Zero to One

With any technological innovation the push from zero to one, from nonexistent to existence, is the most difficult battle. Creating a rocket ship capable of landing on the moon, computers, telephones, the lightbulb—nearly every impactful invention went through a series of trials and ordeals to simply exist for the first time. In existing for the first time, it is proven possible. It is proven possible to be recreated, iterated upon, and improved. The push from zero to one may be the hardest step in the journey but once “one” is established, the journey has just begun.

Once “one” exists, there is a change in the journey which promotes rapid and unfettered growth. The journey changes from zero to one, to one to many. In this period the push is instead a matter of scaling, marketing, and optimization. The first computer looks nothing like the mainframe computers of old. Over years this sort of technology rapidly evolved to where most of us have our own “supercomputers” in our pockets via the form of a smartphone. Additionally, as scaling occurs the technology becomes more repeatable and the developmental processes are optimized. High-definition televisions used to be a luxury that were very expensive. Now they are a normalcy and are at the bottom of the market from a price perspective. The journey from zero to one lays the foundation and provides proof of what is possible. The journey from one to many makes it part of everyday life for the years to come.

In our own lives there will undoubtedly be pursuits we attempt where we are starting from zero. In these instances, the journey to achieve any traction will be difficult. We may feel a desire to quit. We will encounter numerous setbacks and question our ability. By pushing on we are working towards that first breakthrough. We are working to achieve a simple ounce of recognition and reaffirmation that we can. Once we know we can the journey speeds up. Knowing we can will send us along a rapid and competitive path of scalability. We should want to spend our time in the one-to-many portion of the journey. This is where we hone our craft and become masters. This is where we iterate upon our processes and become the best version we can be. The push from zero to one may be the most difficult journey but it is what we do after that paints the results for our lives. Once we know we can, we must continue to do. We must continue to do in ever-evolving and increasingly better ways. Zero to one is a stepping stone for our individual one-to-many moments.