Smartcuts summary

Have you ever heard of a famous athlete who trained without the guidance of a coach? No, and you probably never will. Coaches, or mentors, are critical to achieving success.

You gain an edge over others in your field when you work with a world-class expert. Business research has shown that entrepreneurs who work with mentors raise an average of 70 percent more capital than those who don't.

Nobody likes to fail, but it's not possible to succeed 100 percent of the time. Failure is inevitable. So when you fail, don't just accept it and move on. Learn from your failure too – it's an important form of feedback.

Not all feedback is equally useful though. Avraham Kluger and Angelo DeNisi did a 1996 study on feedback in which they found that some kinds of feedback actually made people's performance worse. Feedback that focuses on the individual, such as “Throw it harder!” or “Bend your knees!” just makes people self-conscious and hinders them.

You still need help from other people even when you make use of smartcuts. Most of the time that means utilizing good platforms, meaning building on things other people have already created.

Look for platforms that already exist so you can focus on your own developments instead. It's important to know how to access the platforms in your particular field. Seek out the infrastructure, technology, strategies and environments that will help you realize your goals.

Every industry has its own particular codes and patterns. If you want to excel in your field, you need to understand those patterns.

That's why it's critical to gain an in-depth understanding of your industry or sector. It's the only way to stay alert enough to spot potential changes.

Even if you have a great product or service, it's not always easy to spread the news about it. That's where superconnectors come in. Superconnectors are influential people or social platforms that can quickly spread the word about your venture.

Superconnect with people by figuring out what they truly value and want. Your networking endeavors will be much more successful when you give people what they're looking for. Aim for a relationship that benefits both sides.

If you achieve some success – even just a bit of it – it means you have a good understanding of the way your field works, and you're on the right track. The next step is to pinpoint what it is that made you successful and expand on it.

Keep your momentum going. Michelle Phan did this in 2009 when she became a prominent online cosmetics expert.

Have you ever been forced to do something the traditional way, even though you knew it wasn't the most efficient method? This can be frustrating. Just because a certain approach is widespread or “classic,” doesn't mean it's the most effective.

Maintaining your success is about constantly reevaluating yourself and looking for areas to improve upon. Remember: simplicity is always the best.

You should have an idea of why self-evaluation is so important by now. So it's time for the next step: going big.

Somewhat paradoxically, an ambitious goal like making something ten times better might be easier than improving it by only 10 percent. This is due to the magic of 10x Thinking, developed by Astro Teller at the Google[x] lab in California.