In life, you're rewarded for making good choices, but you're punished far more severely for making bad ones. One disastrous mistake can erase years of your incredible work.
I’m curious: in your experience, what’s been the most invisible wise decision you've made that paid off big over time? The kind no one noticed, but changed everything in hindsight?
Also, read "Thinking in Bets", by Annie Duke - Good results are often luck, disguised as brilliance - its about making sound decisions that lead to raising your batting average of better results - a great read for sure
Interesting topic to put forward. Really resonated and contextualized some ongoing internal dialogue I’ve been having. My recent example of this is my business was hit by a more advanced fraudster than I have seen and we lost $42,000. Almost sunk us. Better judgement would have prevented this for sure.
This reminds me of one of the best stories that has stuck with me for many years that relates to this topic. To make a long story short, there was a banker who thought they were a pretty good golfer and one day, he was able to play 18 holes with Arnold Palmer. Arnold beat him but the banker felt he played pretty well and said to Arnold "You know, some of my best shots were better than your shots" to which Arnold replied "It's not how good your good shots are, it's how bad your bad shots are that are keeping you from being a golf pro."
Relating that to everyday life, anyone can make anything sound good if they only talk about the good parts (when it is smooth sailing and easy, and things are going great...everyone would find that enjoyable) but what really matter is how bad the bad parts are (because everything has a downside, it's just a matter of whether or not it is something you can deal with).
The most gifted athletes don't necessarily win - often the underdogs outwork them with focused effort and deliberate practice. You mentioned "blind spots" - awareness is everything, as long as we're aware of the most critical variables at play - the "intelligent" or gifted ones are often able to coast through it all without the obsessive nature of an underdog - maybe its the ADHDer's and dyslexic's like me that gain the advantage of being forced to adapt and truly "learn how to learn" rather than just winning....
Yes this really resonates with me! As I transition to more B to B sales this really rings true- being attention seeking can feel draining and it really isn't needed.
The scariest part is how high-IQ people often become victims of their own intelligence, they think because they can solve complex technical problems, they're immune to basic human manipulation, when actually their confidence in their smarts makes them easier targets for anyone who knows how to stroke that ego.
So, so true.
Quite often that wisdom is built from failing.
It’s one of the reasons I like reframing “fail” -> “learn.”
One of the best ways to reframe it, Kevin.
Right in the moment I needed this. Thanks, Justin.
Thanks, Lucas!
Failure is feedback.
Feedback is knowledge.
Knowledge is power.
I’m curious: in your experience, what’s been the most invisible wise decision you've made that paid off big over time? The kind no one noticed, but changed everything in hindsight?
Also, read "Thinking in Bets", by Annie Duke - Good results are often luck, disguised as brilliance - its about making sound decisions that lead to raising your batting average of better results - a great read for sure
Thx for the sage advice Justin. Love the portion about being humble enough to ask others to point out our blindspots. Would love your comments on my recent post on CEO blindspots and how I can improve. Best, https://jaredmoss.substack.com/p/this-wont-sit-well-with-you-but-you?r=5v0srs
Interesting topic to put forward. Really resonated and contextualized some ongoing internal dialogue I’ve been having. My recent example of this is my business was hit by a more advanced fraudster than I have seen and we lost $42,000. Almost sunk us. Better judgement would have prevented this for sure.
So true. Smart can open doors, but bad judgment can wreck everything fast.
Wisdom feels boring in the moment, but it’s the reason things stay standing.
Love the reminder to build a solid foundation instead of chasing shiny wins.
Nothing can save you, if you don’t want to save yourself…!
Wisdom is what you earn when you notice your intelligence didn't learn you nothing.
This reminds me of one of the best stories that has stuck with me for many years that relates to this topic. To make a long story short, there was a banker who thought they were a pretty good golfer and one day, he was able to play 18 holes with Arnold Palmer. Arnold beat him but the banker felt he played pretty well and said to Arnold "You know, some of my best shots were better than your shots" to which Arnold replied "It's not how good your good shots are, it's how bad your bad shots are that are keeping you from being a golf pro."
Relating that to everyday life, anyone can make anything sound good if they only talk about the good parts (when it is smooth sailing and easy, and things are going great...everyone would find that enjoyable) but what really matter is how bad the bad parts are (because everything has a downside, it's just a matter of whether or not it is something you can deal with).
The most gifted athletes don't necessarily win - often the underdogs outwork them with focused effort and deliberate practice. You mentioned "blind spots" - awareness is everything, as long as we're aware of the most critical variables at play - the "intelligent" or gifted ones are often able to coast through it all without the obsessive nature of an underdog - maybe its the ADHDer's and dyslexic's like me that gain the advantage of being forced to adapt and truly "learn how to learn" rather than just winning....
Find people who protect you from yourself is sucha deep phrase @JustinWelsh can you cast light on this topic.
P.S.- Your newsletter is the perfect start to my day as a 19yo student aspiring to build a business.
Yes this really resonates with me! As I transition to more B to B sales this really rings true- being attention seeking can feel draining and it really isn't needed.
"intelligence solves problems, while wisdom avoids creating them" - and wisdom is harder to earn than intelligence.
The scariest part is how high-IQ people often become victims of their own intelligence, they think because they can solve complex technical problems, they're immune to basic human manipulation, when actually their confidence in their smarts makes them easier targets for anyone who knows how to stroke that ego.
So true - the shift here often occurs between things that are "complicated" and "complex"....