The real reason I'm so lucky
Welcome to reThinkable – my weekly newsletter where I share actionable insights to build a wealthy and healthy life.
Here’s what we’re covering:
🌟 Can you create luck?
🍀 What is The Luck Surface Area?
📈 How to increase your luck
Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 25 seconds
🌟Can you create luck?
In case you’re not following me on Instagram, I was in Guatemala hiking to see the volcano called “Fuego.”
Fun fact, “Fuego” is an active volcano that erupts every few minutes (that’s the eruption smoke behind me).
While I was there, I had a conversation with this person from Germany who told me about a fascinating concept about how you can create luck.
I never even considered this a possibility but as I reflect on my life, there were things I did that lined up perfectly with this phenomenon.
Most people have a binary view of luck: You’re either born lucky or not.
Even Bill Gates has talked about the role of luck in success, saying:
“If I’d been born a few thousand years ago, I’d have been some animal’s lunch.”
And I 100% agree. Some people are just plain ol’ lucky. Maybe they’re:
1. Born to millionaire parents
2. Lottery winners
3. Born with the genetics of Olympic athletes
4. Just at the right place at the right time
But there’s a problem with believing in just a binary view of luck.
If you believe you were just dealt a bad hand of cards and there’s nothing you can do about it then 1 of 2 outcomes will occur:
1. You either stop trying or
2. You don’t try as hard
But what if I told you there is a way to create more luck for yourself?
🍀 What is Luck Surface Area?
Jason Roberts devised the concept of the “Luck Surface Area.”
Although it’s undeniable that luck occurs randomly, Jason believes that the Luck Surface Area allows you to position yourself in a way that captures more of it.
He summarized it with this equation: Luck = Doing x Telling
Jason Roberts
Essentially, the Luck Surface Area says the more you do in a specific area of expertise and share your knowledge with others, the more lucky you will be.
Think of it like the board game Monopoly.
The objective in Monopoly is for players to purchase squares on the edge of the board, each representing a specific property.
Every player who lands on your property must pay you, the owner, money.
To win, players must focus on increasing their “surface area” of property owned.
You can consider each square a stroke of luck. The more squares you have, the greater your chance of winning.
📈 How to increase your luck
So we’ve established the chance of luck is heavily impacted by two factors:
1. The work that you do, and
2. How many people are aware of its value
Knowing this, here are 4 things you can do to increase your luck with living a wealthy healthy life:
1. Be underqualified
Many of us shy away from situations that take us out of our comfort zone.
It’s a survival mechanism that has been passed down for centuries.
The question you must ask yourself is: Do I want to survive, or do I want to thrive?
Depending on your response, your actions must be adapted.
If you want to start achieving overwhelming success, get comfortable with saying yes to opportunities that seem daunting.
Volunteer for tasks that won’t come easily to you.
This is how you can quickly learn more and be exposed to more things
2. Get out & engage
Chances are, you’ll rarely get lucky watching movies on the couch eating chips.
But there’s a higher chance you get lucky when you’re outside engaging with people and learning from others.
Spend more time engaging and you’ll find yourself in more positions to get lucky.
3. Be the curious cat
Asking questions is a great way to increase your luck.
This is because our brains are extremely attracted to solving problems.
When we ask a question, our mind immediately goes to work on providing an answer, which may show up in the form of a person, a thought, or an opportunity.
4. Surround yourself with optimism
Lucky people see the glass half-full, while unlucky people see the glass half-empty.
An important factor in building luck is learning to look at failures as opportunities for growth. Instead of becoming stuck and unmotivated, successful people find a way to turn misfortune into luck.
Always regard your situation from several different angles, and determine how you could possibly benefit from your current circumstance in ways that you previously couldn’t.
P.S. What other tips am I missing? I’d love to hear from you. Reply to this email and let me know :).