Whether chemists, physicists, or political scientists, the most successful problem solvers spend mental energy figuring out what type of problem they are facing before matching a strategy to it, rather than jumping in with memorized procedures.

Of all your troubles, great and small, the greatest are the ones that don't happen at all.

The worthwhile problems are the ones you can really solve or help solve, the ones you can really contribute something to.... No problem is too small or too trivial if we can really do something about it.

Problems seldom go away if they’re ignored.

Whoever best describes the problem is the one most likely to solve it. —

The easiest way to solve a problem is to deny it exists.

Don't duck the most difficult problems. That just ensures that the hardest part will be left when you are most tired. Get the big one done - it's downhill from then on.

What problem do you face every day that nobody has solved yet?” or “What is a great company no one has started?” I will

Doing something different is what’s truly good for society — and it’s also what allows a business to profit by monopolizing a new market. The best projects are likely to be overlooked, not trumpeted by a crowd; the best problems to work on are often the ones nobody else even tries to solve.

Keep your eye on the simple problems. Solve them, and everything else falls into place.

I believe that to solve any problem that has never been solved before, you have to leave the door to the unknown ajar.

Moral: to the extent you can choose, work on problems you think will be important.

There are situations where the best solution still doesn't make everyone happy. The trick is understanding what's best.

Thousands of years ago, it was only kings, pharaohs, and emperors who had the ability to solve large-scale problems. Hundreds of years ago, this power expanded to the industrialists who built our transportation systems and financial institutions. But today, the ability to solve such problems has been thoroughly democratized. Right now, and for the first time ever, a passionate and committed individual has access to the technology, minds, and capital required to take on any challenge. Even better, that individual has good reason to take on such challenges. As we will soon see, the world’s biggest problems are now the world’s biggest business opportunities. This means, for exponential entrepreneurs, finding a significant challenge is a meaningful road to wealth. Ultimately, as I teach at Singularity University (much more on this later), the best way to become a billionaire is to solve a billion-person problem.