Skill Issue: Anything Can Be Learned and Solved

Every unsolved problem in your life points to a skill issue.

Think about it: if you had the skill, the problem would already be solved.

• If you knew how to communicate better, that relationship conflict wouldn’t exist.
• If you understood money, your finances wouldn’t stress you out.
• If you mastered focus, procrastination wouldn’t haunt you.

Most of what we call “problems” are really just things we don’t yet know how to do.

And once you see this, everything changes.

Why Problems Linger: The Four Traps

If every problem is simply a skill issue, why do so many issues stay unresolved, year after year?

The answer lies in four major traps we fall into when facing challenges.

Trap 1: We Wait for Perfect Conditions

Most people wait for the “right time” to tackle their problems. They tell themselves they’ll start when they have more money, more time, more energy, or more support.

But perfect conditions never come. Meanwhile, the problem grows while you wait.

Trap 2: We Blame External Circumstances

It’s easier to point fingers at the economy, our upbringing, our boss, or our environment than to look in the mirror.

External factors matter, but they become convenient excuses that keep us stuck.

Trap 3: We Lack Clear Systems and Processes

Many problems persist because we approach them randomly. We try something once, give up when it doesn’t work immediately, then try something completely different.

No consistency. No system. Just chaos.

Trap 4: We Don’t Have the Skills to Solve Them

This is the biggest trap of why problems remain unsolved.

You can have all the motivation in the world, but if you lack the specific skills needed to tackle your challenge, you’re just spinning your wheels.

A person who wants to build a business but has no skills in sales, marketing, or financial management will struggle endlessly.

Someone who wants better relationships but hasn’t developed communication or emotional intelligence skills will keep hitting the same walls.

The harsh reality is that your problems are customised to expose your weaknesses.

They’re showing you exactly where you need to grow.

Why Your Problems Will Remain Unsolved Without Skill Development

If you don’t develop the skills, the problem wins. It’s that simple.

You can’t manifest your way out of a skill issue.

The gap between where you are and where you want to be is filled with specific, learnable skills.

Without developing these skills, you’ll keep encountering the same problems in different disguises.

The person who can’t communicate effectively will struggle in every relationship, whether romantic, professional, or personal.

Someone who can’t manage their time will feel overwhelmed in every season of life.

The person who can’t delay gratification will sabotage every goal they set.

Your problems are teachers. They’re showing up repeatedly because you haven’t learned the lesson yet. And that lesson is always a skill waiting to be developed.

Here’s what happens when you stop developing skills:

You stay dependent on others to solve your problems. Also, you remain stuck at your current level. You waste time trying the same ineffective approaches.

And worst of all, you start believing the problem is permanent when it’s actually just a temporary skill issue.

What Are Skills and How Do They Solve Your Problems?

As time goes on, you will realise that a person’s life changes when they discover everything is a skill.

The goal you currently strive for is just a couple of skills you must learn and build.

Discipline is a skill. Patience is a skill. Being funny is a skill.

Socialising is a skill. Making Money is a skill. Saving money is a skill.

Being good at anything is a skill. Everything now depends on your skillset.

A skill is your ability to do something well.

I love how wild_stoic puts it – “Skills are not magical words that you either do or don’t have. They are things that you build through repetition.”

This makes it simple to understand because repetition leads to Mastery. And mastery leads to the fulfilment of your goal.

Think of skills as the bridge between your current reality and your desired future. Every skill you master is another bridge you can cross, another problem you can solve, another level you can reach.

The beautiful thing about skills is that they compound. Learning one skill often makes the next skill easier to learn.

For instance, improving your communication skills help you network, which helps you build business skills, which helps you develop leadership skills. It’s a beautiful upward spiral.

How to Turn a Problem into a Skill (Or Set of Skills)

To break free from the skill issue trap, you need a process. You need a framework to transform a large, scary problem into a small, manageable, repeatable task.

This framework is in 3 steps:

Step 1: Break It into Chunks and Daily Tasks

The brain hates complexity.

When something feels “too big,” it shuts down. That’s why most people procrastinate. To beat this, chunk the problem down.

Chunking is a phenomenon where a task is split into smaller units for easy doing.

To begin chunking, ask yourself:

1. What is the smallest single element of this skill that I can master?
2. What other chunks link to that chunk?

Practice one chunk by itself until you’ve mastered it. Then connect more chunks, one by one, exactly as you would combine letters to form a word. Then combine those chunks into still bigger chunks. And so on.

Go a step further by creating a daily action.

Which daily task would you need to complete to make noticeable, progressive progress in your selected skill?

An Example is Elon Musk and Rocket Science

When Elon Musk decided to build SpaceX, he didn’t have aerospace engineering skills.

Elon could have seen this as an impossible problem. Instead, he broke it down. He started by reading textbooks on rocket propulsion. Then he learned about materials science. Then orbital mechanics.

Each concept was a chunk he mastered before moving to the next. Elon Musk didn’t try to understand everything at once. He chunked it.

Step 2: Execute with 30 for 30 or with Deep Work

Execution turns plans into reality. Use these two methods for momentum:

30-for-30: Do the daily task for 30 minutes per day for 30 straight days. 30 days is meaningful enough as a commitment that you can’t be half-in, but 30 minutes is short enough that you can convince yourself to take it on.

900 minutes of effort in a single month is enough to create tangible progress that will keep you pushing forward. This is the optimal approach for getting started on any new area of progress.

Deep Work: Deep work means carving out 1-2 blocks of time per day when you will enter a deeply focused state to make progress against your area of choice.

These blocks are generally 1-2 hours for most people and should be completed without distraction. This is the optimal strategy for big professional goals.

Recommendation: Start with 30-for-30 and then transition to Deep Work after a few months if you feel motivated and energised to go harder.

A direct example would be Cal Newport and writing best-selling books

Cal Newport, the author who popularised this second method of execution, is a master of Deep Work.

His problem was navigating an intense academic career while also producing multiple, complex best-selling books. Cal solved this by creating a highly regimented skill: scheduled, distraction-free deep work blocks.

Cal did not rely on inspiration. He relied on the practised skill of focused execution, which allowed him to achieve a high output with exceptional quality.

Step 3: Teach Others What You Are Learning

The ultimate test of your knowledge is your capacity to transfer it to another.

The Feynman Technique is a simple and popular way of teaching others while developing mastery over your newly acquired skill. There are four steps to his method:

1. Teach your skill in its simplest form.
2. Identify gaps in your explanation. Go back to the source material to better understand it.
3. Organise and simplify your information.
4. Transmit and transfer till the other person understands it.

But remember, apply the skill or solve your problem before you teach or share with others.

How Richard Feynman became the reference example for teaching others.

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist would take complex concepts from quantum mechanics and try to explain them to undergraduates. In forcing himself to simplify, he often found new insights and a deeper mastery of his own field.

When you can teach something simply, you’ve truly learned it.

Real People Who Solved Their Problems Through Skills

Let’s look at real examples of successful people who transformed their lives by developing the right skills:

1. Oprah Winfrey: Communication and Emotional Intelligence

Oprah faced poverty, abuse, and discrimination early in life.

These weren’t problems she could wish away. She developed exceptional communication skills, learned how to connect with people authentically, and mastered the art of storytelling.

These skills transformed Oprah Winfrey from a local news anchor to a global media mogul.

2. Tony Elumelu: Financial Literacy and Strategic Thinking

The Nigerian banker and entrepreneur didn’t start wealthy.

Tony faced the common problem many Nigerians face: limited economic opportunities. Instead of complaining, he developed deep skills in banking, investment, and strategic business thinking. He learned how money moves, how businesses scale, and how to create value.

Today, he’s one of Africa’s most successful entrepreneurs and philanthropists, having built a business empire and created the Tony Elumelu Foundation to empower other African entrepreneurs.

3. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Multiple Skill Stacking

Arnold arrived in America with nothing but a bodybuilding title.

He faced language barriers, limited connections, and no clear path forward. But he didn’t see these as permanent obstacles. He developed skills in real estate investing while still bodybuilding.

Then Arnold learned acting skills, taking speech lessons to improve his English. Then he learned political skills and communication.

Each skill solved a different problem and stacking them made him unstoppable.

It Only Gets Better from Here On

When you see things from this angle, I strongly believe you can do anything you want if you practice it enough.

You no longer have an excuse not to do anything.

Your unsolved problems aren’t proof that you’re broken. They’re simply showing you which skills you need to develop next.

The person with financial problems needs financial literacy skills. Relationship problems need communication and emotional regulation skills. The person with career problems needs either technical skills, people skills, or both.

Stop seeing your problems as evidence of your limitations. Start seeing them as your personalised curriculum for growth.

Every expert was once a beginner.

The only difference between someone who solved their problem and someone who’s still stuck is that one person committed to developing the necessary skills while the other kept waiting for circumstances to change.

The problems in your life aren’t going anywhere until you grow into the person who has the skills to solve them.

So, what problem have you been avoiding? What skill would solve it if you developed it?

Answering these two questions will determine your next move.

Build the skill, and the problem will disappear.

It’s not magic. It’s just practice.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Become Your Highest Self Newsletter: Every Sunday, I share actionable tips from successful people on how to master money, mindset and meaning.
2. Fast Track Book: Stay relevant, master new skills, and be ready for whatever life throws at you.  This is the complete roadmap to speed up your learning process and expand the opportunities available to you. Available on Amazon.
3. Personal Wealth Maximizer: Take control of your finances and build financial freedom. The Personal Wealth Maximizer give you the exact knowledge and tools to break free from money struggles and build financial confidence.