I Wrote Down All My Mistakes For the Last 10 Years… Here’s What I Learned

Summary

• Documenting your business mistakes can be the most important step to making more money.
• I started a podcast to document my mistakes and successes, which helped me avoid the same pitfalls and build a $100 million net worth.
• Documenting can be done through videos, podcasts, or written notes; the format doesn't matter as much as the process.
• Keeping an email thread of lessons and failures was a key habit for me.
• Think of entrepreneurship like a video game; by documenting experiences, you learn to avoid mistakes and move faster through levels.
• Most business owners don't crystallize their learning, leading them to repeat mistakes or fail to replicate successes.
• Recognize that success often comes from a combination of factors, not just one thing.
• Start with clear goals and ensure your team is trained up and on board, like we did for Prestige Labs, which led to a successful $1.7 million launch.
• Focus is crucial; saying no to many ideas helps you excel at the important ones.
• Don’t just document losses; also study your successes to replicate them.
• Every new business venture or initiative should come with an understanding of the resources and time required to do it well.
• Sharing your journey publicly holds you accountable and can even lead to additional revenue as people resonate with your values.
• Always aim to learn from others’ mistakes as well as your own.
• Crystallizing lessons from failures and successes can double the benefit: personal growth and useful content for others.
• Focus intensely on one thing at a time to avoid the inefficiency of context-switching.
• Even when you have success, continue examining why it worked to ensure you can repeat it.
• Continue to document everything for consistency in learning and improvement.
• Make sure to maintain clarity on what brought you success, as misattributing success can lead to future failures.
• The biggest ongoing lesson for me is patience and not tinkering with something that is already working well.

Video

How To Take Action

I would suggest implementing a documentation habit as a key strategy for your business or personal growth journey. Documenting can be done through videos, podcasts, or written notes. Pick whatever format is easiest for you, but stick to it consistently.

Start with an email thread to yourself titled "Lessons and Failures – [Year]." Each time you experience a failure or success, jot down what happened and what you learned. This doesn’t need to be lengthy; even a few sentences can be valuable. Doing this will help you avoid repeating the same mistakes and understand the components of your successes.

Think of your journey like a video game. In any game, the more you remember where the traps are, the faster you can level up. Documenting helps you to remember these critical points.

Focus on translating these documented lessons into clear goals for your business. Make sure your team understands these goals and receives adequate training to achieve them. For example, when we launched Prestige Labs, the whole team was thoroughly prepared, which led to a $1.7 million revenue in the first month.

It's crucial to learn to say "no" to numerous ideas so you can focus intensely on a few important ones. Evaluate each potential project by considering the resources and time required to ensure you do it well.

Share your journey publicly, if possible. This not only holds you accountable but can also resonate with others, leading to additional revenue opportunities. Start doing this by sharing your documented lessons on platforms like Twitter or through a podcast.

Finally, never stop examining your actions and their outcomes. Always look for the 'why' behind your success or failure so you can replicate or avoid it in the future. Being patient and not tinkering with things that already work is an invaluable lesson.