It’s a widely recognized truth of human nature that, when given a choice, most of us will pursue success by following the path of least resistance. I don’t mean this as a criticism; it’s an entirely rational way to operate in the world. We maximize our chance of success (and minimize the cost of failure) when we make things as easy as possible for ourselves. So it makes sense for us to always be on the lookout for the simplest ways to get a leg up.