Framework

Directionally Correct

Don't wait for a perfect destination to start moving. Know what direction you're not going, pick a direction you are going, and take action. You can only connect the dots looking backward. Skills accumulated in one domain show up as unexpected assets in another. Passion follows competence — it is never the starting point.

How it works

  1. 1You don't need a precise north star to start — you need to know which directions you're not going and pick one you are. Blind movement down a corridor is still movement.
  2. 2You can only connect the dots looking backward: the failure or experience that felt irrelevant at the time will often explain a skill you have later. Door-to-door sales inoculates you against rejection in business. Two years in a grind room makes you an expert at 15 calls a day.
  3. 3Passion is an output, not an input: you are passionate about things you are good at, and you're not good at anything until you have failed at it repeatedly. 'Find your passion first' inverts the actual sequence.
  4. 4Try things you might hate and eliminate them fast. Kai tried Twitch streaming, hated it in a month, and moved faster toward his actual direction because he jumped rather than wondering.
  5. 5For founders: taking action on a directionally correct hypothesis is more valuable than inaction while waiting for certainty you will never have in advance.

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