The Playground Theory of Success

Ever watched a kid try and do something stupid?

I get to see this all the time.

I watched my son the other day attempting to climb an acute triangle-shaped structure in the playground. Don’t ask me why, but as a boy dad, I can say the silliest stuff gives them the greatest pleasure. This structure was an example of that.

Anyway, he was full in, no fear. Just pure "I'm gonna do this" energy. Meanwhile, I'm standing there calculating all the ways he could fall. And guess what, I was…

…

…right.

He fell multiple times and got scratched a bit here and there.

But here's what astounded me—he didn't just try once. He kept going. Different approaches. Different angles. Pure determination until he figured it out.

And in the end, he scaled it, was all smiles, slid down the slope, was done, back to normal, and said, “Let’s go.”

And I started thinking—when did we adults lose that superpower?

A child probably says YES 100 times before an adult says it once. And not because they're smarter. Not because they're braver. But because they haven't learned to overthink yet.

Yes, our damn conditioned, overthinking brain.

At first, I thought this was just about being young and naive, without the weight of society on their shoulders. Nuh. If you research a bit, you’ll see that the most successful innovators have the same quality. They're either all in or all out. They experiment, dabble, and learn just enough to give a strong yes, or a stronger no.

But there’s an important piece here—they might say no but never because of fear.

Here’s something I call:

The YES Matrix

1) Child's YES (Pure/Uninformed)

• No overthinking

• Pure possibility

• Action first

2) Adult's NO (Experience/Fear)

• Past scars

• Future worries

• Analysis paralysis

3. Innovator's YES (Informed/Brave)

• Calculated risks

• Quick experiments

• Learn-as-you-go

tldr: the child isn’t overthinking it, the adult is only overthinking it, the innovator takes calculated risks and is YES positive.

If you’re into tech and entrepreneurship, the biggest names in business keep trying to tell us this:

They're not just being motivational. They've rediscovered what every kid knows instinctively.

Let’s look at a few ex-normie folk who are now rich, wealthy, and famous because they said YES in times when they could have easily given up and become another copy+paste in society.

Sara Blakely. No business experience. No retail knowledge. No clothing background. But when she had the idea for Spanx, she didn't let that stop her. Instead of listening to the adult voice of "you're not qualified," she channeled that childlike determination. Taught herself design through YouTube videos at night. When manufacturers said NO, she kept showing up until one said YES.

Or look at Ed Sheeran. At 16, he moved to London with no backup plan. Said YES to playing 12 shows a night, most unpaid. YES to sleeping on the Circle Line train between gigs. YES to every open mic night. Each small YES built momentum toward something bigger.

Or take Shah Rukh Khan. Middle-class Delhi boy who lost both parents early, no connections in Bollywood. Moved to Mumbai to pursue acting when everyone said the industry was all about family connections. Said YES to TV shows when movies weren't happening. YES to villain roles (terrifying, I might add) when hero parts weren't offered. YES to romantic roles when action was trending. Each YES stacked up, turning an outsider into the "King of Bollywood.”

So Parves, how do we build this YES muscle?

Glad you asked.

Watching my son that day, I realized something: his biggest risk was not trying and going home, never knowing how climbing that structure would feel.

And that’s the same with us. The biggest risk isn’t saying YES; it’s defaulting blindly, automatically, to NO.

Hell, I think it's time we all climbed a few more impossible difficult, but entirely possible, playground structures.

No point in a future filled with arthritis and regret.