In his excellent book: “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future” Peter Thiel asks a question. He calls it “the draconian question” that is asked of every person he considers hiring. The question is posed on page 1, and for the rest of the book, that question kept running through my mind: What would my answer be if I were asked the draconian question?
The Draconian question: “On what important truth do very few agree with you?” That is a very good question. Forcing you to think beyond common places and defend something.
Peter Thiel, here is my answer to your draconian question: “Most people believe that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is insane.” However, the truth is just the opposite.
Consider the following:
(1) Let me start by asking parents, “How much time would you give your child to learn to walk?”
Put another way, what is learning to walk if not holding your child upright and watching her cute little feet move, trying to keep her balance before she falls? How often and for how long would you do the same thing over and over hoping your child would not wobble and fall, but wobble and stand up?
I think any parent would say, ‘I’m going to help my child learn to walk for as long as it takes.’ No wonder all the kids end up walking and no one feels crazy to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
(2) Light. Humans are the only species that is not a slave to sunrise and sunset for light. We can thank a prolific inventor with only three months of official school for this; ThomasEdison.
As a reminder, how did Thomas Edison achieve his feat? Edison tried many thousands of different materials before on October 22, 1879 he found the correct combination of carbon filament connected to platinum contact wires; and there was light!
In other words, Edison tried the same thing over and over again; create light by combining various materials and hoping that the result will be different from the thousands of previous disappointments. Did ‘everyone’, from investors, journalists and the general public, try to convince him that he was crazy for doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result? I bet they did. However, I am very happy that he was not discouraged.
(3) Learn any trade. Let me pick tennis shoes to illustrate. In tennis, there are eight basic strokes: the serve, the forehand, the backhand, the volley, the half volley, the header, the dropshot, and the lob.
How many have won a tournament by inventing and introducing a new shot? None.
How do you learn to play tennis? By practicing the eight basic strokes over and over again and hoping to get a little better each time you practice.
How are tournaments won? Practicing the basic eight punches more often and with more vigor than his competition, hoping his investment in repetition will make him better.
Is there an alternative to ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is crazy’?
Yes. The Chinese wisdom of “You can’t step into the same river twice” is much more appropriate. Especially today, with everything constantly changing, and just because something didn’t work yesterday, so many things have changed since yesterday that with a minor tweak you can succeed today.
Your future is a blank canvas. It’s up to you to paint the masterpiece of your life. It doesn’t matter if you feel like you didn’t make it yesterday, last month, or last year. Only you can make the difference you want to make in your life, and the only time you’ve ever failed is when you give up.
To the best of your success,