?
    Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

    • Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
       

    • What’s happening around them when it occurs?
       

    • Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
       

    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

  • Every problem has a rhythm. Some are fleeting; others echo daily. Understanding the half-life of a problem reveals how deeply it’s wired into a person’s routine and how urgent a solution must be.

    How often does this problem return?
    What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
    Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

    • How often does this problem return?
       

    • What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
       

    • Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
       

    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

  • Identify the person behind the pattern. Every problem has an audience — a tribe of people sharing the same tension. Finding them is how you begin to define your market, your message, and your meaning.

    Who feels this most acutely?
    Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
    Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
    Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
    What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.

    • Who feels this most acutely?
       

    • Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
       

    • Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
       

    • Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
       

    • What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.
       

  • Most problems don’t stand alone — they’re connected. Once you solve one, another often emerges behind it. Understanding these layers turns a single solution into a system that keeps people moving forward.

    Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
    What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

    • Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
       

    • What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
       

    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

a820c533f74762063788fee9c753d05b.jpg

SECTION 4

Urgency Of Problems

The Clock Inside Every Problem

How quickly does the need demand a response?

​

Every problem carries a timer inside it.

Some count down slowly, almost politely.
Some tick with steady pressure.
Some erupt like alarms.

​

This internal “tempo” is what we call urgency, and it is one of the most powerful forces shaping human behavior. Urgency determines how people act, how they decide, what they prioritize, and where they place their hope. It dictates how fast a need becomes a choice and how quickly a choice becomes a purchase.

​

You have felt this yourself:

  • The sunscreen you should buy… but don’t.

  • The slow WiFi you fix immediately.

  • The deep emotional wound you handle with care… and urgency.

This spectrum is not random. It follows three fundamental categories — Vitamin, Aspirin, and Morphine — a simple framework that reveals the emotional and practical velocity behind every need.

​

Once you learn to see urgency clearly, everything becomes easier:
your positioning, your price, your design choices, your narrative, your timing, even your entire business model.

​

Urgency answers questions that creatives rarely ask:

  • Why would someone choose this now?

  • How does their pain translate into action?

  • What happens if they wait?

  • What will convince them that “later” is too far away?

  • ​

As a creator, your job is not only to make something beautiful or interesting — your job is to meet the moment.


To step into the timeline of another person’s need and offer something that matters at the speed they require.

This section teaches you to recognize that timing.


Because creative mastery isn’t just making the right thing —
it’s making the right thing at the right time.

  • Start here. Every problem begins with a threatened need — something essential that’s being strained, stressed, or broken. Before designing a solution, name the need clearly and trace where it begins.

    What need is being threatened?
    Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
    Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
    Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
    How visible is it? How repeatable?

    • What need is being threatened?
       

    • Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
       

    • Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
       

    • Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
       

    How visible is it? How repeatable?

  • Next, locate the source. Problems live either outside of us or within us — in our environment or in our emotions. Knowing where the disruption begins will help you understand how to meet it.

    Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
    What’s happening around them when it occurs?
    Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

    • Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
       

    • What’s happening around them when it occurs?
       

    • Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
       

    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

  • Every problem has a rhythm. Some are fleeting; others echo daily. Understanding the half-life of a problem reveals how deeply it’s wired into a person’s routine and how urgent a solution must be.

    How often does this problem return?
    What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
    Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

    • How often does this problem return?
       

    • What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
       

    • Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
       

    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

  • Identify the person behind the pattern. Every problem has an audience — a tribe of people sharing the same tension. Finding them is how you begin to define your market, your message, and your meaning.

    Who feels this most acutely?
    Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
    Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
    Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
    What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.

    • Who feels this most acutely?
       

    • Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
       

    • Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
       

    • Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
       

    • What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.
       

  • Most problems don’t stand alone — they’re connected. Once you solve one, another often emerges behind it. Understanding these layers turns a single solution into a system that keeps people moving forward.

    Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
    What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

    • Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
       

    • What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
       

    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

a820c533f74762063788fee9c753d05b.jpg

SECTION 5

Awareness Of Problems

Known, Unknown & Unspoken Needs

Before you can solve a problem, you must understand how visible it is to the person who lives with it. Awareness shapes everything — how you design, how you communicate, and how quickly your solution will be embraced. Most creators skip this step. The great ones don’t. They know people don’t respond to the problems they have; they respond to the problems they recognize.

​

Some needs are loud and obvious — the daily frustrations people complain about. Others sit silently in the background — unnoticed, unnamed, but quietly shaping behavior until a solution finally reveals what’s been missing. And then there are the most fragile needs of all: the ones people feel deeply but won’t admit, because acknowledging them threatens their identity or pride.

​

Unknown problems require education.

Known problems require clarity.
Unspoken problems require empathy.

​

Understanding these layers is not marketing — it’s leadership. Once you know the level of awareness, you know exactly how to frame your solution, how much trust you must earn, and what kind of story you need to tell. Creativity becomes strategic the moment you understand not just what someone needs, but what they’re ready to acknowledge.

​

Awareness Levels

​

Unknown Problems

Needs people feel but haven’t recognized. Before smartphones, ergonomic tools, or meditation apps, people didn’t know to ask for them. These solutions reveal what life could be.

​

Known Problems

Needs people feel clearly and often — clutter, inefficiency, stress, insecurity, loneliness. No education required. Just a better answer.

​

Bar Defense Problems

Needs people won’t admit because doing so threatens esteem or belonging. These require emotional intelligence — designing for the truth beneath the excuses.

​

Value of This Section

Awareness determines adoption. When you understand what people see, don’t see, or won’t admit, you know how to introduce your solution, how to position it, and how to help someone realize they’ve been waiting for it all along.

  • Start here. Every problem begins with a threatened need — something essential that’s being strained, stressed, or broken. Before designing a solution, name the need clearly and trace where it begins.

    What need is being threatened?
    Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
    Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
    Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
    How visible is it? How repeatable?

    • What need is being threatened?
       

    • Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
       

    • Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
       

    • Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
       

    How visible is it? How repeatable?

  • Next, locate the source. Problems live either outside of us or within us — in our environment or in our emotions. Knowing where the disruption begins will help you understand how to meet it.

    Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
    What’s happening around them when it occurs?
    Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

    • Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
       

    • What’s happening around them when it occurs?
       

    • Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
       

    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

  • Every problem has a rhythm. Some are fleeting; others echo daily. Understanding the half-life of a problem reveals how deeply it’s wired into a person’s routine and how urgent a solution must be.

    How often does this problem return?
    What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
    Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

    • How often does this problem return?
       

    • What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
       

    • Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
       

    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

  • Identify the person behind the pattern. Every problem has an audience — a tribe of people sharing the same tension. Finding them is how you begin to define your market, your message, and your meaning.

    Who feels this most acutely?
    Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
    Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
    Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
    What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.

    • Who feels this most acutely?
       

    • Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
       

    • Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
       

    • Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
       

    • What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.
       

  • Most problems don’t stand alone — they’re connected. Once you solve one, another often emerges behind it. Understanding these layers turns a single solution into a system that keeps people moving forward.

    Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
    What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

    • Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
       

    • What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
       

    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

a820c533f74762063788fee9c753d05b.jpg

SECTION 5

Where To Find Problems

The Hidden Locations of Opportunity

Overview — The Hidden Locations of Opportunity
Most people wait for ideas. Creatives can’t afford to.
A creator doesn’t sit around hoping lightning will strike.
A creator studies the weather.
Because problems don’t hide.
They sit in plain sight, disguised as “normal life,” waiting for someone perceptive enough to name them. Once you understand where problems tend to appear, the world stops being random. It becomes a grid—a map of tension points, unmet needs, and emerging opportunities.
In every industry, in every era, the most enduring companies are built by people who learned to see what others stepped over. They noticed the gaps, the cycles, the blind spots. They recognized patterns that had been there all along.
This section teaches you where to look.
There are three primary terrains where problems consistently emerge.
Learn these spaces, and you’ll never run out of ideas again.

  • Start here. Every problem begins with a threatened need — something essential that’s being strained, stressed, or broken. Before designing a solution, name the need clearly and trace where it begins.

    What need is being threatened?
    Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
    Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
    Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
    How visible is it? How repeatable?

    • What need is being threatened?
       

    • Is it poking at a basic need — safety, belonging, esteem, transcendence?
       

    • Is the need actually broken, or just under stress?
       

    • Does this problem make someone feel like they’re losing control, comfort, or confidence?
       

    How visible is it? How repeatable?

  • Next, locate the source. Problems live either outside of us or within us — in our environment or in our emotions. Knowing where the disruption begins will help you understand how to meet it.

    Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
    What’s happening around them when it occurs?
    Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

    • Is this problem happening to them (external) or within them (internal)?
       

    • What’s happening around them when it occurs?
       

    • Are there environmental triggers — clutter, noise, systems, weather, time of day?
       

    Are there internal ones — fatigue, fear, doubt, memory?

  • Every problem has a rhythm. Some are fleeting; others echo daily. Understanding the half-life of a problem reveals how deeply it’s wired into a person’s routine and how urgent a solution must be.

    How often does this problem return?
    What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
    Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

    • How often does this problem return?
       

    • What’s its half-life? How long before the need reemerges?
       

    • Is it temporary, cyclical, or permanent?
       

    When did it first appear — and what happens if it’s ignored?

  • Identify the person behind the pattern. Every problem has an audience — a tribe of people sharing the same tension. Finding them is how you begin to define your market, your message, and your meaning.

    Who feels this most acutely?
    Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
    Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
    Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
    What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.

    • Who feels this most acutely?
       

    • Are there others like them — a group, a tribe, a shared culture?
       

    • Do they gather, talk, or post about it?
       

    • Do they share a suffix — -er, -ist, -ian — that identifies their identity through this need?
       

    • What do they avoid? What frustrates or scares them? Those are clues to their deeper needs.
       

  • Most problems don’t stand alone — they’re connected. Once you solve one, another often emerges behind it. Understanding these layers turns a single solution into a system that keeps people moving forward.

    Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
    What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

    • Once the primary need is addressed, what else becomes visible?
       

    • What’s next in the chain reaction of unmet needs?
       

    Can solving one unlock another — for example, solving safety to unlock esteem?

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SECTION 3

Exercise

Empathy Exercise
Go where the problem lives.
Observe the moment of friction. Watch someone fail, struggle, or compensate. Talk to them. Listen to what they wish worked better. If possible, live through the same experience yourself. Feel the scuff firsthand. Write down what it feels like, not just what it is. Emotion is data.

​

Competitive Observation
Study how other industries solve similar problems.
A door that closes softly, a coffee lid that doesn’t spill, a song that calms anxiety — all are responses to human entropy.
Ask: What can I learn from them? How can I apply their wisdom to a different context?

OBSERVE THE FIELD

  • Clarity. You’ll begin to see the hidden patterns behind what works — and what doesn’t.

  • Direction. You’ll learn to move with purpose, using Modes as your compass.

  • Confidence. You’ll have a process to build from intuition, not impulse.

  • Proof. You’ll finish with a tangible concept or product that demonstrates life in motion — something that matters.

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