Luck and the entrepreneur: A recap
You don’t need to be lucky to get lucky.
Luck has 4 sources:
- Sheer motion
- Motion as a consequence of a specific curiosity
- Expertise
- Curiosity and/or expertise, pursued or practiced full time, relentlessly.
Sheer motion
Showing up to more places, talking to more people, without an agenda but just more interactions with more people and things more frequently. You are more likely to get lucky this way than someone who doesn’t show up as much.
Motion + curiosity
Show up for a curiosity, talk to people who knows about it. Increase serendipity and luck compared to those who don’t.
Expertise
The guy who created penicillin saw some spoiled food on a ship and had an aha moment that led to the discovery of a scientific concept and creation of a life saving medicine. Someone else without his expertise could’ve seen the same spoiled food and not conclude the formula for a life saving medicine.
Full time pursuit of expertise or curiosity
When people remember you as ‘the person’ doing what you do, they send opportunities your way every time they come across someone or something that reminds them of your field/curiosity.
Paraphrased an old blog post about luck and entrepreneurship, written by Marc Andreesen.
My conclusion
Most luck is disciplined grind over an extended period of time, and you don’t need to be lucky to get lucky.
