Living a Life of Trial and Error, Error, Error

YOUR ENTIRE LIFE is an experiment. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you start to learn.

Scientists would call it an “n of one” — a study with a sample size of one. No control group. No peer review. Just you, testing hypotheses against your own life.

And the way you learn? As Buckminster Fuller put it: “By trial and error, error, error.”

Not trial and success. Not trial and immediate insight. Trial and error, error, error. The repetition matters. It’s how discovery actually works.

So here’s my challenge: Run five scary experiments this year. Not safe ones. Scary ones. Things that make your stomach tighten.

A few possibilities:

• A capability experiment. Bid on the job that’s bigger than anything you’ve ever done. The one that makes your hands sweat. Say yes first. Figure it out second.
• A management experiment. Have the conversation you’ve been dreading. Fire the person you know you should fire but have been afraid to. Or promote someone before you think they’re ready and watch them rise.
• A vulnerability experiment. Ask for help. Publicly. Admit to your peers that you’re struggling with something — pricing, hiring, cash flow, whatever. Post it in the forum. Say it at the conference. Stop pretending you’ve got it all figured out.
• A passion-project experiment. Find a project that pulls you so deep you forget what day it is. You lose track of time. You look up and it’s dark outside. That’s the sweet spot. That’s where real work lives.

Can you fail? Sure you can fail. In fact, you will fail as often as not. Everyone fails — until they succeed.

You are an n of one. The only failed experiment is the one you never run.

Here’s wishing you an incredible 2026.

David Squires

Group Editorial Director, SmartWork Media