| Sunday, 11 June 2023 |
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Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],
Today, I’m here to talk about something not many leaders talk about publicly—imagining failure.
Now, most of us have learnt over the years that dreaming about success increases the chances of us becoming successful. Yes, the mind is a very powerful thing. If we can visualise and imagine ourselves as someone better in the future, we find it easier to often become that person.
Put simply, your behavior in the present is largely shaped by your view of your own future. If your future is clear, exciting, and something you believe you can create, then your behavior in the present will reflect that.
This is why one of my favourite questions during interviews and reviews is: “Imagine you are somehow able to fast-forward and glimpse two years into the future. You overhear someone introduce future you at a party in a very wonderful way. What would that dream introduction be?”
I love this question because it allows us to imagine our careers and growth in very real terms. The party introduction is the most aspirational and relatable form of career growth, in my opinion. It forces us to strip away corporate-speak from our career ambitions.
But imagining success is the opposite of what Nithin Kamath, the co-founder and CEO of India’s largest online stockbroker, Zerodha, told me when I spoke to him earlier this week for this newsletter.
He told me his favourite mental model was dreaming about failure and then making peace with it.
“Making peace with the worst-case outcomes is important to keep taking bets and to ensure you don’t shy away from them.
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