If I Had 10X the Agency…

This tweet by Paul Graham made me think:

The question “If I had 10x the agency I have, what would I do?” is fundamentally about exploring what you might achieve if you had significantly more capability to act effectively and make things happen in the world. Agency here refers to your ability to:

1. Take meaningful action

2. Make independent decisions

3. Influence your environment

4. Execute on your goals

5. Overcome obstacles

The “10x” multiplier suggests imagining yourself with dramatically enhanced:

• Resources (time, money, connections)

• Skills and capabilities

• Mental clarity and decision-making ability

• Freedom to act

• Power to influence outcomes

This thought experiment can be valuable for:

1. Uncovering your true priorities — When you remove perceived limitations, what would you actually want to do?

2. Identifying current constraints — What’s actually holding you back? Are some limitations more mental than real?

3. Setting aspirational goals — Even if you don’t have “10x agency” now, understanding what you would do with it can help guide your current direction.

4. Understanding your values — Your answers reveal what you truly care about when constraints are lifted

The most useful way to engage with this question is to be specific and concrete about what you would do, rather than staying abstract. For example, instead of “I would write a book,” you might specify, “I would start by writing a syllabus for a kids’ coding summer camp”

Inspiring indeed!