What is an earned secret?

An "earned secret" refers to a valuable insight or knowledge that is gained through significant personal effort and discovery, typically revealing something counterintuitive or unobvious to most people. Shane Parrish and Mike Maples discuss this concept using the example of Brian Chesky, the co-founder of Airbnb. Chesky's earned secret arose when he, needing money to attend a design conference, offered to rent out space in his apartment on Craigslist and surprisingly received a huge response. This led him to explore why people would choose to stay in a stranger's home instead of a hotel, culminating in the realization that the foundational element was trust. This insight was counterintuitive at the time and became the basis for Airbnb, demonstrating the value of exploring and validating unique insights that others might overlook 1.