ABOUT 1 MONTH AGO • 4 MIN READ

The Cascade

profile

Cole Ryan

Writing insights on all things business, life, philosophy, and entrepreneurship.

Last week I made a decision that will affect my next decade. Not because it was particularly big, but because small decisions compound across time in ways we rarely appreciate.

It was a simple choice about who to meet for coffee.

But that choice will influence who I meet next, what opportunities I see, what patterns I notice. Each decision is a domino that tips countless others we'll never even see falling.

Most people treat decisions like isolated events. They weigh the immediate pros and cons, maybe think a step or two ahead. But they miss something fundamental about how reality works: decisions cascade.

That one meeting could lead to a partnership, which could open a market, which could create an opportunity, which could build a relationship, which could reveal an insight that changes everything. Or it could lead nowhere. You never know which butterfly will start the hurricane.

I learned this lesson hard in my early trading days. Every trade seemed isolated. A win or loss, nothing more. But each trade actually shaped my psychology, which affected my next trade, which influenced my risk tolerance, which impacted my strategy, which determined my long-term results. One bad decision could create a negative cascade lasting months.

The fascinating part isn't just that decisions compound - it's that they compound asymmetrically. Some choices create tiny ripples that fade quickly. Others create waves that amplify over time. The skill isn't just in making good decisions, but in identifying which decisions have cascade potential.

The most critical cascades often come from decisions about who we let into our lives.

That person you start dating? They're not just one person. They're their entire worldview, their habits, their network, their ambitions. Their patterns become your patterns. Their limitations become your limitations. Their ceiling often becomes yours.

I've watched countless talented people shrink their possible futures by dating someone who didn't understand their ambition. Who didn't share their drive. Who wasn't aligned with their trajectory. The relationship decision cascaded into a thousand tiny compromises, each one closing another door to what could have been.

Same goes for friendships. Every friend is a lens through which you see possibilities. They shape what you think is normal, what you believe is possible, what you consider worth pursuing. Your peer group isn't just company - it's a filter on your entire reality.

This hit me recently watching how different friend groups talk about money, success, and ambition. Some groups make $100k sound like the ceiling. Others make $10M sound like the starting line. The fascinating part isn't the numbers - it's how these perspectives silently shape what everyone in that group believes is possible for themselves.

The truly successful are ruthlessly selective about these relationship decisions. Not because they're elitist, but because they understand the cascade. They know that who you spend time with shapes:

  • What you think about
  • What you believe is possible
  • What you're exposed to
  • What opportunities you see
  • What becomes normal to you

Most people make relationship decisions based on comfort, convenience, or current circumstances. They don't see how these choices cascade into their future possibilities. How each relationship is actually a choice about their future context, their future mindset, their future opportunities.

That casual friend who constantly complains about their job? They're not just venting - they're normalizing settling. That partner who plays it safe? They're not just being cautious - they're capping your potential. That peer group satisfied with average? They're not just being content - they're programming your expectations.

This isn't about elitism or abandoning people. It's about understanding that relationship choices cascade more powerfully than almost any other decision we make. They shape our context, our beliefs, our access to opportunities, our standards for what's possible.

The edge isn't in picking "perfect" people. It's in choosing relationships that cascade toward growth rather than limitation. That open doors rather than close them. That expand possibility rather than contract it.

Take something as simple as where you live. People often make this choice based on current factors - rent, commute, amenities. But location shapes who you meet, what you see, what opportunities you notice, what becomes normal to you. The real estate decision is actually a decision about your future context, your future network, your future patterns of thought.

The truly successful people I know are master cascade readers. They don't just evaluate choices on their immediate impact. They see how decisions create or destroy future optionality. How they open or close future paths. How they shape future context.

This principle shows up everywhere once you start looking for it: The books you read shape how you think How you think shapes what you notice What you notice shapes what you do What you do shapes who you meet Who you meet shapes what's possible

Each decision is a node in an endless network of cascading consequences.

Most people never develop the art of decision making because they never see the full cascade. They optimize for immediate outcomes because future ones are invisible. They make choices that close more doors than they open because they don't see the doors at all.

The edge isn't in making perfect decisions. It's in understanding how decisions cascade. How they compound. How they create or destroy future possibilities.

Some decisions are doors that open into rooms with more doors. Others are doors that open into rooms with only walls. The trick is learning to tell the difference before you walk through.

I see this in every domain: Investors who buy assets that create more options versus those that limit them

Founders who make choices that expand possibility versus those that constrain it

Operators who build systems that scale versus those that create bottlenecks

Each decision isn't just a choice about now. It's a choice about what choices will be possible later.

This changes everything about how you evaluate decisions: Not just what this choice creates, but what it enables Not just what this path offers, but where it leads Not just what this door opens, but what's behind the next one

The real skill is in seeing these cascades before they happen. In understanding how choices compound across time. In reading the ripples before they become waves.

That coffee meeting I took last week? It already led to three more meetings. Each of those will lead somewhere else. The cascade has begun.

And that's the real art of decision making. Not just choosing well. But choosing in ways that create better choices later.

The cascade never stops. It just keeps flowing from that first choice. Choose wisely.

Cole Ryan

Writing insights on all things business, life, philosophy, and entrepreneurship.