Success often has an element of luck behind it, but waiting around for luck to find you is a fool’s strategy. Luck doesn’t strike at random. It favors those who make themselves worthy of it through hard work and preparation.
Luck Isn’t Random
Some people seem to consistently get lucky—people like Elon Musk, for instance. Musk, a serial entrepreneur, has thrived across industries, from co-founding PayPal to launching SpaceX, and many successful companies in between. His track record challenges the idea that luck is just a random twist of fate.
So, what’s really happening?
A stroke of luck isn’t some random event. Opportunities exist all around you, but most of the time you miss them because you’re simply not ready.
Someone right now is paying a lot of money for a product that you don’t produce. Someone is ready to hire for a lucrative job involving skills that you don’t possess. Someone has the offer for the goods you have, but you are invisible to them because your presence is not captivating enough. There could be numerous reasons why luck is not happening to you.
You’re not unlucky, you’re just not ready to get lucky. You may be lacking the mindset, action, skills, charisma, or all of it.
People who you think “got lucky” are the people who had the idea, the product, or the skills that were in demand. They took the action before luck found them. They were equipped and ready when the opportunity knocked.
When hard work and preparedness meet the opportunity, it looks the same as luck.
Be Ready to Attract It
A lightning strike seems random, but if you’re standing outside holding a giant antenna, the odds of getting struck go way up. Although that’s a case of bad luck, you get the point. In that scenario, it’s not so random anymore—you’ve attracted the lightning.
Good luck works the same way. While it may appear random, there are things you can do to make yourself a magnet for good fortune.
Start by eliminating distractions like mindless entertainment, get into shape, learn a new skill or language, and develop daily habits that push you into the top 10-20% in your field. Drop destructive habits like smoking or excessive drinking, and watch how your life begins to change.
Hard work and preparedness through constant self-improvement are analogous to the antenna for attracting the stroke of luck that otherwise seems random. The more you work on yourself, the more you’ll start to attract what others call luck.
Luck isn’t about chance—it’s about putting in the work so that when an opportunity comes around, you’re ready to catch it.