How to Increase your Chances of Getting Lucky
Growing up, I hated the term luck. I absolutely resented the idea that luck played a major part in success.
For me luck represented an uncontrollable random factor. I wasn’t willing to accept that something out of your control, something completely random played a role in your success.
As Einstein famously said “God does not play dice with the universe”.
Unfortunately, as I grew up I had to start accepting that luck in fact plays a huge role in determining your success. I had to slowly and sadly start accepting that maybe I was wrong, maybe Einstein was wrong too.
It was probable that success was in fact influenced by a random factor.
But all of this changed when I recently read an article by Marc Andreessen called: “Luck and the Entrepreneur, Part 1: The four kinds of luck”.
Initially, it caught my attention but if I have to be honest, I didn’t completely grasp the significance of what Andreessen was talking about. But when I later heard a podcast by Naval Ravikant where he talks about “How to get rich” and makes references to Andreessen’s article it all started making sense.
This probably says a lot about my motivations. However, I am not really ashamed to admit that becoming rich is a huge motivation for me. For some weird reason there is a social stigma around aiming to become rich. I do want to help other people and the society but I believe that becoming rich will afford me the leverage and freedom to do so.
But getting back to the article, Andreessen talks about four kinds of luck and only one of which is completely random. The four types being
- Blind Luck — This type of luck is completely random and accidental. This is what most people associate being lucky with.
- Motion — This is the type of luck that you make for yourself by stirring the pot. One way to think about it is, ‘If you take enough shots, you will hit one of them’.
- Recognizing Good Fortune — This is the type of luck where you have develop a keen sense and understanding of a field. So you can pick up signals that others can’t and get lucky. Louis Pasteur characterized it for all time when he said, ‘Chance favors the prepared mind.’
- Directed Motion — This is the most complicated type of luck. This happens when you have established yourself in a field as an expert and instead of you finding luck, luck finds you.
So what does this mean for us. Well for starters, even though luck plays a factor in success, it is not completely random. It is something that can be hacked. You can set yourself up to get lucky.
I have come up with a simple 4 point framework to increase your chances of getting lucky. It has worked fairly well for me so far.
- Pick a field and stick to it
Pick a field that you are excited about and think is going to grow in the future. The first condition is more important than others. You need to be excited about the field or you won’t stick with it. Having an intuition about the future is a skill you can learn over time and is subject of a different article. By picking a field and sticking to it, you increase your chances for the second type of luck.
2. Find the best people, companies or projects in the field
A lot of luck comes from being in the right place and having leverage and the means to act on it. Working with smart people in the field affords you this opportunity. It will help you both understand the field and build your expertise in it. This increases your chances for the third and fourth type of luck.
3. Strive to establish yourself as an expert
Use the resources and people around you to try to become an expert in the field. Also try to communicate and share your ideas with the world. It’s no point in becoming an expert if no one else can testify to that. This opens yourself up for the fourth kind of luck.
4. Keep your eyes and nose open to exciting opportunities
If you stick to a field and become an expert in it, lots of new opportunities will open up for you. But it is still up to you to recognize these opportunities and act on it. This step is more about making the best of the luck afforded to you.
I apply this framework rigorously and it has so far worked beautifully. I would love to know if it works for you or any other comments you might have. Comment below or hit me up on twitter.
