Your feed is flooded with people selling “the blueprint” that promises to get you there fast.
But the blueprint, if it is true, hides one fact about business:
That so-called overnight success happens when a business has already moved from iteration to repetition.
When they’ve tested, failed, refined, and finally found what works.
That’s when it starts to look effortless.
Naval Ravikant, an American investor, explains it like this:
Any business that lasts is built on the foundations of great iteration and then a long cycle of repetition.
What most people won’t tell you is that a business worth building takes time.
The problem is that most founders quit in the iteration phase.
You immediately think, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”
Or you wait forever for that “perfect idea”, the one no one has ever had before.
Here’s the truth: the first version is never supposed to be perfect.
- It’s messy, awkward, and incomplete.
- Its only job is to get off the ground and start moving.
- Along the way, you figure out what works, what doesn’t, what needs tweaking, and when to pivot.
Many opportunities are lost because we quit too soon. None of the big brands we love today would exist if the founders had given up when the first version of their products failed.
The Netflix Story
It’s 1997. Blockbuster is everywhere.
Friday night meant walking into a store lined with movie posters, browsing aisles, and praying the last copy of your favorite film wasn’t already rented.
Then two guys, Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, came up with a strange idea: “What if people could rent movies online and have them delivered by mail?”
No late fees. No lines. Total convenience.
It sounds futuristic, but almost nobody gets it.
At the time, DVDs were new and rare. Internet adoption is slow. Shipping costs were high. People love the ritual of visiting Blockbuster.
The idea feels ahead of its time.
The first few years are rough. They burn cash. Subscribers trickle in slowly.Investors lose faith.
Hastings even offers to sell Netflix to Blockbuster for $50 million and gets laughed out of the room.
Most people would have quit right there. But they don’t.
They continue to test, refine, and tweak.
They study what people rent, when they return, and what genres they binge. They create a recommendation algorithm, introduce subscriptions, and remove late fees completely.
They stop chasing quick wins and start building patiently, brick by brick.
And then, years later, something changes.
- Broadband internet becomes faster.
- DVD players get cheaper.
- Culture shifts towards convenience and on-demand services.
- The world finally catches up.
Netflix pivots to streaming, and this time, it clicks.
The same idea that seemed too early now becomes the foundation of a cultural revolution.
Blockbuster, the giant that once mocked them, collapses because it didn’t adapt to changing demands in the market.
The lesson: success isn’t about getting it right the first time. It’s about surviving long enough and adapting until your timing aligns with the world’s.
The Real Growth Hack Is Endurance
Most people overlook that if you keep going, the world eventually starts working in your favor.
Take AI, for example:
- 1950s: Scientists were promising that machines could “think.” People were fascinated, excited, and honestly a little terrified.
But back then, computing power was painfully limited. Storage was tiny. Processing speed was laughable. A lot of the early experiments looked like magic tricks that barely worked at all.
- 1980s: AI had become the punchline of every tech joke. Conferences would laugh at predictions of “thinking machines.”
Headlines ridiculed the hype. Everyone was sure AI would never work.
People had every reason to quit.
Think about it: decades of failed experiments, equipment that couldn’t keep up, and ridicule from the entire scientific community. You’d start wondering if maybe you were just chasing a dream that didn’t exist.
- However, the scientists who didn’t quit continued to tinker. They tried, failed, tweaked, and tried again.
They didn’t see immediate results, but every small experiment added something to the knowledge pool. Each “failure” was secretly laying the groundwork for the future.
Fast forward a few decades.
- Cloud computing arrived.
- GPUs became insanely powerful.
- Massive datasets were suddenly available.
AI didn’t magically appear; it became inevitable because all the groundwork was already there.
All those decades of struggle, ridicule, and experimentation suddenly collided with a world that could finally handle it.
The lesson: If you quit too early, you never get to see how the world eventually do the heavy lifting for you. Timing compounds. The longer you endure, the more the universe, technology, and culture line up to reward persistence.
How to Succeed Faster
(Without Waiting for a Perfect Idea)
You don’t need a “completely original” idea to build something of value.
The truth is, most big ideas aren’t original; they’re improvements on what came before.
Someone somewhere has already solved a problem, built a product, or figured out a process.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Instead, look at what exists and ask yourself:
- How can I make this simpler?
- How can I make this better?
- How can I serve the people who are getting overlooked?
The ones who succeed aren’t waiting for some magical spark of originality. They show up every day, refine their offering, and persist long enough for the world to catch up.
Here’s why this works:
- Copying is not cheating, it’s a smart strategy.
Microsoft didn’t invent word processing. They studied WordPerfect and built their version.
Apple didn’t invent the graphical interface. Xerox did. But Apple saw what could work for real people and made it irresistible.
- Once you copy, your edge comes from doing it better than anyone else. That could mean:
- Doing it in a different market, for a different customer.
- Making it easier to use
- Delivering faster
- Serving a niche the original ignored.
Why Originality Is Overrated
We’ve been taught that originality is the ultimate virtue.
- Harvard Business Review shows that first movers fail 47 percent of the time.
- Fast followers succeed 8x more often.
Being first rarely matters. Early innovators often serve as unpaid consultants for those who follow. Those who wait receive the real reward.
The Billion Dollar Copy
Before Walmart became a household name, Sam Walton was just another store owner in a small town in Arkansas.
He didn’t come from privilege, didn’t have investors lining up, and didn’t have a groundbreaking idea.
What he did have was curiosity.
He spent his weekends walking the aisles of competing stores, especially Kmart. He watched how customers moved, where they lingered, and what caught their attention.
He noticed how Kmart arranged its shelves, how it priced its products, and how it created an experience that felt effortless.
Most people would have walked out thinking, They’ve already figured it out.
Sam walked out thinking, How can I make it better?
- He took what worked, removed what didn’t, and built his own version from the ground up.
- He opened stores in smaller towns where big retailers refused to go.
- He focused on logistics, pricing, and culture, the unglamorous details that most founders overlook.
And that’s how Walmart was born.
People call it innovation, but the truth is, it was iteration. Careful, consistent, and deeply human.
Every billion-dollar idea begins as a copy of something that already exists. The magic happens in the refinement. In the quiet persistence of making it better, smoother, simpler, and more aligned with what people actually need.
Sam didn’t try to reinvent the wheel.
He just made it roll farther.
The Smart Way to Build
You don’t have to guess your way forward.
There are proven patterns behind every lasting business.
Here is a model that shows you exactly how to grow faster, smarter, and with fewer trials and errors.
The Copy, Compete, Crush Model
What it is:
This model is for creators and founders who want to build momentum fast.
You start with what’s already proven to work, refine it through your unique lens, and bring it to life with consistent execution.
It’s not about cloning someone else’s business. It’s about learning from excellence, adapting it to your values, and developing something that feels uniquely yours.
Example: How we built Evercoach
When Evercoach was created, it started as a version of Mindvalley designed for a different market.
The structure, philosophy, and DNA of Mindvalley were already proven.
Evercoach took those principles and shaped them for a specific audience of coaches, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders.
I infused the business with my personal values of love, service, and freedom. People connected with that, and it became one of the highest revenue generators in the Mindvalley ecosystem.
We didn’t reinvent the wheel. We simply tuned it for a different road. In doing so, we created something that grew into a movement of its own.
That’s the power of conscious copying.
You start with what works, add what’s true for you, and then execute relentlessly until it evolves into something original.
Step 1: Copy What Works
Find the model that’s already winning in your industry or in a nearby space. Study it carefully.
- How do they attract customers?
- What’s their offer?
- What emotions do they tap into?
The goal is to understand the psychology behind what’s working, not to mimic it blindly.
Step 2: Compete by Doing It Better
Once you see the patterns, look for opportunities to do it differently.
- Who are they serving?
- Who are they not serving?
No business covers everything. There’s always a gap, an unmet need, or a market they’ll never prioritize. That’s where your edge lies.
You don’t have to be bigger. You just have to be sharper, faster, or more aligned.
Step 3: Crush Through Iteration and Scale
Once you’ve identified what works and where you can compete, the real work begins.
Iterate. Refine. Test.
Keep shaping your version until it feels completely your own.
Then repeat what works again and again until it scales naturally.
That’s how real empires are built – through steady repetition of what works, not constant reinvention.
Your Action Steps
If you’re feeling stuck or unsure where to start, here’s a simple way to get moving.
You don’t need a perfect idea.. The goal is to learn from what works, spot opportunities, and take one action this week.
1. Copy: Make a list
- Write down 2 to 5 people, businesses, or creators offering what you want to do.
- Look at what they are doing that works. Take notes on their products, services, content, or systems.
Pro tip: Look for businesses that have been around for a while, not ones riding on topical trends.
2. Compete: Find opportunities
- Go through your list and spot what could be improved.
- Ask yourself what you would do differently.
- How could you make it easier, faster, more enjoyable, or more valuable?
3. Crush: Take action this week
- Pick one improvement or idea from your notes.
- Commit to testing or implementing it this week.
- Track what happens and adjust as you go.
This is simple, fast, and gives you momentum without overthinking.
The Only Way to Fail Is to Quit
Building something meaningful, even if you’re borrowing ideas that already work, takes time.
You can reach your first million faster by implementing strategies and systems that others have already proven.
But after that, growth requires iteration, refinement, and patience. The only true failure comes from quitting too early.
Keep showing up, keep improving, and eventually your persistence will meet the right timing, technology, and audience to make your efforts pay off.
How Did We Do?
If this gave you a perspective you haven’t heard before, share your thoughts in the comments below. I read every comment — your feedback helps me create content that truly moves you forward.
Love. Ajit
