Let It Be Messy

This week is part four of our series on Robert Greene’s book, Mastery. Today, we explore how one of our biggest misconceptions about innovation may be holding us back from our biggest breakthroughs…

🎯 The Idea In a Nutshell:

• We often believe innovation will follow a predictable path.

• Breakthroughs rarely follow such a straight line.

• The path to our biggest wins is much messier, full of detours, false starts, and surprises.

• Accepting this from the start helps us stay open to unexpected insights.

• The most impactful results come when we remain adaptable and ready to pivot.

📝 Diving Deeper

Our notion of innovation is flawed. History’s greatest breakthroughs appear to have been part of a predictable plan. Einstein’s theory of relativity. Edison’s invention of the lightbulb. Steve Jobs and the iPhone. Each looks like the conclusion of a clear, linear process.

But this is a mirage; The line from spark to breakthrough only appears straight in hindsight. Reality is far messier. Innovation is born of false starts, detours, and a healthy dose of serendipity.

A flash of insight sends us charging forward, until we hit a wall. We learn something. Adjust. Try another route. That too proves fruitless. The cycle repeats.

From the inside, it feels chaotic. Wasteful. Frustrating. And when the breakthrough finally arrives, the solution looks so obvious we wonder why it took so long. The truth is, all that “wasted” motion wasn’t wasted at all. That was the work.

The flailing. The missteps. The wrong turns. All part of the process that made the answer possible.

A process known to biologists as evolutionary hijacking provides a useful metaphor. Traits evolve for one use, only to get repurposed in surprising ways.

• Feathers began as insulation. They later made flight possible.

• Opposable thumbs evolved for grasping branches. They became perfect for crafting tools.

• Language may have started as a social glue, but it became a tool for reasoning and abstract thought.

The big breakthrough was never preordained. It emerged from a chain of adaptations, each step creating the conditions for the next, the end result unimaginable at the start.

Creativity works the same way. It’s not just about thinking big. It’s about staying flexible, spotting unexpected opportunities, and daring to follow the surprising connections that appear along the way.

👉 Why it matters:

• Accepting the messy, unpredictable nature of innovation frees us from rigid expectations.

• Without a fixed roadmap, we’re more willing to explore unconventional paths.

• Staying open and adaptable allows us to notice insights others overlook.

🤔 Prompts for Reflection

• Where in your life or work are you holding too tightly to a fixed plan?

• What “wrong turns” from your past actually led to valuable lessons or opportunities?

• How can you build more flexibility into your current projects so you can act on unexpected opportunities?

Make today impactful.
~Jason

PS - This was the fourth post in a series on Mastery by Robert Greene. Check out the first edition below:

• Choose Resistance

• Stop Being Naïve

• Stop Planning. Start Doing.