- Studying a specific person can be dangerous because we tend to study extreme examples - the billionaires, CEOs, or massive failures
- Extreme examples are least applicable to other situations given their complexity
- They were more likely influenced by luck or risk
- They are least likely to be applicable to your own life
- Look for broad patterns of success and failure
- The more common the pattern, the more applicable it might be to your life
Choose role models wisely
- Be careful who you praise and admire because a significant portion of success if due to luck
- Be careful who you look down upon because a significant part of failure is due to risk (unluckiness)
Sources