DON'T MAKE
MY MISTAKE — a public archive of real human lessons

What happened

He lived three hours away. I was always busy, always planning to go "next month". He died in March. I had seen him four times that year.

What I learned

Nobody has ever regretted the drive. Put the visits in the calendar like meetings, because everything else already is.

What happened

I was scared of what a doctor would say, so I told myself it was nothing. When I finally went, the treatment was much harder than it would have been in month one.

What I learned

Fear of bad news is the most expensive thing you can carry. The scan is not the danger, the delay is.

What happened

I accepted the first offer instantly because I was grateful. Every raise for the next eight years was a percentage of that number, and so was every offer that followed.

What I learned

Your first salary is the base of every number that comes after it. One uncomfortable conversation compounds for a decade.

What happened

I treated depression as a scheduling problem for two years. More systems, more discipline, worse results. Six sessions with an actual therapist did more than two years of apps.

What I learned

Some problems are not solved by trying harder. Asking for help earlier is the cheapest thing I never did.

What happened

I opened a restaurant without properly validating the location. The street looked busy at lunchtime, but almost nobody walked past after 7pm. We closed 14 months later.

What I learned

Never sign a long-term lease before proving that customers will actually come. Stand on the street and count people at the hours you actually plan to sell.

What happened

I never talked to a customer because I was afraid someone would tell me the idea was bad. Launch day brought 31 signups and 2 payments.

What I learned

Talk to twenty potential customers before you write one line of code. Being told no in week one is a gift.