Let me confess something. I once tried to impress a client by pitching a campaign idea so convoluted it could’ve been a Christopher Nolan movie plot. The client stared at me like I’d suggested replacing their logo with Comic Sans. Lesson learned: Avoid overcomplicating things unless you’re writing Oscar-worthy scripts.
On another occasion, I almost hired someone based solely on their LinkedIn profile photo (they had great lighting you see). Turns out, they couldn’t spell “marketing” without autocorrect. Dodged that bullet—and learned that flashy doesn’t equal functional.
So, ATTENTION, A LOT OF US WALKING DISASTER MAGNETS!- This isn’t our grandpa’s success manual. This is a war cry against spectacular, self-inflicted professional suicide. Success isn’t about what you achieve. It’s about the EPIC CATASTROPHES you assassinate before they assassinate you.
When Success is Just Failure Dodged Right- There are two types of smart people in the world:
– The ones who succeed because they do things brilliantly.
–The ones who succeed because they don’t screw up catastrophically.
The second category is far larger.
–Warren Buffett? His investing philosophy is basically “Don’t be an idiot with your money.” He says NO harder than a bouncer at an exclusive club. His “investment strategy “= 99% tactical rejection. His wealth has been built on the corpses of terrible ideas. The pundits call him ” The Risk Assassin “.
–Jeff Bezos? Built Amazon by obsessing over “what could kill us?”- He watched retail giants self-immolate-Grew Amazon while dinosaurs were dying-Turned “waiting” into a martial art of business domination. Little wonder he is called the ” The Dark Lord Of Strategic Patience“.
–Tim Cook? Avoided Jobs-era over extensions and turned Apple into a trillion-dollar ATM.
Turns out, playing good defense is a strategy.
The other side of it, let us look at a Corporate Faceplant That Could’ve Been Avoided (But Ego Got in the Way)
– WeWork: From $47B to “WeBroke” in 6 Weeks: Adam Neumann’s “elevate the world’s consciousness”schtick was just a fancy way of saying “we lease offices and do keg stands.”Lesson:When your CEO starts talking like a cult leader, update your resume.
The #1 Rule of Winning? Don’t Be the Idiot Who Loses. Let’s be honest—most winners aren’t brilliant; they’re just better at dodging disaster.
–Billionaires? Mostly people who didn’t throw money at shiny garbage.
–Legendary CEOs? Folks who didn’t burn their companies down with bad decisions.
–Survivors? The ones who didn’t text their ex after three tequilas.
Success isn’t some magical formula. It’s just a long streak of avoiding faceplants.
If you want to win, the first step would be to stop tripping over your own ego.
Remember when everyone was jumping into crypto like it was the last lifeboat on the Titanic? I sat out. While many were trading digital air and calling themselves “blockchain entrepreneurs”, the smarter ones kept their money in decidedly boring investments.
Result? While they’re now selling NFTs of their tears, the smarter ones are sipping a cold one, watching their portfolio do a steady, unsexy waltz of consistent growth.
Sunk cost is the stupidest reason to continue anything. The cognitive firewall strategy would take into account some of the following I reckon:-
-Our brain is a risk management machine
-Most success is preventing stupid moves
-Strategic non-action is an action
-Saying NO is a superpower
So, how do we engage in the Psychological Warfare of Failure Prevention?
Our brain’s tactical defense manual outlines the following-Impulsivity is for amateurs, Strategic hesitation is our weapon and our “gut feeling” is often just indigestion dressed as inspiration.
Some Failure Dodging Tactical Protocols would include-24-Hour Catastrophe Quarantine when every major decision goes into psychological isolation for 24 hours. That kills potential stupidity with surgical precision. Not just that, your future self will send a thank you card.
The Zero-Based Commitment Warfare- where nothing is sacred and where everything gets ruthlessly re-evaluated. Lets understand this-Mercy is for the weak. Cut. Everything. Loose.
Murphy’s Law Combat Training where we assume everything WILL go wrong- we build backup plans for our backup plans and recognise that Paranoia isn’t a disorder. It’s a survival strategy.
Success = Avoiding Your Own Downfall– Most billion-dollar ideas started with a simple question: “What is everyone else doing wrong, and how do we not do that?”
–Airbnb avoided the property-heavy model of hotels.
–Tesla avoided the “let’s make boring electric cars” mistake.
–Netflix avoided late fees, physical rentals, and… becoming Blockbuster.
The best path to winning is often not losing in the first place.
Beware of Shiny Objects:Just because crypto bros are yelling “TO THE MOON!”doesn’t mean you should mortgage your house for Dogecoin.
You’re not here to be a motivational poster. You’re here to systematically eliminate every potential path to professional extinction. Success is a graveyard of bullets you didn’t take. In one sense, we can say that Strategic Cowardice can be Your Unexpected Superpower. Where we are Winning by Weaponizing Non-Participation.
Let’s be real—success isn’t just about the trophies on your shelf. It’s about the landmines you didn’t step on, the dumpster fires you didn’t ignite, and the career-ending emails you didn’t send at 2 AM after three tequilas.
Most success gurus will sell you a shiny dream: “Hustle harder! Wake up at 4 AM! Drink kale smoothies!”But here’s the dirty little secret—avoiding stupidity is often smarter than striving for brilliance. Think of it like dating. You don’t win by being the smoothest Romeo in town. You win by not drunkenly texting your ex, “U up?” at midnight.
Let’s cut the inspirational BS—success isn’t about vision boards, hustle porn, or chanting affirmations in a mirror like a deranged Tony Robbins acolyte. It’s about the disasters you didn’t create. The emails you didn’t CC the entire company on. The startups you didn’t join before they imploded in a cloud of VC-funded confetti.
Think of it this way: Life is a minefield, and winners are just the ones who didn’t faceplant on live TV. The best ROI comes from the failures you never had.
Success isn’t about being the smartest. It’s about not being the dumbass who thought Theranos was a good idea. Now go forth, dodge stupidity like it’s your ex’s Venmo request, and let success stalk you for once.