The Three Deaths Rule: Why Every Breakthrough Faces Rejection

How to Survive (and Thrive) When Your Best Ideas Are Killed

If you’ve ever had an idea shot down, you’re in good company. The greatest breakthroughs in science, medicine, and business all share a common story: they were rejected, sometimes ridiculed, and often abandoned—only to rise again. In 'Loonshots,' Safi Bahcall introduces the 'Three Deaths Rule': the notion that every major innovation is 'killed' at least three times before it finally succeeds.

Why does this happen? Partly, it’s human nature. We’re wired to stick with the familiar and distrust the new. But organizations amplify this effect, rewarding conformity and punishing risk. Many projects are abandoned due to 'false fails'—setbacks caused by flawed experiments, not faulty ideas. The first statins, for example, were nearly shelved after early tests failed. Only through persistence and critical investigation did champions realize the experiments were flawed, not the concept.

Champions are essential. The inventor may dream up the loonshot, but it’s often a different person who fights for its survival, navigating politics, raising funds, and shielding the idea from critics. Without such champions, even the best ideas wither.

For creators, the lesson is twofold: expect rejection, and learn from it. Seek out criticism, but distinguish between true and false fails. Don’t give up at the first (or second, or third) setback. The world’s most successful drugs, technologies, and companies all faced their darkest moments before their greatest triumphs.

So, if your idea has been killed, take heart: you may be closer to success than you think. 1 3