Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life

by Ozan Varol

In the movie version of the terrific book The Martian, Damon’s character, Mark Watney, teaches astronauts-in-training what to do in case of impending doom. “At some point, everything’s gonna go south on you and you’re going to say, ‘This is it. This is how I end,’” Watney says. You can either accept that as a failure—or you can get to work. “You do the math. You solve one problem. And you solve the next one. And then the next. If you solve enough problems, you get to come home.” If you solve enough problems, you get to land your rovers on Mars. If you solve enough problems, you get to build the Roman Empire. If you solve enough problems, you get to land on the Moon. That’s how you change the world. One problem at a time. Changing the world one problem at a time requires delaying gratification.