43,252,003,274,489,856,000 Combinations

Yesterday, Julie asked me: “What’s something you’re really proud of?”

Without hesitation: “Learning how to solve the Rubik’s Cube.”

I learned how to solve it while I was in graduate school.

Perhaps it was a form of procrastination.

I remember a graduate school colleague coming up to my desk one day and saw a cube sitting on my desk: “Why do you have a toy on your desk—that’s what kids do?”

Like an adult, he finished his PhD.

His question may hold some truth.

I got my first Rubik’s Cube as a Christmas gift when I was 33.

That night I pored over YouTube videos for hours. Cross-eyed and exhausted, I remember going to bed—cube finally solved—with a sense of accomplishment and excitement:

If I can do it once, I can do it again.

If it took me hours to solve, I can get faster.

There are 43 quintillion ways to solve the Rubik’s Cube.

That’s a lot.

I don’t know how many times I’ve solved the Rubik’s Cube. It feels like 43 quintillion times. Every time the cube comes together, I’m filled with the same sense of accomplishment and excitement:

If I can do it once, I can do it again.

If I can do it in 20 seconds, I can get faster.

Marie Forleo tells us that “everything is figureoutable.”

She also tell us that “clarity comes from action, not thought.”

And, it’s true:

Everything is figureoutable.

If the Rubik’s Cube—a kid’s puzzle—has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 combinations, imagine the number of ways that your goal—your puzzle—can be solved.

Clarity does come from action—not from thought.

Through repetition—action—of solving the Rubik’s Cube, I’ve learned to see patterns, efficiencies, and combinations. The doing—not the thinking—has made the puzzle simpler.

Perhaps the Rubik’s Cube was a form of procrastination.

Or, perhaps, it served as a reminder for me—and hopefully for you—that if you set your mind to it, you have the ability to learn anything.

If you set your mind to it, your goal—your puzzle—can be solved.

The trick is to get started.

Jump in.

Start learning.

At first, you’ll inch your way toward your goal.

And that is perfectly okay because:

If you can do it once, you can do it again.

If you can do it in hours, you can get faster.

Cheers to perhaps trevigintillion ways of solving your puzzle!