The Default State

In the startup world we often hear that a company is default dead, which means chances are it will mostly fail, especially when you’re spending more than you’re making. Recognising that reality doesn’t cripple the startup founders, but rather it frees them from the illusion of safety and prompts them to fight in full, every single time. They look for the success. They look for the survival. If you've ever worked for an early stage startup, you come into each day knowing the challenge is real and that comfort can kill more quietly than failure. Your mindset focuses constantly on trying to reach out for the win.

The default state is failure. It frees you to take higher risks without any fear.

Imagine now if we could tap into that mindset...

I try to carry the same idea into my work and projects, and in general around everything I do. Every plan is default failed until proven otherwise. Every line of code, every system design, every piece of writing is broken and won't work. That acceptance clears the mind. It turns what I'm trying to do into something simpler by removing the fear factor out of it. I know this will fail. I know it won't work. What do I need to change, do, write, remove to make it work? Because success is no longer the baseline, anything that actually works is awesome. When you expect collapse, you start building with care and clarity, focusing on what really matters, removing the useless. The absence of guarantee sharpens attention, focus, and effort. You stop trying to control outcomes and start finding strength in the work itself.