How Failing Often and Succeeding Big Fuel Success in Life
Brad Pitt once said, “Some projects work and some don’t. Just get on to the next.” That nugget of wisdom turns out to be super relevant whether you’re an artist, investor, or even a regular Joe trying to figure out life.
So, this guy Heinz Berggruen isn’t your typical run-of-the-mill dude. He fled Nazi Germany back in 1936, landed in America, and studied literature at U.C. Berkeley. Now, nobody saw him as a prodigy back then. Fast forward to the 1990s, this guy becomes one of the top-notch art dealers ever known. In 2000, he sold a bundle of Picassos, Braques, Klees, and Matisses to Germany for over 100 million euros. Small change compared to the actual market value, which was over a billion bucks.
The craziest part? Art is super subjective. Predicting which pieces would become gold mines was no walk in the park. When you think about it, his success was a mix of skill, luck, and maybe a sprinkle of magic. Imagine collecting all sorts of art blindly, hoping a few pieces would turn out to be Picassos in the rough. Horizon Research hit the nail on the head; Berggruen’s method was just like an index fund. Buy a ton of stuff, sit back, and wait for the winners. Most pieces turned out to be duds, but the few that didn't—boom, jackpot.
