Luck in Success…
How much of success is because of luck?
Before I had any success in business, I said, “Those who succeeded just got lucky.”
After I had some business success, I started saying, “Luck wasn’t a factor.”
Both are biased. Both are wrong.
So I’m writing this to balance the scales in my own life.
Luck is required.
Alex Hormozi has said, “Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities come around about once every year.”
Richard Branson has said, “Opportunities are like busses. There’s always another one coming.”
Translation: there are always opportunities to get lucky.
To ride a wave as it grows.
To join a trend before it takes off.
To release a product that takes off immediately.
Those who started selling on Amazon USA in 2012… got lucky.
Those who started creating content on TikTok is 2016… got lucky.
Those who started writing on Substack in 2018… got lucky.
Luck is a required ingredient in success.
But luck is not sufficient.
Those who started selling on Amazon USA in 2012 got lucky.
But if they didn’t learn how to sell online (maintaining stock, building their email list, launch new product, etc)… their luck ran out.
(Btw — this was my start in e-commerce. I started selling on Amazon USA in 2015. We did 6-figures the first year. But I knew next-to-nothing about business. So a year later… my luck ran out. We shut the business down and I had to get a job as a barista… again.)
Those who started creating content on TikTok is 2016 got lucky.
But if they didn’t learn how to be consistent, come up with new ideas, build partnerships, and outsource… their luck ran out.
Those who started writing on Substack in 2018 got lucky.
But if they stopped posting articles, stopping engaging with the community, stopped coming up with new ideas and building relationships… their luck ran out.
Luck is required in almost all success.
But luck is not sufficient.
Relying on luck leads to a 99.99% failure rate… And a 100% resentment rate.
Resentment, because if you don’t succeed, you resent those who do.
And if you do succeed, you’re unsure if it was luck or skill… And you resent the luck.
Luck is required. But so is skill.
Specifically — the skill of execution.
If you want to take advantage of those annual “once in a lifetime opportunities”, you must develop the skill of execution.
The skill of showing up. And putting in the work. Consistently.
When you learn how to execute, you develop the ability to use luck to your advantage — without relying on it.
PS. The skill of execution can be learned.
There’s a lot that goes into learning how to execute (I’ve outlined 3 books on the topic and in a few years I’ll write at least 1 of them).
But the first step is always… to show up. Consistently.
That’s how you learn what tasks are important. And what can be ignored.
If you’re a non-fiction writer who’s struggling to make money, you’re in the right place.
Building a business and being great at writing are two different skills.
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