Dilbert Creator Scott Adams talks about what works for his success in an essay on his blog called The Yoke of Credibility.
I see life as a process, not a goal. If my goal had been to create world-changing ideas that worked right away, I would be a complete failure. But I don’t have that goal. Instead, I have a process that involves seeding the universe with ideas and waiting for the strongest to evolve and make a difference. The worst case scenario is that my ideas cause the eventual best ideas to compete harder and evolve to even better forms. When you use a process that makes sense, even the unanticipated outcomes are good.
His big idea is that finding success comes by not letting a specific goal determine what path he takes in his exploration of ideas and how attempting to maintain credibility can hinder courageous explorations of difficult ideas.