Experience/Street Smarts is bullshit
A while back, I picked up Master of None by Clifford Hudson, the former CEO of Sonic Drive-In. One part hit me like a truck — the part about “expertise.” Hudson challenges this cult-like obsession we have with mastery, referencing a Princeton meta-analysis that basically says deliberate practice only explains about 12% of performance differences across domains. In professions? Less than 1%. Think about that. All that “you have to put in your 10,000 hours” crap — yeah, turns out it’s mostly bullshit.
Hudson’s take is simple: In today’s world, it’s more valuable to be adaptive and always learning than to be some “expert” in one narrow field. Expertise is oversold. And honestly, for most of us, being “good enough” at a bunch of things can build the life you actually want.
As someone who’s obsessed with learning and stacking different skills, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve got mad respect for masters of their craft. But let’s not kid ourselves — being a jack-of-all-trades can be a serious cheat code, especially when shit is moving faster than ever.
And it’s not just business where this truth hits — it’s literally everywhere. Take dating, for example. How many times have you heard some dumbass advice like “you just have to go on dates to learn”? Nah. Going on random dates doesn’t magically teach you emotional intelligence or how to sustain a real relationship. If you actually gave a shit about the other person, you’d be prepping ahead of time. Research what relationship therapists say. Talk to people who’ve built successful long-term relationships. Hell, listen to a divorce lawyer on what not to do. Dating isn’t trial and error; it’s two real people’s lives you’re fucking with. Maybe act like it.
Same thing with restaurants. People love to say, “you gotta work in one to learn how to run one.” Wrong again. I opened a popup shop before launching a physical location, and honestly? I learned jack shit that I couldn’t have figured out with a day of focused research. If anything, I wasted money learning lessons I could’ve just researched about. Look—hospitality has been around since the damn Greek Agora. Millions of people have already opened and run restaurants before you. You’re not special. Most problems you’ll face have already been solved thousands of times over.
And here’s another meme that needs to die: “street smarts vs book smarts.” This one is amplified in school too, like being “street smart” somehow beats knowing real shit. Reality check: book smart beats street smart every time — IF you’re reading the right books. Obviously, if you waste your time drowning in useless content, you’re no better off than someone winging it in the streets. But if you focus on high-value information, you have the blueprint to skip years of pain. It’s not about memorizing trivia; it’s about weaponizing knowledge.
Yes, at some point you do have to experience things. But stop acting like firsthand experience is the only way to learn. Most of the “hard-earned wisdom” you think you need is already out there, waiting for you to just shut up, sit down, and learn it faster than someone who wasted years “grinding” for no reason.
The world rewards speed and adaptability, not stubbornness. Experience is overrated. Learning is underrated. Move accordingly.