Don't build products, build relationships
Pitching your idea to strangers is not validation. In order to validate your product idea, you have to first forget about it and start building relationships. You will unlock learnings from your future users and navigate towards the right product to build.
ondrej.co
Very good advice. Yet, I don't see enough people following it.
This approach has opened a lot of doors for me this year.
It takes time and I know from personal experience that the excitement to build is often stronger than the one to learn. You just tell yourself the stars will line up this time around and you will nail product/market fit. It's almost like a gambling addiction :D