The Figureoutable Method
Install one core belief to systematically dismantle any obstacle in your path
Marie Forleo builds an entire action system around one foundational belief: everything is figureoutable. The method works by first installing this belief as your default response to challenges, then systematically applying it through a structured process: define your dream with specificity, eliminate excuses by reframing them as choices, deal with fear by taking action before you feel ready, pursue progress over perfection, and refuse to accept no as a permanent answer. The framework draws from cognitive behavioral principles showing that beliefs drive behavior and behavior drives results. What makes this distinctive is its insistence that the belief itself is the intervention—once you genuinely adopt it, problem-solving becomes a reflex rather than an ordeal. Forleo provides specific exercises for each stage to make the abstract concrete.
- Everything is figureoutable is both a belief and a practical problem-solving strategy
- All excuses are just choices you are not willing to own
- Start before you are ready—action creates clarity that planning cannot
- Progress not perfection is the standard for all creative work
- Refuse to be refused—persistence reframed as creative problem-solving
- Install the Core BeliefConsciously adopt everything is figureoutable as your default response to obstacles. Write it down, put it where you will see it daily, and practice saying it out loud when challenges arise. The belief does not mean everything is easy—it means every problem has a solution if you are willing to work for it. Test the belief on small problems first to build evidence that it works.Pro tipStart a figureoutable journal where you record problems you solved that initially seemed impossible—this builds belief evidence over time
- Define Your Dream with Painful SpecificityGet clear on exactly what you want by writing it in detail. Vague goals produce vague results. Instead of saying I want to start a business, define the specific business, the specific customer, the specific revenue target, and the specific timeline. Forleo uses the insight journal exercise where you answer what would I do if I knew I could not fail and then work backward from that vision.Pro tipIf your dream does not scare you at least a little, it is not big enough to sustain your motivation through the hard parts
- Eliminate Excuses Through ReframingTake your top three excuses—typically time, money, or knowledge—and reframe each as a choice rather than a constraint. I do not have time becomes it is not a priority. I do not have money becomes I have not found the creative funding path yet. I do not know how becomes I have not learned yet. This reframing restores agency and reveals the next action step hidden inside every excuse.Pro tipReplace the word but with and. Instead of I want to write a book but I do not have time, say I want to write a book and I will figure out how to make time
- Start Before You Are ReadyTake imperfect action immediately rather than waiting for perfect conditions. Forleo argues that clarity comes from engagement, not thought. Set a timer for ten minutes and work on the most intimidating part of your goal. The first step does not need to be perfect—it needs to exist. Momentum generates motivation, not the other way around.Pro tipUse the ten minute rule: commit to working on your scary goal for just ten minutes. You almost always continue past ten minutes once you start.
Forleo was working as a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange while bartending and taking dance classes at night. She had no formal business training, no capital, and no connections in the coaching industry. By applying her figureoutable philosophy, she built MarieTV into a globally recognized show, created B-School serving tens of thousands of students, and built a multi-million dollar business.
Forleo frequently cites Sara Blakely, who had no fashion industry experience, no manufacturing contacts, and only $5,000 in savings when she invented Spanx. Blakely figured out every step herself—from patenting to manufacturing to retail placement—embodying the figureoutable philosophy at every obstacle.
Forleo learned this philosophy from her mother, a resourceful woman who grew up in the projects of Newark, New Jersey. When the family television broke and they could not afford a repairman, her mother took it apart, figured out the problem, and fixed it herself. When young Marie asked how she knew how to do that, her mother replied: Nobody knows anything until they figure it out. Everything is figureoutable. This became Forleo guiding principle as she built her business from bartending and waiting tables to creating a multi-million dollar media company.