This is a wise maxim, “to take warning from others of what may be to your own advantage.”

Other people’s failures are the cheapest lessons available, and almost nobody collects them. Success stories get told constantly and explain very little, because the teller does not know which parts mattered. A person describing what went wrong is far more precise, since they have been over it repeatedly and know exactly where the turn was.

When you next consider something significant, find somebody who tried it and did not get there, and ask them directly what they would avoid. Most will tell you in detail if you ask without pity. An hour of that will save you a year, and it is the one form of tuition nobody charges for.