On Multiplying By Zero

A mental model that I was made aware of recently is multiplying by zero.

As we’ve (hopefully) learned in school, any number, no matter how large, when multiplied by zero, is zero.

Let’s see how this applies: say you want to be a Hollywood star.

You discover your love for comedy in college and begin doing improv. After you prove you have the chops, you get into Second City in Chicago. That leads to a role on Saturday Night Live, which turns into huge movie opportunities. You made it.

But there’s just one small problem: you have a drug addiction. This was the tragic case of Chris Farley. Despite having all the talent and doing everything right, one overdose of morphine and cocaine was enough to bring down the entire show. This is multiplying by zero.

You don’t have to look far to see wildly successful people whose careers have abruptly ended: Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, John Belushi, Mac Miller, Michael Jackson… the list goes on.

Beyond life and death, this can be applied to your career and relationships as well.

Say you’re climbing the ranks of the accounting firm you work at. You’ve got your eye on becoming a partner, and you deserve it: you’re reliable, smart, and have excellent leadership qualities.

But one day, as you’re doing the company’s books, your temptation gets the best of you and you wire yourself twenty-five thousand dollars.

Even if you cover your tracks immaculately, you can’t cover them completely. Eventually, the books get reviewed and you’re found out, fired, and jailed for grand larceny. Your career is down the tubes.

Fortunately, most exposures to being multiplied by zero are avoided by simply having integrity and not being stupid.

Don’t want to go to prison for grand larceny? Don’t steal thousands of dollars.

Don’t want to ruin your marriage? Don’t cheat on your wife or gamble your retirement away.

Don’t want to die? Don’t lean over the edge of the Grand Canyon, don’t drink and drive, and always wear your seatbelt.

We should always seek to maximize the multiplication of positive factors in our lives, of course. But limiting our exposure to being multiplied by zero is a prerequisite