I'd Rather Succeed Slow

The new safe path, part 2: why "fail fast" doesn't work for me + a first-of-its-kind workshop for students & teachers to experience together.

There’s a lot of talk in the startup world about “failing fast.”

The idea is to put yourself and your ideas out there quickly, without fear of failure, knowing failure is likely.

And I’m all for that.

But I’ve always thought...I’d rather succeed slow.

Here’s the succeed slow mindset in a nutshell:

1. Find the things that leverage your unique strengths, personality, and experience.

2. Do those things consistently over a long period of time.

3. Continuously uncover ways those things can generate value for yourself, others, and the world at large.

4. Rinse & repeat.

5. Enjoy the journey.

As I shared in my last newsletter, The New Safe Path, this doesn’t have to mean quitting your day job. In fact, it’s probably best you keep that stable (albeit insecure) paycheck, while you build out your body of work.

But rather than waiting for the perfect moment to go all in (which will never come)…start small so you can start now.

Maybe you carve out 1 hour this week to focus on:

• Building the thing you want to exist.

• Getting better at the things you’re good at.

• Learning about the things you love learning about.

Do any of the above for enough weeks, and you’ll naturally start to think more about them. Maybe 1 hour per week becomes 2, simply because your social media feeds adapt to your new focus, making the time you spend online more geared towards helping you become the person you want to be.

As you learn more, turn strengths into superpowers, and become even more passionate about your things, you start talking about those things more often. The more you share, the more feedback you receive - external and internal. You start to find ways to create real value for others (and in turn, get paid) simply by doing your thing. You become a magnet for aligned opportunities.

By being patient and giving yourself this time to learn and grow before your thing becomes the main thing, you increase your luck surface area and chances of success in that field.

Even when your thing generates enough income for you to make it your main thing, embrace the idea that you are playing an infinite game - the goal is not to win, but to keep playing.

Because if you’re enjoying the game, why would you want it to end?

While the fail fast mindset often breeds builders who want to acquire as many resources as they can, as quickly as they can, so that they can retire early and finally (maybe) enjoy their lives.

The succeed slow mindset is for builders want to:

• Continuously improve at their craft.

• Never stop learning (about themselves, the people they serve, and the world at large)

• Create more value for others (and earn more in return) with every passing year.

• Prioritize sustainability over urgency.

And yes - we experience a lot of failure on the path towards success. The key is:

• Failing small so that you can stay in the game.

• Failing at things you’re good at and passionate about, because that’s how you get better at the things you can sustainably do for the rest of your life.

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What’s something you could build that leverages your unique strengths, personality, and experience?

What’s something you could do consistently for the rest of this year?*

What could be possible for you by the end of this year if you consistently do that thing?

What could be possible for you in 10 years if you consistently do that thing?

Might be worth getting in the game to find out.

*By the way, this doesn’t have to be work related - the succeed slow mindset can apply to relationships, physical or mental health, hobbies, etc.

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Third Nature Summer Camp

A lot of what we do at Third Nature is provide space to reflect on the games you’ve been conditioned to play.

The games you play at school or work.

The games you play in your relationships.

The games you play with your health.

All the automatic, mechanical ways in which you show up in the world, that have become “second nature” - some of which may serve you, others that may not….

So you can become more conscious and intentional - aka Third Nature - about the games you want to play.

What kind of work do you want to do?

What kind of relationships do you want to have?

How do you want to show up in the world?

If the above speaks to you, we’d love to see you at camp in Upstate NY, September 4-7.

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Loved That

Here’s where I enjoy sharing some of the things that made me say an enthusiastic, LOVE THAT, since I sent the last newsletter.

I also think “LOVED THAT” is a habit worth spreading. Taking the time to reflect on your week, savoring all the things you loved, is a form of gratitude practice that enhances happiness, fulfillment, optimism, and memory.

Do try this at home!

Here’s mine from the last two weeks:

1. Leading a 2-day workshop that Jake and I created called “The Connected School” for a K-12 prep school in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The story of how this workshop came to be epitomizes the idea of “succeed slow.”

After 5 years spent facilitating dozens of retreats, we built out the Third Nature Facilitator Training Program. After graduating 3 cohorts of Third Nature Facilitators, we conducted the program for multiple universities, empowering college professors to turn their content into experiences that help students feel more connected. And most recently, we adapted that program for a group of 270 students + 30 faculty at Shorecrest Prep, opening up a whole new market for this offering.

I loved how engaged the group was throughout the 2-day experience + getting to know the folks who are pioneering such an innovative way of educating young people.

I also loved St. Petersburg! Feels like an underrated city, but the people there are happy to fly under the radar and keep it that way.

2. Roy Wood’s standup comedy special, Lonely Flowers, which had me LOL’ing on the flight home from Florida.

I love how Wood gets us thinking about all the ways we’ve lost connection in our everyday lives - yes, mostly for laughs. But also (hopefully) so we can be more intentional about prioritizing connection in new ways.

3. An epic feast and great hangin in Rhinebeck, NY with my Quarterly Dinner crew. Matt and sous chef Zach made us bison bacon cheeseburger sliders, shrimp spring rolls, venison ribs, and homemade french fries. Some of the best bites I’ve had in 2026. Then I crushed the dishes.

I also loved walking out on the frozen lake at sunset before dinner, playing a fun game of “Would you rather?

Photo credit to Dr. Dan

4. This past weekend at our friends Baylee & Jake’s house across the river from Rhinebeck in Athens, NY.

I especially loved watching their daughter Liv and our son Drew, who were born just a few weeks apart, play. That + another home cooked meal that included the best chicken parm I’ve ever had outside of a restaurant - and this time, I was the sous chef! I was so inspired that the next morning, I made pancakes for Drew + a daddy batch that included some mashed up chocolate peanut butter cups.

And lastly, this morning’s walk with Drew in his new snow/spacesuit:

I’d love to hear any reflections, intentions, questions, or ideas that came up for you as you were reading.

Wishing you a great week ahead!

With gratitude,

Brian