#416: From High School Dropout To Multi-millionaire: Transcend The Limits Of Failure to Find Success with Steven Bartlett Top Podcaster, Entrepreneur, CEO, & Investor

Learning Mistakes

Steven Bartlett emphasizes the importance of learning from failure, drawing on research by Professor Wong. Wong's study of nearly a million people found that those who learn from their failures are more likely to succeed. Steven applies this principle in his companies by having a dedicated individual, Grace Miller, to analyze the outcomes of experiments. He states, "If you fail and you don't basically conduct an autopsy to learn from it, it doesn't improve your chance of success." 1 2.

   

Experimentation

Experimentation is a cornerstone of Steven's approach to success. He believes in conducting numerous experiments to rapidly acquire valuable information, a strategy he likens to Amazon's culture of embracing failure. Steven explains, "Amazon has to be the best place on earth to fail. Nine of those failures will end up in the graveyard. But the one that is successful, the AWS, will pay for the entire graveyard." 2 3.

   

First Principles

Steven advocates for first principles thinking, a method of reasoning that involves breaking down complex problems into fundamental truths. He cites Elon Musk's approach to electric cars as an example of this innovative thinking. Steven notes, "Innovation is the hard work of forgetting how things used to happen and asking yourself, what are the first principles of the situation and problem that I'm facing?" 3 4.