The real wisdom here lies in Branson's implicit critique of how we organize learning—especially in institutions that prize compliance over experimentation. Most advice tells us *what* to do; he's saying the doing itself, complete with its failures, *is* the instruction. A child who memorizes balance principles will still wobble on a bicycle until their body learns through repetition and stumbling, which is precisely why your first job teaches you more than any career manual ever could, mistakes and all.