Perhaps my favorite quote of all time is a variation of the headline above, to wit:
"Solve the problem with what's in the room." — Edwin H. Land
Since I stumbled on that line in a biography of Land (full disclosure: I've read several; he's one of my favorite people ever) decades ago I've applied it countless times and in nearly every instance it's resulted in both a working solution and a wonderful feeling of satisfaction at having figured it out.
Applying the dictum forces you to find an alternative to solutions that either require something that's not in the room (a part, a person, whatever) or simply giving up.
Whenever I get a new device with a Quick Start Guide I ignore the printed instructions in favor of getting it working on my own.
Once I succeed (90% of the time, roughly) I open the Quick Start Guide and frequently discover features that I didn't know existed, often because they're hidden from view.
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