Some time ago I watched House of David. This frame caught my attention.  A battle is about to start, soon to be superseded by the combat between David and Goliath. Two armies facing each other. Classic movie stuff. One thing I remember from French officer school's is that elevation matters. A lot. So much so that it's estimated one man uphill will take out three coming from below. That's with modern weapons. Back then... it must have been, what, 1 to 5? Here you can clearly see the armies of Israël went _downhill_ to face the Philistines, giving up their excellent defensive position, literally backing themselves into a corner, when already outnumbered. Positioning matters if you want to stay in the game. And success has more to do with staying in the game than being the smartest, fastest, loudest, toughest or whatever-est. > "You don't need to be smarter than others to outperform them if you can out-position them. Anyone looks like a genius when they're in a good position, and even the smartest person looks like an idiot when they're in a bad one. [\.\.\.] The company with cash on the balance sheet has nothing but good options to choose from. When bad times come, and they always do, their options go from good to great." > *— Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking* Good decisions come from good positions. Don't obsess over making the right choice. Obsess over making choices that (1) do not degrade and (2) if possible improve the position from which you make decisions over time. Your position is what dictates your options. It's incredibly hard to make bad decisions when all you have are good options. On the other hand, if you've been sentenced to death and your only choice is between the rope and the chair, being the smartest person in the universe won't do you much good.