4 Ways to Stand on the Shoulders of Giants

Warren Wednesday 5/17

In the 1985 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter, Warren Buffett wrote:

“[T]he trick is to learn most lessons from the experiences of others.”

We’ve heard Buffett speak about the importance of examining your mistakes. The best managers and owners embrace the lessons from those mistakes to help them pivot and avoid them in the future. 

He is also keen on the maxim of “standing on the shoulders of giants.” 

This means embracing opportunities to learn from the mistakes of others whenever possible. By observing and learning from the mistakes of others you’ll likely making the same ones and you’ll increase your chances of long term sustainable growth.

To help you identify these opportunities, here are 4 ways you can stand on the shoulders of giants.

Take Note When People Admit Mistakes.

Don’t repeat something you know doesn’t work. If faceless investors on Twitter claim they have a great investment strategy but they end up failing, you likely don’t want to take their advice. 

Social platforms like Twitter and Discord provide ample opportunities to discover the missteps and failures of others. Just sit back and observe!

Acknowledge What Didn’t Work in the Past.

Many of you are new to investing in the web3 space. This makes it important to gain insights about market sentiment and cycles of the past. Success comes from noticing patterns and understanding how people feel about the market. Research how cryptocurrencies have evolved over the last ten years to better understand what didn’t work.

Thoughtfully Engage Mentors and Your Network.

As you get to know more folks in your community and share your experiences with others, it’s important to reach out and ask questions or advice to those you might consider mentors. The right mentor can have a huge, positive impact on your life. Reach out to someone who has blazed the trail before you and formally ask to have them mentor you. 

Read More Biographies.

If you think you already read a good amount, think again. Whether you’re trying to build a project in web3 or seeking out investment opportunities, there is one key activity that will help you understand how investment giants have overcome their mistakes. Here are 4 of my favs!

• Warren Buffett (Snowball)
• Phil Knight (Shoe Dog)
• Walt Disney (Walt Disney)

As the web3 category is invented on the fly there will be many high-profile mistakes and the occasional salacious scandals, and therefore abundant opportunities from which to learn.

Make sure you are not so focused on your own projects or investments that you fail to take time to examine the work, mistakes, and lessons of others.