Luck
Someone reminded me this week of the line from Titanic when the horrible snob Cal Hockley (Billy Zane’s character) says to the table “A real man makes his own luck”. It’s always stuck with me, less the real man bit and more the idea of making your own luck.
The idea that things are predestined has always left me cold; I’ve always believed in free will and my ability to change the course of events. I think you kind of have to believe this as an entrepreneur don’t you? You have to believe that what you do today leads to impact some time in the future, otherwise you’d probably pick a job with less responsibility, a bit more stability, something more predictable.
Someone I know recommended the book Go luck yourself (a title I really hate) by Andy Nairn. He’d been given it – along with every colleague in the ad agency he works for – by his CEO. I found it pretty banal to be honest, once you’d grabbed the main thrust of the book (c. page 2) that you can always give yourself a better chance at something.
And of course the reverse is true, we can definitely sabotage our chances at something.
We don’t regard ourselves as lucky if it seemed inevitable or if we don’t value its outcome; in those cases we often don’t even notice it.
So I wonder if, because this entrepreneurial life matters more than our corporate ones – because it feels chosen, because we’re more responsible for it, because we may have wanted it for some time and because now it’s starting to be part of our identity, there’s a risk we might start believing in luck.
And is that such a problem? Is it a happy place to believe in luck? Especially if you believe you can create it – or maximise it. Eternal optimist. Self-starter. Glass half full.
It’s more of a mindset than anything spiritual or supernatural. And you can nurture it. I’m reluctant to point out any science on the subject in case it really isn’t science, but the consensus seems to be that you make your own luck through a few things: meeting more people, a positive mental attitude, being open to challenge and hard work. And hard work seems to counts most.
The experiment I most love about luck is the one where a prof got a group of people to self-select as Lucky or Unlucky and asked them to count the number of photos in a newspaper. On page 2, there was a message saying “Stop reading: there are 34 photos in this newspaper.” More of the Unlucky missed the message and kept counting than the Lucky.
So that’s it my fellow corporate escapologists, we just have to work harder and look for Lady Luck’s signals to make our lives easier, to entice success our way.
I’ve spoken to a few of you lately who sound a bit flat. It’s a year for many of us since we left our corporate jobs and our new businesses may not have (yet) taken off with a bang. Familiarize hasn’t, I’m (kind-of) ok admitting it – somethings have been brilliant, others not so much.
So, for any of you feeling like luck is not favouring you right now, here’s some ways to turn the tide:
Get out and talk to people – zoom if you must but nothing quite creates options and opportunities, as well as renewed energy and a warm glow.
Look at the top three things you need to happen and challenge yourself – what initiative could you take today to progress them? You’ll be surprised at what can happen. Definitely more than leaving things sitting in your head.
Helping others is one of the best ways to create luck - #givefirst creates opportunities, as well as saying something about the kind of person you are (attractive) – it nearly always leads to positive things.
Say yes to more things. There’s a real backlash to this at the moment – as a ward against energy vampires sucking all your positive energy. So don’t exhaust yourself, but saying no closes things down, including us. Yes opens us up, even Yes maybe.
I’m all for serendipity, an open mind can lead to great things, but practice and planning can create more luck. We get more lucky with experience and because we’re in the game: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity", Roman philosopher, Seneca.
This week I should hear about Y Combinator. I was going to pre-empt the result by writing this week’s blog on Rejection. But even though I’m sure I would have heard by now if I’d been successful, I couldn’t bring myself to crush that micro-chance of positive news between Thursday when I publish and Friday when that email arrives.
And anyway I’ve maximised my chances by applying to some other accelerators.
And anyway again, I can always write Rejection next week.