Almost everything in Noah Kagan’s career hasn’t worked out… and yet he’s still more successful than most people. Why? Because you only ever need one breakthrough.

Kagan quit a boring cubicle job at Intel; he was employee #30 at Facebook (and got fired); he helped Mint (a financial management platform) get their first 1m users, then started 24 businesses of his own.

So what advice does Kagan have for making an impact in the business world? The first thing is to allow your career to develop across different verticals. This introduces you to a variety of people while giving you the advantage of applying skills from one field to another.

Your location matters. To learn from (and compete with) the best, you need to be around them. This one simple truth is what separates the pros from the amateurs.

Kagan lives in Austin, but he credits growing up in the Bay Area – just two miles from the Apple campus – for shaping his mindset. It was the kind of place where assuming that you’d launch your own startup and become a millionaire was considered perfectly ordinary.

Take up new pursuits and find ways to incorporate them into what you do. When Kagan learned to fly, he had to take lessons in preparedness. That was essential for safety, obviously, but it also made him rethink his approach to creating content on YouTube.

Document your learning online. This will: 1) Help you process what you’ve learned; 2) Build your brand; 3) Open up a world of opportunities.

Kagan began blogging about this work and life back in the year 2000. His blog drew amazing people into his life, but also allowed him to reflect on his progress in a tangible way.

Your biggest failures will be the biggest source of learning. Instead of beating yourself up for not succeeding, reward yourself for trying. You can’t grow without experiencing uncertainty.

Of the 24 business ideas that Kagan tried, most of them didn’t work. But you only need one good relationship to find your perfect life partner – and it’s the exact same with your career. Setbacks are like physical exercise: they train you to become fitter and more able.