The unseen territory
“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” – Walter Wriston
Most failures aren’t from what we see coming. They’re from what we don’t see at all.
When you’ve traveled the road before, you recognize the unmarked curves. The ditch that isn’t visible until you’re sliding into it. The bridge that’s out is around the next bend.
Costly lessons
“In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success—if you are willing to learn from it.” – Jim Collins
Experience isn’t just about avoiding past mistakes. It’s about pattern recognition at a subconscious level.
The expert founder doesn’t just know which levers to pull—they sense which ones not to touch. They feel the timing without checking the clock. They hear the warning in the silence when everyone else hears nothing.
The invisible advantage
“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.” – Oscar Wilde
The real power of experience isn’t what it teaches you to do—it’s what it teaches you to notice.
The novice sees the presentation. The experienced eye sees the reactions in the room. The beginner reads the contract. The veteran spots the clause that isn’t there. The new entrepreneur chases every opportunity. The seasoned one feels which doors to walk past without opening.
We pay for this wisdom in time, failure, and occasionally, humiliation. But once earned, it becomes an unfair advantage that can’t be stolen, copied or purchased.
Experience doesn’t just solve known problems faster—it prevents unknown problems from ever materializing.
And that might be its greatest value of all.
