“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”
-James 1:23-24
Welcome to New Athens - Rebuilding Philosophy and Society.
This is a newsletter for Christians who want to be world-changers, but are feeling stuck. Here you can find online mentoring groups + learning resources that equip you for action.
I invite you to explore the website’s navigation tabs starting with the Introduction. That will give an overview of the values and long-term goals for the project.
In this article I’ll offer my main framework for problem-solving, especially if you are described by the following:
You’re a Christian
You’re feeling stuck
You want to create a life of spiritual influence
The Coach’s Question
When people ask for help in their personal growth or in developing as a leader, here is what I ask:
What problem are you wanting to solve?
This is a subtle question. Allow me to explain.
By the time someone is asking another person for help, you can bet that the problem has more than one level. One level might be that the problem has not yet been adequately identified.
I suggest breaking down the problem-solving process with these three steps:
Stop and identify the problem clearly.
Brainstorm options.
Commit to one action.
I’ll give you more details about how to do this below. First, I want you to understand why the order matters.
Think about what happens if you start brainstorming options before you have identified the problem clearly enough. You’ll lack the clarity to get started.
No step can be ignored.
Often, all it takes to begin to solve a problem is to STOP long enough to identity what the problem is (and why it is bothering you). Once you do that, you’ll be ready to look at your options.
What Clarity Does For You
Unclear (or unfinished) thinking looks like this:
“I don’t like such-and-such situation. It’s making me unhappy. Here are some reasons it’s hard and I probably can’t succeed.”
That is futile. Contrast that approach with clear, purposeful thinking:
“I have decided this situation is a problem. I am going to solve it.”
In the first approach, you grumble and complain. In the second approach, you decide to take action. You might not know the way foward. But you accept agency.
The coaching question “What problem are you wanting to solve?” gives you agency. Instead of focusing on the difficulties, you commit to the hard work of decision and action.
Notice how the question frames things. By even answering the question, you are acknowledging that you want to take action. That gives you a sense of agency.
Once you have decided to act, you can think about your options. And once you know some options, you can make a choice.
“What problem are you wanting to solve?” sorts out those who will take action from those who merely want to toy around with ideas, complain, or ask for validation. It selects for those who act.
Immediate Personal Action
For a problem-solving brainstorm to be effective, frame it in terms of Immediate Personal Action.
What problems might I solve someday? No.
What does someone else need to do? No.
The real topic is:
What will I do now?
With that framing in place, we can discuss what actions are possible.
To move toward specific action, ask the following questions:
What problem am I wanting to solve?
Identify what you don’t like.
What might I do to solve it?
List some options.
What am I going to do to solve it?
Pick one first action and commit to it.
Here’s Why This Approach Matters:
When we work on our goals, it far too easy to get lost in vagueness.
What is the point of brainstorming and looking for solutions if we have no commitment to Immediate Personal Action?
An Immediate Personal Action (or IPA) does not need to be complex. But it needs to be concrete and measurable. It needs to be something you can either do right now or add to your calendar right now.
Until you have chosen an Immediate Personal Action and committed to it, you’re going to keep feeling stuck.
I care about helping people get unstuck. That means guiding people to Immediate Personal Action. This is what changes the world.
This is the kind of work I do as a personal coach. The New Athens project allows me to make this help available to more people, at no charge to readers. That’s what the New Athens newsletter + mentoring groups are for.
How New Athens Will Work
Both the newsletter and the mentoring groups will focus on identifying problems that Christians care about and helping readers take specific action.
We’ll explore problem-solving across a range of topics, mainly centered around:
How to become a person of influence
How to help other people spiritually
How to become an advocate of true ideas
Practical steps that will set you up to be trusted and listened to
Two Ways to Participate:
Way #1:
You’re already getting the free New Athens newsletter. This is a distinct but complimentary project to the FTNCI podcast that Jacob Brunton and I have created together.
Way #2:
Join one of our mentoring groups. Like the newsletter, there is no cost to join.
The mentoring groups take place on Facebook messenger or similar apps. I create discussion groups and goal groups on various topics seasonally.
Over the past several years I have experimented with themes including the following:
News discussion
Philosophy discussion
Marketing strategy
Physical training
Prayer
Bible reading
General fellowship
If you have an idea for a theme (whether the topic be something specific like homeschooling or church leadership or something broad like magnifying Christ in our lives), please let me know. I am eager to partner with other Christian leaders and to offer my help.
If you’d like to learn about the mentoring groups, please email me here, and I will send you information and add you to an interest list.
Wrapping It Up
I want you to know why I created this project.
There are many thousands of people in the world who understand the power of true ideas, but who feel completely stuck about what to do next.
That bothers me. But I’m not here to complain. I’m here to take action.
How about you?
What problem are you wanting to solve?
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Thanks for reading, and God bless.
—Cody
PS - Are You Growing as a Leader?
Our Leadership Scorecard will clarify the path forward.
I invite you to read the scorecard and assess your leadership.