I recently 'pulled the lever' on a 30-year corporate strategy career to start a painting and handyman business. On paper, it looked like a 'questionable choice.'
But like your DVD-by-mail phase, I realized the trades were just the medium. The actual experiment was: 'Can high-level corporate systems solve the friction of the blue-collar world?'
Curiosity is the only thing that overcomes the fear of looking 'dumb' to your peers. I’d rather run 10 sloppy experiments in a crawlspace than spend another year perfecting a slide deck for a project that might never have a pulse. Action is the only real data."
Totally. Consumption feels like progress because it reduces anxiety for a minute. Action is what creates feedback. I see the same thing in retirement planning. People “research” for years, but the rules get more clear once you make the correct move.
And in that category, researching for years can be dangerous. With retirement planning, every year you wait to do something is a year you’re never going to get back - especially when compounding is everything.
Ollie Alexander, You’re so right – people are busy, but they’re not really doing anything. They don’t get things done themselves or take action on their own, like entrepreneurship is – doing your own thing, doing it yourself.
Thinking counts as action only when it produces a decision and a next step. Otherwise it’s just research-flavored procrastination. I see it constantly with retirement rules. People binge Roth/RMD content instead of locking in a decision.
Intentional curiosity is something that i am rekindling. How many of us are intentional about this? What has your experiences been around losing curiosity?
That’s the downside of “experience”. Once you think you know how something works, it’s a mental shortcut to jump right to the answer. But that leaves you vulnerable to applying old solutions to new problems. My workaround is to constantly be trying out new things, new methods, and throwing myself into things I don’t understand well.
Super grateful that you took time to reply. Just ordered that will not work will dwelve into it. I will intentionally not jump into most obvious answers - this is my big takeaway. 🙏
Nice. Being curious is the difference between those who just complain and those who seek to make things better. A phrase we refer to in our development team is "so what". An idea or a product may seem cool but "so what" how is it benificial.
i am a 5/1. in HD, a 5/1 profile is called the heretic / investigator, which is a blend of practical problem-solver and deep researcher.
the 1st line (investigator) is driven by curiosity. you naturally want to understand how things actually work beneath the surface. you don’t feel secure sharing or leading until you’ve studied, questioned, and built a solid foundation of knowledge. this is the part of you that reads everything, tests ideas, and needs depth before confidence.
the 5th line (heretic) is what others see: someone who can offer solutions, guidance, or leadership. people tend to project expectations onto you, often assuming you can “fix” things or provide clarity. when you answer from that well-researched base, you can have a powerful, practical impact.
the investigator (line 1) is the most curious line in the system. line 1s are driven to ask why, dig deeper, research, and build a secure foundation of understanding before they feel confident. their curiosity is about knowledge, mastery, and certainty.
Hi Marc! Absolutely agree with you that curiosity is one of the most important skills in building a startup. This skill is even more important when you're trying to disrupt an industry as there's no roadmap or advisors that you can turn to for guidance. Furthermore, I think curiosity helps you solve a problem like an onion. It allows you the opportunity to peel away different layers of the problem to build a solution. I write on LegalTech (Startups) analyzing investment opportunities in the space.
My latest post analyzes three whitespaces for investment opportunities in the LegalTech space. Would love to get your thoughts if this is something you're interested in!
Love this. Curiosity is absolutely key. How many things would have never been created or discovered if everyone had just assumed "well that's the way things are". Advancement requires questioning the status quo.
Your insight on curiosity as action deeply resonates. The problem I'm exploring is that we apply this curiosity asymmetrically: precisely asking questions of AI (detailed prompts yield answers), yet vaguely tasking humans. The best organizations reverse this—they ask their teams with the same clarity they give AI. That's where "what if?" becomes organizational superpower. Check it: https://creatism.substack.com/p/we-prompt-machines-better-than-we?r=177ve
true... at the same time, I must say that most environments where I have operated (FTSE 100s + Regional Players) have never truly taken advantage of immediacy outside of front line operations... the immediacy is usually a panic + stakeholder crisis.
I deeply enjoyed reading this, never did I think I would find myself on this side of Substack. I’m always roaming and eager to find post about romantic relationships or ways to get a guy to marry me hahaha’! But i guess how curious I am lead me here, which indicates I may be more of a genius than I give myself credit for, either way! Thank you Netflix man:)
You never know Shawna . . . since I tend to write all kinds of crazy and diverse stuff, the comments might be a great place to look for love. And you are definitely more of a genius than you give yourself credit for.
Curiosity is so under valued! Yes. Thank you for this reminder.
"This resonates deeply.
I recently 'pulled the lever' on a 30-year corporate strategy career to start a painting and handyman business. On paper, it looked like a 'questionable choice.'
But like your DVD-by-mail phase, I realized the trades were just the medium. The actual experiment was: 'Can high-level corporate systems solve the friction of the blue-collar world?'
Curiosity is the only thing that overcomes the fear of looking 'dumb' to your peers. I’d rather run 10 sloppy experiments in a crawlspace than spend another year perfecting a slide deck for a project that might never have a pulse. Action is the only real data."
Couldn’t agree more. I think one of the biggest problems today is people treat ‘thinking’ as action.
- saving Instagram videos
- watching YouTube videos
- reading articles etc…
All of that feels productive. But I guess it’s only productive if you test the knowledge by taking action in the real world.
Really insightful article, thank you!
Totally. Consumption feels like progress because it reduces anxiety for a minute. Action is what creates feedback. I see the same thing in retirement planning. People “research” for years, but the rules get more clear once you make the correct move.
And in that category, researching for years can be dangerous. With retirement planning, every year you wait to do something is a year you’re never going to get back - especially when compounding is everything.
Agreed. In my world, uncertainty often masquerades as prudence. But time is an asset that you can't get refunded.
Ollie Alexander, You’re so right – people are busy, but they’re not really doing anything. They don’t get things done themselves or take action on their own, like entrepreneurship is – doing your own thing, doing it yourself.
Thinking counts as action only when it produces a decision and a next step. Otherwise it’s just research-flavored procrastination. I see it constantly with retirement rules. People binge Roth/RMD content instead of locking in a decision.
Love that: “research-flavored procrastination!”
Intentional curiosity is something that i am rekindling. How many of us are intentional about this? What has your experiences been around losing curiosity?
That’s the downside of “experience”. Once you think you know how something works, it’s a mental shortcut to jump right to the answer. But that leaves you vulnerable to applying old solutions to new problems. My workaround is to constantly be trying out new things, new methods, and throwing myself into things I don’t understand well.
Super grateful that you took time to reply. Just ordered that will not work will dwelve into it. I will intentionally not jump into most obvious answers - this is my big takeaway. 🙏
Nice. Being curious is the difference between those who just complain and those who seek to make things better. A phrase we refer to in our development team is "so what". An idea or a product may seem cool but "so what" how is it benificial.
totally agree. have you ever looked up your profile in human design? https://www.myhumandesign.com/
i am a 5/1. in HD, a 5/1 profile is called the heretic / investigator, which is a blend of practical problem-solver and deep researcher.
the 1st line (investigator) is driven by curiosity. you naturally want to understand how things actually work beneath the surface. you don’t feel secure sharing or leading until you’ve studied, questioned, and built a solid foundation of knowledge. this is the part of you that reads everything, tests ideas, and needs depth before confidence.
the 5th line (heretic) is what others see: someone who can offer solutions, guidance, or leadership. people tend to project expectations onto you, often assuming you can “fix” things or provide clarity. when you answer from that well-researched base, you can have a powerful, practical impact.
the investigator (line 1) is the most curious line in the system. line 1s are driven to ask why, dig deeper, research, and build a secure foundation of understanding before they feel confident. their curiosity is about knowledge, mastery, and certainty.
i'd bet you mightttt have a 1 in your profile :)
"then pull the lever"
Hi Marc! Absolutely agree with you that curiosity is one of the most important skills in building a startup. This skill is even more important when you're trying to disrupt an industry as there's no roadmap or advisors that you can turn to for guidance. Furthermore, I think curiosity helps you solve a problem like an onion. It allows you the opportunity to peel away different layers of the problem to build a solution. I write on LegalTech (Startups) analyzing investment opportunities in the space.
My latest post analyzes three whitespaces for investment opportunities in the LegalTech space. Would love to get your thoughts if this is something you're interested in!
https://harshithviswanath.substack.com/p/three-legaltech-whitespace-plays
Never stop asking questions. I learn this every day from children. Always keep curiosity alive...
Curiosity, passion and the right intention
Love this!! I always say curiosity is one of my character strengths. I have a deep desire to understand through a lens of curiosity not judgement.
What interview question would you ask to gage curiosity?
I’ve tried this, with mixed success: “Talk to me about something you’ve heard or read lately that interests you intellectually.”
Intellectual curiosity is a true competitive advantage. So many people don’t question the status quo. But the solution lies in the questioning.
Love this. Curiosity is absolutely key. How many things would have never been created or discovered if everyone had just assumed "well that's the way things are". Advancement requires questioning the status quo.
Your insight on curiosity as action deeply resonates. The problem I'm exploring is that we apply this curiosity asymmetrically: precisely asking questions of AI (detailed prompts yield answers), yet vaguely tasking humans. The best organizations reverse this—they ask their teams with the same clarity they give AI. That's where "what if?" becomes organizational superpower. Check it: https://creatism.substack.com/p/we-prompt-machines-better-than-we?r=177ve
interesting. If only employees were as fast at generating answers as the AI is.
true... at the same time, I must say that most environments where I have operated (FTSE 100s + Regional Players) have never truly taken advantage of immediacy outside of front line operations... the immediacy is usually a panic + stakeholder crisis.
I deeply enjoyed reading this, never did I think I would find myself on this side of Substack. I’m always roaming and eager to find post about romantic relationships or ways to get a guy to marry me hahaha’! But i guess how curious I am lead me here, which indicates I may be more of a genius than I give myself credit for, either way! Thank you Netflix man:)
You never know Shawna . . . since I tend to write all kinds of crazy and diverse stuff, the comments might be a great place to look for love. And you are definitely more of a genius than you give yourself credit for.