Find someone five steps ahead and ask what they’d do differently. It’s the cheapest lesson you’ll ever get.

Someone slightly ahead of you has recent, specific information that nobody else has. They remember the mistakes clearly, the path has not yet blurred into a story, and they are close enough to your situation for the details to transfer. Most people never ask, assuming they would be imposing.

Find one person a few years further along and ask what they would do differently. One question, no long preamble, and take whatever they say seriously enough to try a piece of it.