Is there any merit to this cliché?

Sugar_Rush

Apart from being phrased in this context it sounds particularly bad ass....

I've heard a lot of successful entrepreneurs echo similar sentiments.

When I was a kid I did work experience at a local brokerage the founder of which had become a multi millionaire yet was known for having dropped out of school early.

But what he had working on his side was "character". He understood people, how their minds worked and how to negotiate that optimally.

Near the end of my term there I basically cornered the dude and said, "how do you develop that skill?"

And he said, "gotta take a beat down. Got to get out in the world, take your licks, learn from them, and when you become strong from the learning process make sure you give it back to those who gave it to you initially; the circle of life".

Alright he didn't actually say "the circle of life" but I think it's quite evident to infer.

Is this just a BS cliche or maybe this style of learning curve is subjective from one person to the next?

ednwireland

university of life, school of hard knocks

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118499167#Comment_118499167

Ah, a fellow alumni

Wishbone Ash

It makes me think of boxers like Marciano. Never defeated but that didn't seem to affect his 'learning'.

growleaves

There is merit to it BUT a lot of people aren't capable of learning from experience and make the same mistakes on repeat. Many people aren't on the learning curve at all.

You have to be willing to learn by making an act of conscious will to observe, think - really think - and change.

I guess this is why would-be entrepreneurs can sometimes get somewhere after having a few failed businesses - they are trying to figure things out and willing to change their approach, they are adding and subtracting things consciously and subsconsciously. But it doesn't just have to be in business.

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118499167#Comment_118499167

I applied, they turned me down.

Pussyhands

You can gain experience by failing, learning from failures and then succeeding but you can also get experience by being successful. Depends on the situation.

I prefer this saying when it comes to experience: "Experience is what you get, right after when you needed it."

Sugar_Rush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118499203#Comment_118499203

Probably the most important part of the learning curve is learning how to learn.

Potentially the biggest hurdle, that many/most never cross.

i.e. all the experience in the world doesn't mean a thing if one can't actually learn and grow from it, don't actually understand how to implement change and improvement.

Like that saying, "if it doesn't kill you it will make you stronger", which if it were true 75% + of society would be like The Hulk, but instead they're just chronically beat down.

fryup

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118499167#Comment_118499167

example A......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHvUyjWkOgY

AckwelFoley

In general terms we learn from experiences we have been since we were babies.

Bigger events can change how we do things.

Life gives you lemons, some make lemonade, others juggle and then there are those that will go on Facebook and whinge about it

I think there is a lot to be said for experience for sure. But at the same time I am very skeptical about the mutterings of "successful entrepreneurs" because they tend to be a small group. When we observe their success and try to reverse engineer it - there is a danger of putting more weight to their words than is warranted.

Because the likely fact is that for every successful one who thinks his success is due to "X" - there are any number of people who also implemented "X" and simply never made it. In the end their seeming success could be anything from luck to timing and they are just building a narrative in retrospect to explain it. There are probably even people who are successful who think "The Secret" (that book that says you envision success in your mind strongly enough and it will materialize) explains their success.

Take the Collison Brothers from Ireland. Are they still the worlds youngest ever self made billionaires (as in they made the money not inhereted it etc etc)? The product that made them so wealthy they built in their bedroom as teenagers. That is not experience or the school of hard knocks. It is a combination of them simply pursuing what the enjoyed - doing it well - and luck/timing. If they had not done it some other kid would have a month or a year later.

But still there are things I try to teach my children which I at least hope will moderately impact their potential for success in the future. And being open to experience(s) and being ok with - to even enjoy - failure is a big part of that for me. In fact at times I even set up failure for them to experience and then I find ways to turn that failure into a success or at the very least something to enjoy and cherish and remember. In failure we can find learning or growth or even just humor. Which is much better than fear or guilt or regret.

There are a lot of people in the world who never find success or improvement either because they hit a failure and gave up - or they were too scared to try in the first place. Not that being brave enough to try - or being able to move past failure - guarantees success. But if my children are going to fail in life - I would rather they do so having at least given it a try rather than hiding in a hole.

Sugar_Rush

You have to lose to know how to win...

...

I guess that's another take on the OP.

But again it applies primarily when you go into the contest with express self awareness that it will expose holes in your game, almost with the express purpose FOR it to expose holes in your game,

-> Get beat down.

-> Back to the drawing board, figure out what went right/wrong and appropriate adjustments.

-> Rinse/repeat = get better.

Hangdogroad

Looks like the sort of thing full time mad bastards post on their FB feed.

riclad

Many people learn from failure, 90 per cent of startups fail, investors put money in hoping it. Will be the next tik Tok or apple. Of course some people may never learn because they are simply provided for by their rich parents, 40 per cent of Harvard students are there because thier parents made a donation or were students there 20 years ago

Life is not fair there's plenty of people who do well in company's cos they can talk bullshit, dress well, and repeat what's on trend, eg meta, nfts, digital currency cliches,

Eg Microsoft is building a meta platform, what does that mean, it means they are buying up Activision blizzard call of duty if you want to play certain games then you may as well buy an Xbox

Years ago theres alot of hype about Vr or esports

This year its meta verse, Nfts, digital items to be as sold in games or its simple if you want to be good at something learn it it takes 100s or 1000s of hours most musicians don't make money unless they look right and are promoted by a manager or alot of people work in retail jobs pay the bills rather than try to do something different or use all their skills

riclad

The American heathcare system is a problem people are afraid to leave a job because it provides health care so they never try anything new many people in business fail but they learn from thier mistakes and maybe have success in a different area of business.

AodhDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118499243#Comment_118499243

Eh, that was the test dude. You need to apply twice.

Manic Moran

The other part of the experience cliché is that experience teaches you your lesson after you needed it. I have learned a few near-terminal lessons when flying which I really should have been able to avoid by proper study and application beforehand.