In 1492, Christopher Columbus made what’s probably the most profitable mistake in history. In his search for a quicker route between Europe and Asia, he stumbled upon America, which he quickly claimed for the crown of Spain.

As they explored Central and South America, the Spanish soon found gold – lots of gold. So much, in fact, that they became the most powerful nation on Earth. As the Spanish were busy filling their boots, the English looked enviously on.

How could they compete?
The English figured that, if Central and South America were full of gold, then surely North America must be, too. To claim these promised riches for England, colonists were dispatched to North America. Yet no gold was found, and most of the explorers died in the fruitless search. So another expedition was sent; this time, every last traveler perished, and no one struck gold.

Third time’s the charm, perhaps? Not quite. In 1607, the English set out once again – founding Jamestown in what is now Virginia. Again, they found plenty of death but no gold. But, though they didn’t find any precious metal, they did find something they could ship home for profit: tobacco.

Jamestown grew on the back of tobacco profits and the English presence in North America grew and grew. The rest is history.

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The way I see it: Not every mistake is profitable, and not every profit comes from a mistake. But if you want spectacular profits in life you need to BE OPEN to making spectacular mistakes!