The Engineer’s Guide to Failure: Why You Should Goal to Lose 10 Times

If you’ve ever scrolled through YouTube and stumbled upon a massive, complex experiment—maybe a dartboard that guarantees a bullseye, or a legendary glitter bomb designed to avenge package theft—you’ve witnessed the genius of Mark Rober. But Mark’s brilliance isn’t just in his viral science spectacles; it’s in his approach to life and, surprisingly, his love of failure.

In the recent YouTube podcast episode, "The Life Experiment Theory: One Rule That Changes How You Do Everything," Mark Rober sat down with Mel Robbins to share the frameworks that transformed him from a NASA mechanical engineer working on the Curiosity Rover and an Apple special projects employee into one of the world’s most impactful science communicators. What he shared might change the way you look at every setback.

Embrace the Super Mario Effect:

When we think about failing, we usually dread the sting, the embarrassment, or the personal hit to our ego. But Rober introduces a powerful mindset shift: the Super Mario Effect.

He realized that when he spent three years building the self-moving dartboard, every time something didn't work, he wasn't thinking "I am a failure," he was thinking, "I learned one more way not to do it".

Think about playing Super Mario Brothers. When your character falls into a pit or gets stomped by a Goomba, you don’t throw the controller down and quit, declaring yourself an idiot. Instead, you instantly analyze the mistake: "Okay, I need to jump faster next time." The focus remains on the goal, rescuing the princess, not on the failure itself.

This framework shifts failure from an indictment of who you are to a simple data point in the process of reaching your goal. If you’re being so conservative that you never fail, you have no idea how much bigger and cooler your endeavor could truly be.

Hiding the Vegetables: The Art of Impact

Mark Rober’s success comes down to mastering the art of storytelling and emotional connection. As an engineer, the natural tendency is to focus purely on the facts—the processor speed, the technical specs—but people don’t care about spec sheets. They care about how something makes them feel.

Mark calls his approach to teaching science "hiding the vegetables." His goal is to reach as many brains as possible with lessons on critical thinking and curiosity. He might create a massive, 15-ton Jell-O pool (which no one had ever pulled off before) as a sensational, clickbait title. But once you click, he gets you, and soon you're learning about chemistry and the scientific method hidden within the spectacle. He evokes a visceral response—laughter or excitement—that makes people want to share and remark about the content.

This technique is applicable everywhere. Whether you’re pitching an idea to your boss or apologizing to a partner, if the emotion isn't there, you won't cause that necessary shift in the heart.

The Secret to Starting: Goal to Fail:

If the fear of looking stupid or feeling embarrassed is holding you back (a common experience, especially when trying new things at work or in life), Mark suggests an incredibly counterintuitive solution: Make your goal to fail.

He realized he was avoiding playing chess online because he internalized losing as a negative reflection on himself. So, he set a concrete goal: "I want to lose 10 games." This framework resets everything. When you’re nervous about starting a YouTube channel, set the goal to simply make 10 videos—aim for zero views! Your win is just flexing that muscle and getting the work up. It's pure exposure therapy; the more you are exposed to failure, the more quickly you normalize it and build resilience.

Ultimately, Rober believes happiness is found in relationships, living according to personal values, and incremental "level ups," not in chasing the next fancy thing. We should focus on the "rock in front of us," the immediate best option, and trust that taking that step will open the next four doors.

What Rock Are You Stepping on Next?

Mark Rober and Mel Robbins remind us that a successful life is one where you leave the world a better place than you found it, a philosophy he’s taking to heart by creating a free science curriculum for teachers (the "seed planters" of the future).

A Relevant Question for You: What are three small ways you can intentionally "fail small" this week to build your resilience muscle?

An Easy Takeaway: Instead of avoiding mistakes, adopt the "Super Mario Effect" and view every setback as valuable data teaching you what not to do next time, bringing you one step closer to your goal.

A Favorite Quote: "If you are not failing that's a problem right like you need to be testing the limits to understand like if you're being so conservative on everything you have no idea how much bigger and cooler this thing could be".

Source: Excerpts from the transcript of the video "The Life Experiment Theory: One Rule That Changes How You Do Everything | Mark Rober" uploaded on the YouTube channel "Mel Robbins". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRHU-fvsNo0