🪴 How not to fail

in your startup, as well as in life

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Life — and startups — can get overwhelming fast. Between the endless advice online, podcasts, and newsletters (guilty as charged), it’s easy to hit cognitive overload and feel stuck.

But here’s the breakthrough: simplify and focus. Every problem, no matter how massive (looking at you, Archer Aviation and your air taxis), can be broken it into smaller, manageable tasks.

Now, here’s a different angle: what if a significant part of success isn’t just about what you do, but also about what you don’t do? What if avoiding the wrong moves is as crucial as pursuing the right goals?

Jason Cohen nails it when he says 80% of winning might just come from not blundering.

Here’s how small, deliberate actions and strategic non-actions shape our paths to success:

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Today at Glance:

System → The impact of micro-decisions

System → Subtle power of saying “no”

System → Learning from Others’ Mistakes (and More Importantly, Your Own)

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The Impact of Micro-Decisions

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.

Robert Collier

Little by little, one travels far.

J.R.R. Tolkien

We tend to focus on the big, game-changing decisions, but the truth is, most success comes from the accumulation of small, seemingly insignificant choices made consistently over time.

It’s the 1% better every day crap you kept hearing about on social media. However, it’s kind of correct.

These micro-decisions, when aligned with your larger goals, compound to create significant outcomes.

It’s about recognising that even the smallest actions can have a big impact when they’re part of a larger strategy.

The Subtle Power of Saying No

You can’t make everyone happy. And you can’t be in all places at once. Know when to say no and make room for what truly matters.

Richard Branson

The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.

Tony Blair

Saying no consistently is hard, and we all have occasionally fallen back and taken on something we shouldn’t have.

It’s a world full of opportunities out there. You can’t even easily choose your next box of cereal without hitting a cognitive overload and staring at all the choices for a few minutes.

Now, more than ever it is one of the most important things to understand when to say no. It is a superpower.

Every yes is a commitment of time, energy, and resources, which means every no preserves those assets for things that truly align with your goals.

The ability to say no without guilt can help you stay focused, avoid distractions, and keep you on the path to success without the detours.

Learning from Others’ Mistakes (and More Importantly, Your Own)

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.

Henry Ford

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

Vernon Law

Experience doesn’t always have to be your own to be valuable. Watching others stumble can teach you just as much.

When you see someone else mess up, pay attention. Understand what went wrong and use that knowledge to dodge similar problems yourself.

It’s not about enjoying their failures but learning from them. Their mistakes can guide you away from trouble. And let’s be honest — your own mistakes are also crucial lessons. Every slip-up is a chance to improve.

Articles you might find helpful:

1. How Startups Get Their First 1,000 Customers

2. How Do You Know You Achieved a Product-Market Fit?

3. How to Find Your Purpose

4. Should founder lead a sales department?

5. Why Not To Do a Startup?

6. The Arc Product-Market Fit Framework

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