The Secret To Success Most People Don’t Understand

What if I told you that the way you’ve been thinking about success is completely backwards?

We grow up being told to plan carefully, get the right education, and follow proven strategies. We think success comes from having the perfect plan and executing it perfectly.

But some of the smartest people in the world - people who’ve actually achieved remarkable success - have a completely different view. They believe success comes from something most people overlook: trying things. The same idea drives my article on why you should start before you’re ready.

Let me explain what I learned from some incredibly successful thinkers about the real path to success.

The Error In The Traditional Approach

Think about how most people approach success. They take courses. They read books. They get degrees. They look for the perfect strategy or system.

They spend years preparing, planning, and studying. They want to know everything before they do anything.

Here’s the problem: this approach assumes that success comes from theory. If you learn enough about a subject, you’ll be able to execute perfectly.

But that’s not how the world actually works.

What Successful People Actually Do

Here’s what successful people understand: theory comes AFTER practice, not before.

Think about how the most important inventions happened. The jet engine wasn’t designed by academics applying equations - it was built by tinkers who experimented until something worked. Then, later, scientists created theories to explain why it worked.

The same is true for almost everything. Business strategies, creative breakthroughs, personal development - in every field, the practitioners figured things out first. The theorists came along later to explain what they did.

This is called “tinkering” or “trial and error.” It’s the process of trying things, seeing what works, and adjusting based on what you learn.

The Tinkering Mindset

The key insight here is this: you don’t need permission to start. You don’t need to have everything figured out. You just need to try things.

Successful people aren’t necessarily smarter than everyone else. They just have a different relationship with failure. They understand that failure isn’t the opposite of success - it’s part of success. This is what I explored in the surprising reason successful people embrace failure.

Every failed attempt gives you information. Every mistake teaches you something. You can’t succeed without a lot of failures along the way.

The person who succeeds isn’t the one who never fails - it’s the one who keeps trying until something works.

Why This Matters For You

This approach is incredibly liberating. It means you don’t have to wait until you’re ready. You don’t have to have all the answers. You just have to start.

The best way to learn business is to start a business - even a tiny one. The best way to learn writing is to start writing - even if it’s not perfect. The best way to learn anything is to do it, make mistakes, and learn from them.

You can’t think your way to success. You have to act your way there.

The Power Of Many Attempts

Here’s another important point: success comes from volume of attempts, not perfection of attempts.

If you try one thing and it fails, you’re in the same position as someone who didn’t try at all. But if you try 100 things and 99 fail, you’re way ahead - because now you know what works.

This is why successful people take action quickly and iterate. They don’t try to get everything right the first time. They try many things, see what works, and double down on that. It’s the massive action approach to achieving goals in practice.

What “Wasted Time” Actually Means

One of the most powerful ideas I learned is this: what most people call “wasted time” is often the best investment you can make.

When you’re tinkering - trying things, experimenting, exploring - it might feel like you’re not making progress. It might feel like you’re just wasting time.

But this “wasted” time is actually research. It’s discovery. It’s finding the unique path that works for you.

The person who spends years planning might be seen as “serious” and “professional.” But the person who’s been trying things for years has learned more than anyone else. They have real-world experience that no book can teach.

How To Apply This

Here’s how to apply this mindset:

First, stop waiting to be ready. You’ll never feel ready. The time to start is now.

Second, try things quickly. Don’t spend months planning one perfect attempt. Make quick attempts and see what happens.

Third, learn from every outcome. Both success and failure teach you something. Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t.

Fourth, keep trying. The key isn’t to succeed on your first try - it’s to keep trying until you find what works.

Fifth, embrace the uncertainty. You don’t know where your experiments will lead. That’s okay. That’s actually where the magic happens.

The Journey Matters

One more thing: success isn’t just about the destination. It’s also about the journey.

When you approach life as a series of experiments, every day becomes an adventure. You’re always learning, always discovering, always growing.

This is much more fulfilling than the traditional approach of following a plan. You’re not just checking boxes on the way to some distant goal - you’re actually living.

Stop planning and start doing. Your future self will thank you.