Eight lessons from a dog video that will improve your life.

Curiosity has been my constant companion since I was a child. I bombarded my parents with every question that popped into my mind, no matter how weird or naive they were. They never dismissed me. Instead, they encouraged me to explore the world and learn new things. My dad personally had a knack for storytelling. :) He would tell stories and challenge me to draw out learnings applicable to everyday life. He taught me how to think critically. When I stumbled upon the dog video, I felt a surge of nostalgia. :). I decided to write and share the learnings I had drawn from the above dog video. I hope it inspires you to act and improve your life.

If you have not seen the video, you may review it above. It only takes 1:30s.

To the video lessons

1. Early adopters are essential to societal prosperity. In other words, the more early adopters a society has, the more painless innovation and new markets can be created, and the more prosperous the people can be. Early adopters are leaders in their own right. They have an enormous risk appetite. On the shoulders of early adopters, science and technological advances thrive, creating new markets. Between 0:00 - 0:18s, we see that the pink dog was an early adopter. He took the biggest risk of going first, albeit carefully, as though he had been through the process before.
2. The rich will keep getting richer, and successful people will keep winning.? It is how the world works.Once the pink dog was rewarded for making the first jump with a plate of food, he did not stop eating while the other dogs struggled. Their struggle was his gain. You may want to read about the zero-sum games.
3. The road less traveled can be rewarding. At 0:10 - 0:14, the second dog, which followed the pink dog, turned back when he realized most dogs were trying to go through other routes different from where the pink dog threaded. The results? Well, the second dog ended up doing some unintended cardio. He probably felt the pink dog took the longer route and was deceived by those taking shortcuts. He did not bother to follow the pink dog to the end of the road to see what lay ahead.? He was distracted by the noise. The road less traveled is a road devoid of noise. You have to resolve to filter through the noise.
4. You do not have to reinvent the wheel. Follow the proven method, and you will reach your destination sooner or later. The third dog was more interesting. I learned two things from him. First, he saw the first dog (the pink dog) and was determined to replicate his outcome. He did not reinvent the wheel. He followed in his path, and in the end, he was well-fed.
5. You can either accommodate distractions or leave them behind. The former will adulterate your purpose and journey. THROUGH-it is not always the wisest choice.The second lesson from the third dog is that he was distracted at 0:30s. He could have jumped off the furniture but waited until the distractions were gone. On our path to accomplishment, sometimes, it is impossible to go through life's distractions without being adulterated. We may need to leave the distractions behind or let the distractions leave before we proceed on the path. THROUGH-it is not always the wisest choice. At this juncture, two dogs have accessed food, yay! .:)
6. The reality of life is not that everyone who tries succeeds.On the role of luck, the fourth dog (Orange dog) at 0:46 - 0:50s almost reached the food, but alas, he fell. The reality of life is not that everyone who tries succeeds. Sometimes, people who did not reinvent the wheel fail at replicating other’s success. What changed? Maybe luck or a God factor? No matter how close some people get to the prize, they never claim it. Then, they are back to where they began as the cycle continues. I do not encourage people to neglect or underestimate the God factor. It is one huge element of a successful life.
7. As a niche matures and reaches saturation, the entry barrier gets harder.Over time, the challenge for newcomers to penetrate a specific niche intensifies. As the niche matures, barriers to entry become increasingly formidable, creating an exceptionally difficult landscape for new entrants to navigate successfully. The established players within the niche often solidify their positions, fortifying the competitive environment. At 1:06 - 1:12s, it became difficult for new dogs to get in after the red dog made it to the food, joining the two existing foodies. They fell off due to a lack of space.I should note that there are exceptions to the above learning as some markets, e.g., food, never get saturated. The demand is constant. However, the existing players can make it harder for newbies to play.
8. You either put in the work and the staying power or live long enough to witness everyone who followed due process win while you remain a loser.Lastly, there are no shortcuts to success. You either put in the work and the staying power or live long enough to witness everyone who followed due process win while you remain a loser. The blue dog is a perfect example of people who are shortsighted by the shortcuts. They only see the shortcut and how close they are. They would not see how much they must sacrifice for the shortcut. They also would not accept patronage from people asking them to follow the process because of the proximity they feel and thus fall into the sunk cost trap.

That’s it from me. What did you learn that you feel could be added to my list? :)