Back in 2021, I quit my day job with equal parts excitement and terror. I had no blueprint—just a stubborn belief that I could figure it out. Since then, I’ve:
- Launched Affiliate Corner, grew it to $90K+ revenue, and sold it for a healthy five-figure return.
- Mastered AI content and SEO to scale a niche blog to 130K monthly visitors and $3.5K/month revenue—then sold that, too, for a five-figure exit.
- Built and sold a micro-directory on the side while still clocking into a corporate office.
- Now I’m pouring everything into DirectoryIdeas.ai, a tool that helps directory makers find winning niches and insights.
- Oh, and I run a personal YouTube channel where I share the wild journey of building all this.
None of these wins came from “knowing it all” up front. They came from breaking big challenges into tiny puzzles, Googling smartly, leaning on AI prompts, and refusing to let “I don’t know” stop me.
Why “Figuring It Out” Trumps Pre-Knowledge
- The World Changes Fast
- New AI tools, frameworks, and platforms pop up weekly. Memorizing specifics is a losing game. Learning how to learn means you can stay ahead—no matter what shifts.
- Confidence Builds with Each Win
- Every time you hack through a roadblock—be it an API integration or a viral blog post—you wire your brain to trust itself. Soon, “I can’t do this” becomes “Let me tinker until it works.”
My Step-by-Step “Figure It Out” Playbook
- Break It Down
- When I decided to scale that SEO blog, I didn’t tackle “Get 100K visitors” all at once. I asked: “How do I research long-tail keywords?” → “How do I optimize one post?”
- Each answer pointed me to the next question.
- Leverage AI as a Mentor
- I prompt ChatGPT for outlines, code snippets, and marketing ideas—but never copy verbatim. I treat its suggestions as rough drafts, then tweak until the approach fits my voice and my audience.
- Document Every Win and Roadblock
- I keep a simple “Roadmap Log” in Notion. If an affiliate integration glitch comes up, I note the exact fix.
- Weeks later, when DirectoryIdeas.ai needs a similar hook, I just search my own history instead of reinventing the wheel.
- Teach to Cement Your Knowledge
- After building that micro-directory, I filmed a quick tutorial for my YouTube channel. Explaining each step out loud forced me to clarify fuzzy parts—and gave me content that drove my first 200 subscribers.
- Celebrate the Small Stuff
- Deploying a new AI wrapper? That’s a coffee-worthy win. Pushing a first draft live? That’s a mini-celebration. Those micro-rewards keep your motivation tank full as you tackle bigger goals.
How You Can Master “Figuring It Out”
- Pick a Project You Care About
- Passion makes the inevitable roadblocks feel like puzzles, not obstacles.
- Set Micro-Goals
- Instead of “Build a SaaS,” aim for “Write the signup form” today, “Connect the payment gateway” tomorrow.
- Lean on Free & Freemium
- Try out AI tools (Cursor, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Lovable, Bolt) on their free tiers before buying in—force yourself to get creative within limits.
- Log Your Progress
- A simple journal entry—what you learned, what you’ll tackle next—supercharges your ability to jump back in after interruptions.
- Share What You Learn
- A tweet thread, a quick YouTube update, or a newsletter snippet turns your hard-earned lessons into community goodwill—and cements your expertise.
Final Thought
“Figuring it out” isn’t a mystical gift—it’s a skill you build one solved puzzle at a time. From my first affiliate site to my $90K+ exit, to scaling a blog to 130K readers, to the launch of DirectoryIdeas.ai, each success began with “Okay, let’s see how this works.”
Make “figuring it out” your life hack. Pick a challenge, break it down, lean on AI, document your journey, and teach as you go. You’ll be amazed how that curiosity-driven mindset turns every roadblock into a stepping stone.
Now go solve something!
