Amplified Impact Podcast with Anthony Vicino · Anthony Vicino

You Need To Learn To Think On Paper | Ep. 1045

April 1, 2026·19 min·1 clip

After you define the problem, you have to ask, “What am I not seeing?”

A book starts it. A couple of years back, he read Keith Cunningham's The Road Less Stupid and picked up the habit of formal thinking time. Simple idea, but useful. His point is that plenty of people have problems and stuck places, while almost nobody has a repeatable way to think through them. Your brain loops. If the whole problem stays in your head, he says, you cycle, perseverate, and stay about where you started. Paper gives the thought somewhere to land. Thinking on paper helps you define the problem, push toward root cause, and see whether the answer you like is actually holding up. Then he slows it down again. Once you think you understand the issue, ask what you are missing before you run at the solution. That question does real work. It keeps the blinders from closing around the answer you already wanted to be right. Chess becomes the working metaphor. Like a player checking candidate moves, you test several paths instead of falling for the first decent-looking one. The useful trick: imagine someone tells you your chosen move is wrong. That little jab can make the weak spots easier to see. He keeps it practical. You may not find a better move, but the search can still give you a fuller read on the problem. The promos are easy to spot, with host-read asks to rate and review the podcast, share what you learned, tag him on Instagram, and help other entrepreneurs find the show.

As heard by us

Anthony Vicino turns thinking into paper, process, and a next move.

Anthony Vicino takes a plain idea and gives it shape: if better decisions matter, stop letting problems spin in your head and start writing them down.

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Why you'd press play

When your thoughts keep looping, this gives you a formal way to get unstuck on paper.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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