Ten Attempts Rule
Create repeated shots at a goal so success or adjacent opportunity can emerge
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 94%
The Ten Attempts Rule turns a desired outcome into a finite action quota. Name the thing you want, define a legitimate attempt, and commit to making ten distinct shots before deciding the goal is unavailable. Each attempt can succeed directly, reveal an adjacent opportunity, or make the next effort more capable by exposing weaknesses and reducing fear of failure. Track both the target result and useful side effects so a near miss is not mistaken for no progress. The mechanism combats analysis paralysis by moving evaluation after action rather than before it. Repetition is not permission to spam or repeat an unchanged mistake: each attempt should be ethical, appropriately targeted, and informed by what the prior attempt taught.
Origin
Jennifer Cohen described the central idea from her first TED talk: make ten attempts at the thing you want most and let action generate direct or adjacent opportunities.
Core principles
- 01Action creates opportunities that thought alone cannot
- 02Repeated attempts make failure more familiar and less controlling
- 03An attempt can produce the target result or an adjacent opening
- 04Early misses sharpen later attempts
How to run it
- 1
Choose One Desired Outcome
State the specific result you want most. Keep it concrete enough that an attempt can be observed.
Pro tip Use an outcome such as securing a guest meeting rather than becoming more successful.
Watch out A vague goal makes it impossible to distinguish action from preparation.
- 2
Define a Valid Attempt
Specify the action that creates a genuine chance of the result. Exclude research, polishing, and private planning unless they reach the decision point.
Pro tip An attempt should expose you to a yes, no, or useful response.
Watch out Do not count rehearsing an ask as making the ask.
- 3
Build the Ten-Shot List
List ten appropriate people, channels, or variations through which you can pursue the outcome. Make each one distinct enough to create new information.
Pro tip Sequence lower-cost attempts early so feedback arrives quickly.
Watch out Never turn the quota into indiscriminate spam.
- 4
Attempt and Record
Take each shot and capture the response, failure point, and any unexpected opening. Count execution, not intention.
Pro tip Record adjacent introductions, ideas, and invitations as well as direct wins.
Watch out A rejection is data, not a reason to erase the attempt.
- 5
Sharpen the Next Shot
Use each result to improve targeting, framing, or execution before the next attempt. Finish the ten unless evidence shows the action is unsafe or unethical.
Pro tip Change one meaningful variable so you can learn what improves the response.
Watch out Repeating an unchanged failure ten times is not productive persistence.
In the wild
A creator wants a distribution partnership. She identifies ten relevant companies and sends each a tailored proposal, improving the proof and framing after every response. The first six decline, the seventh introduces her to a better-fitting platform, and the ninth accepts a pilot.
→ Repeated action produces both an adjacent opportunity and the original target result.
Common mistakes
Counting Preparation as an Attempt
Research and polishing do not create a chance of success until the work reaches someone who can respond.
Repeating the Same Weak Shot
Use the information from each result to sharpen the next attempt rather than preserving a failing approach.
Ignoring Adjacent Opportunities
A failed direct ask may create an introduction, insight, or alternative path that deserves to be captured.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for meaningful goals that depend on asking, applying, pitching, publishing, or taking other repeatable shots.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for irreversible, unsafe, deceptive, or high-cost actions where repetition would multiply harm.
From the transcript
“make 10 attempts at whatever you want most in life.”
“you making those attempts either you're going to get that thing you want or another opportunity will present itself.”
“no opportunity is going to happen with you sitting on your couch watching”
From the episode
Episode 531: Leslie John: Oversharing as a Competitive Advantage in Leadership and Negotiation
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