The Worst Way To Succeed

The worst way to succeed is on the first try. Some call it luck. Others, preparation. But succeeding on the first try is ruinous in the long-term. We’ve all heard that failure is essential to success, it’s not a new concept. When you fail you expose gaps in your assumptions, you humble your beliefs back down to ground, you feel what isn’t, so you can work towards what does.

If success comes too easily, not only is it taken for granted, it’s ignorantly expanded to predict and promote future ideas which have little validity from any sort of real-world tests.

So fail first. Succeed last. If you stumble upon a first-time success, don’t feel shame or uncertainty – just acknowledge the rarity and prepare for a variety of outcomes, good and bad, in the future.