My mindset going into my MBA at the Rotman School of Management was that book-learnin’ is well and good but experiential learning is where the rubber hits the road. So I didn’t hesitate to join University Consulting Group (UCG) — a not-for-profit founded at the University of Toronto that brings together high-performing students from multiple Ontario universities. UCG’s mission (and tagline) is “Real Experience. Real Outcomes”. The organization offers students real-world consulting experience and non-profit clients pro-bono consulting work (supported by industry professionals) that genuinely moves their missions forward.
I knew that real-world experience would move my professional development forward at least as much as my MBA classes would. So I enthusiastically dove in head first.
The engagements were serious, the stakes real, and for almost all of us it was the first time attempting anything like this. I can confidently say I learned a lot over my five years with UCG but it only took one semester (the completion of my very first consulting engagement) to adopt a new mantra: Anything worth doing once, is worth doing twice.
The First Round: Heavy Lifting in the Dark
That first project was grueling. As students, we didn’t yet know the structures, frameworks, or rhythms required to deliver a polished consulting engagement. It was like trying to run a race in the dark.
By the end of that first engagement, I realized I had already done the hardest part. I had built the foundation, paid the upfront cost in effort many early mornings late nights and weekends. Would I not get further a second time around – with the bulk of the learning behind me – actually capitalize on all that initial work?
The Second Round: More Effort, Better Results
So I did. In my second engagement, I stepped into a leadership role. This added new layers of responsibility, new skills, and of course, new challenges. Yet this time, the path felt straighter. I could anticipate the work, plan around it, and support my team with clearer guidance.
Not only did my performance improve, but the outcomes we delivered were stronger. In fact, it was this second-round leadership and the quality of the project that led UCG to ask me to stay on as Chief Operating Officer and help scale the organization.
The lesson was clear: the first time is always the hardest. You’re untested, unsure, and learning everything from scratch. But the second time? The second time is when you transform that hard-earned knowledge into confidence, efficiency, and real mastery.
A Lesson From the Gym: Strength in Reserve
This principle shows up in sport science as well. In strength training, there’s something called the size principle: not all muscle fibers are activated equally during a given bout of exercise. The largest, most powerful muscles only fire under heavy loads.
When someone untrained first lifts a weight, they’re often only activating about 71% of their muscle fibers. The initial gains in strength don’t come from muscles getting bigger but from training your nervous system to recruit more of what you already have.
In fact (amazingly), strength and conditioning research has shown that just one heavy lifting workout is enough to make it easier (less effortful or costly) for your nervous system to activate those same dormant muscle fibres during the second heavy lifting workout.
It’s true in business and sport: Your first attempt at something hard makes it easier for you to access the strength you’ve always had – and achieve greater outcomes – during your second attempt.
Here’s what this means for how you should approach your next career or entrepreneurial venture:
- Attending a conference? Budget for two years. The first is learning, the second is leveraging.
- Hosting an event? Plan to run it (at least) twice. The first event will be based on theory the second on first-hand experience (and, for the best results, on data you collected).
- Pitching your idea? Enter multiple competitions. Find more than one type of opportunity to tell your story. Each attempt sharpens your message.
- Starting a business? Expect to start (at least) two. The first teaches you what doesn’t work (and how reality differs from theory), the second is where you apply those hard-earned lessons to create something that does work.
The idea is simple: don’t stop at round one. When you’re making your entrepreneurial game plan, plan to take at least two swings at bat. It would be a shame to let everything you gained during your first attempt go waste.
The Real Trap: Assuming It Always Feels Like the First Time
Too many people try something once, find it exhausting, and assume that’s just how it is and it’s always going to be. But that’s just not true. The first time you do anythig is uniquely hard. And, comparing apples to apples, the second time will be easier — both because your path is clearer and because more of your existing capacity will be at your fingertips.
Final Word
So the next time you set out on something challenging — whether launching a business, leading a project, or hitting the gym — remember this:
Anything worth doing once is worth doing twice.
It’s the second attempt that realizes the return on the blood, sweat and tears you invested in the first.