The Moonshot Mindset for Modern Founders

My notification went off.

A message from a coworker: idea was shot down.

I messaged back: That's the third time, right??

Message bubbles floated. 20+ years of experience was about to pour in a long, dense message. He'd seen promising innovations wither under corporate pragmatism.

He replied: "Do you know how many ideas have been shot down because they weren't earning fast enough for the quarterly numbers? Anything without guaranteed immediate return is foreign."

The conversation shifted to other innovations we'd witnessed die premature deaths—brilliant solutions to problems organizations weren't ready to admit.

Then I asked a question:

"If we had the Space race in today's time, no Cold War, would we make it to the moon?"

The statement hung for minutes until I got a notification.

"No," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"The way we structure projects now... the way we grade ideas on immediate ROI instead of future potential... Apollo would never get funding."

His words crystallized something I'd felt but couldn't articulate:

We've built systems that systematically filter out the very thinking patterns that lead to breakthrough innovation.

Your Best Thinking Gets Filtered Out

This isn't just a corporate problem. I see this same pattern with founders:

The very thinking style that gives you unique insight is the one you've been taught to suppress.

• The founder who "goes too deep" into problems (who spots critical flaws others miss)

• The founder who "makes weird connections" (who sees market opportunities no one else can)

• The founder who "gets lost in details" (who builds with unmatched precision)

• The founder who "asks too many questions" (who uncovers hidden user needs)

You're not broken. You're different.

And different wins in markets where sameness gets ignored.

The Moonshot Mindset

In his book Moonshot, psychologist Richard Wiseman studied the Apollo program to understand what made this impossible achievement possible.

The Apollo program operated with:

• Mission over metrics: The goal transcended quarterly returns

• Problems over processes: Engineers had autonomy to solve challenges their way

• Curiosity over credentials: NASA recruited diverse thinkers, not just aerospace specialists

• Learning over liability: Failures were treated as necessary discoveries

In 1961, Kennedy didn't present Congress with a detailed ROI analysis for the Apollo program. He didn't have quarterly OKRs for moon landing progress. He simply declared: "We choose to go to the Moon."

This created what Wiseman calls "moonshot thinking"—a mindset where audacious goals are systematically broken down while maintaining the emotional resonance of the impossible mission.

The 10-Minute Misfit Advantage Framework

Here's how to transform your "unmarketable" thinking into your strongest brand asset in the next 10 minutes:

1. Identify Your Thinking Pattern (2 min)

Which of these describes you?

• Deep Diver: You need to explore every angle before moving forward

• Pattern Connector: You see relationships across seemingly unrelated domains

• First Principles Thinker: You instinctively break problems down to their essence

• Systems Architect: You visualize how all pieces interact in complex environments

• Edge Case Spotter: You immediately see what could go wrong

• Contrarian: You question assumptions others accept as truth

Circle one. Now.

2. Reframe as a Market Advantage (3 min)

Complete this sentence:

"Because I'm a [your pattern], I see/understand/solve [specific problem] that most founders miss because they're too focused on [conventional approach]."

Example: "Because I'm a systems architect, I see integration bottlenecks that most founders miss because they're too focused on individual features."

This is your positioning statement. Write it down.

3. Create Your Demonstration Story (5 min)

Identify a specific instance when your "misfit" thinking led to a breakthrough. Structure it like this:

• The conventional wisdom everyone followed

• The different angle you saw because of your thinking pattern

• The specific action you took based on this insight

• The surprising outcome that validated your approach

This becomes your signature story—proof that your "liability" is actually your superpower.

Creating Your Own Apollo Program

Last week, I watched my coworker circumvent the system after his third rejection.

Instead of going the traditional route of contacting higher-ups, he found people who believed in his idea and started building a prototype after hours. They created their own sacred space—a protected realm where different rules applied.

Wiseman would recognize this behavior. The Apollo teams developed what he calls "psychological immunity" to setbacks—not by ignoring reality, but by remaining committed to the larger purpose.

My coworker wasn't just being stubborn; he was practicing moonshot thinking on a smaller scale.

From Hidden to Highlighted: Real Examples

Nassim Taleb Thinking Pattern: Paranoid contrarian Conventional Wisdom: Focus on normal distributions and averages His Approach: Built entire framework around extreme events and tail risks Result: Created "antifragility" concept that redefined risk management

Maria Popova (Brain Pickings) Thinking Pattern: Cross-disciplinary connector Conventional Wisdom: Specialize in one topic to build authority Her Approach: Created content that deliberately connected seemingly unrelated fields Result: Built one of the most influential intellectual platforms of our time

The Proof Test

Next time you present your idea, include one statement that makes you nervous—something that reveals your unique thinking pattern.

Watch what happens.

The moment that makes you most uncomfortable is often the exact moment others lean forward and think: "This founder sees something no one else does."

The world doesn't need more conventional thinking.

It needs your unique lens.

See you next time— Mohammad

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