When’s the last time you tackled something where the answer wasn’t readily available? The internet has become an invaluable resource for finding information and solving problems. A quick Google search provides us with step-by-step instructions, how-to guides, and ready-made solutions for nearly any challenge we face. While convenient, this easy access to existing knowledge can hinder creativity and innovation. Some problems require going beyond what already exists and venturing into unknown territory. These complex, open-ended challenges without clear solutions are what I call "ungoogleable things." For startup founders and working professionals who are constantly facing new and unique challenges, embracing these 'ungoogleable' tasks can become a secret weapon in your arsenal. These are the tasks that ultimately form a cornerstone of innovation and growth that challenge you and set you apart.
The Nature of 'Ungoogleable' Challenges
So, what exactly makes a task 'ungoogleable'? It's not just about complexity or difficulty, but rather about uniqueness and innovation. These are the challenges that require not just hard skills, but also an abundance of creativity, critical thinking, and even sometimes just an outright rejection of conventional methods. They are the kind of problems that you won’t find in textbooks or online tutorials, and often times they’re the problems that ChatGPT can’t even answer for you. Either the challenges haven't been solved before or they are so specific to your context that no one-size-fits-all solution exists.
For example, consider the challenge of entering a saturated market with a new product. Google can tell you about current market trends, competitors, and existing products, but it can’t tell you how to uniquely position your product so that it resonates with an already weary audience. The concept of entering a saturated market isn’t hard to find information on, but the formation of a successful and impactful go-to-market strategy fine-tuned to the problem you’re solving is a unique challenge on its own. That’s an 'ungoogleable' problem.
When Going Off-Grid Pays Off
In the early days as a solopreneur building Zealist, I encountered what seemed to be an insurmountable challenge: building a customer base based in trust & value, with little-to-no marketing spend and a completely unknown brand. Traditional marketing wisdom and quick Google searches yielded the same standard playbook—social media marketing, influencer partnerships, content marketing, SEO mastery, etc. But these methods felt impersonal and ineffective for the kind of relationship I wanted to build with my customers. Suddenly this task became something new, a different kind of challenge. It became ‘ungoogleable’.
I ultimately decided to take a different approach. Instead of pushing Zealist with on-brand but predictable marketing, I started doubling down on product & community-led growth. The theories behind these strategies aren’t new and are in fact very googleable, but the way I dissected the approaches to form a brand new, Zealist-specific strategy wasn’t; it was a creative leap, born out of understanding my unique situation and my customers' desires.
Now, I get to benefit from Zealist experiencing consistent, unincentivized, free month-over-month growth. This wouldn’t have been achievable if I didn’t choose to embrace doing the ‘ungoogleable’.
The Powerful Role of Failure
We’ve come to view failure as just that, failure. It’s this bad feeling that leaves you dejected and doubtful, maybe even further contributing to feelings of social doubt. But failure is an inevitable part of any challenging endeavor that pushes our boundaries. Without failure, you miss out on the most impactful growth tactic out there. And with ungoogleable pursuits, you are venturing into uncharted territory without a map to guide you. Mistakes and setbacks you make while embarking on these one-of-a-kind challenges should be viewed as opportunities for growth, not reasons to quit.
When you fail at an ungoogleable task, it means you are inventing new solutions and insights that don’t currently exist. Isn’t that just awesome? Each failure provides key learnings about what doesn’t work and why, bringing you closer to discovering what will work. Thomas Edison famously embraced this mindset on his path to inventing the lightbulb, stating "I have not failed 10,000 times. I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work". Imagine if he let those initial failures stop him, what other inventions would we have never seen?
Rather than avoiding failure, embrace it fully and completely. Learn to fall in love with failure. Run headfirst at the hardest problems, fall down seven times, and get up eight. Each failure makes you more knowledgeable, more experienced, and better equipped to eventually find success. And not just any type of success, but optimal and earned success. The deeper the failure, the greater the learning. Don’t let setbacks dishearten you - view them as stepping stones to creativity and innovation. The biggest breakthroughs come from fearlessly stumbling in the dark until you finally discover the light.
Advice for Embracing the Ungoogleable
Taking on complex, ungoogleable challenges requires adopting certain mindsets and approaches that make you a more resilient, determined, creative version of yourself. Here are some of my favorite tips for tackling the unknown with confidence, or at the very least a loose strategy:
- Stay curious and ask questions - Never settle for the status quo. Keep probing beneath the surface to understand root causes and uncover creative solutions. Learn to make the 5 why’s a natural part of your process. Curiosity fuels innovation.
- Collaborate across disciplines - Bring together diverse perspectives from different fields, backgrounds, and experience levels. You never know what insights others may have, and I find that most of the time they help influence a better version of my own perspective.
- Try unconventional approaches - Don't limit yourself to traditional solutions. Diverge from the norm and experiment with creative problem-solving methods. Take inspiration from other fields or areas of practice. Often times adapting an existing approach for a seemingly unrelated problem might just be your first step.
- Prototype often and iterate rapidly - We’ve all heard the expression “walk before you run”. The way I look at it, the only difference is how quickly you’re willing to taking the next step. Build small, test quickly, and iterate. 'Ungoogleable' problems often require adaptive solutions that evolve through trial and error.
- View failure as feedback - When tackling new territory, setbacks are inevitable. Reframe failure as an essential part of the learning process, and know that with every stumble you take you’re becoming that much stronger.
- Celebrate small wins - Break large challenges into smaller, more digestible milestones. As you crush each milestone, recognize your achievements and the progress you’re making. This is a foundational element to the growth of momentum.
- Enjoy the journey - Ungoogleable pursuits are rewarding in their own right. You’re doing something brand new, either for you or for the world! That’s no small thing, so savor the thrill of exploring the unknown and exceeding even your own expectations.
Into the Unknown
‘Ungoogleable’ pursuits present complex challenges that require us to push past conventional thinking and solutions. Though the path may be unclear, embracing uncertainty and venturing into the unknown is how we grow, innovate, and create positive change. The greatest inventors, artists, and leaders throughout history took on daunting, ungoogleable tasks. In fact, most of them took on these tasks before Google even existed! By persevering through failure and embracing a culture of experimentation, they achieved remarkable breakthroughs that advanced entire fields and landed them in the history books. Believe it or not, but that exact same potential for meaningful impact exists within each and every one of us.
So, what ungoogleable endeavor will you be brave enough to take on? Whether it's spearheading a new initiative at work, writing a book, or launching a startup, commit to pushing yourself outside your comfort zone and into the growth zone. Accept that the journey will be difficult, but remain focused on the larger vision that compels you forward. Surround yourself with supportive people who believe in thinking differently. Rather than avoiding the ambiguous, lean into the unknown. Let the ungoogleable stretch your abilities and expand your thinking in new directions. You may surprise yourself with the creative solutions you're able to uncover.
Progress and human achievement would halt if we only relied on what is easily searchable online. We must be willing to lean into the unknown, to learn through trial-and-error, and to follow our intuition even when the destination is unclear. The ungoogleable pursuit you embark on may just change your life - or the world. The only way to find out is to begin.