Just like I started to love mistakes, I started to love constraints. I realized that the world provides you with complete freedom. It is like a huge piece of marble that you can make anything out of. But you want something in this world, right? You want the freedom but the outcomes you want should be specific. You don’t want freedom in your options. You want the world to bend to your will and welfare.

Thus, now I understand how important constraints are. You don’t want the marble to be a huge block. You want it to be of a certain shape. So, what do you do? You chisel things away. You add a constraint that says, “A segment or a chunk of marble cannot exist in this space,” so I am going to hammer it out. And I decide that it cannot stay here, so I chunk it out.

Basically, you are cutting the marble, you are adding constraints to what can be and what cannot be, and slowly it starts taking shape. For example, you have the ambition to create a sass. That’s your marble block. But then you have to understand that you need to make a very specific thing. You have to add constraints down to the level that says you end up with just one feature for one ICP with a position that is undefeatable. And how do you do that? You add constraints. You add constraints like, “Only help winners” or ” B2B SaaS” or “low time to value”. All these constraints shape your SAS into what it will be. It turns it from a piece of marble into a glorious statue.

Thus, what takes shape in the world a lot of times is a result of constraints. So, add constraints that are very beneficial for you that will take you down to the right path that will take you to a place which has a high probability of success.

You have to systematically and ruthlessly chisel away or negate possibilities that you won’t want.