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Imagine buying an energy drink from the gas station on your way to the gym. The guy checking you out asks, "anything else?" You peak at the assortment of lottery tickets next to the register and think, "What if? What if I won the lottery?"

The thought fades faster than SVB's stock price. You quickly realize there’s no reason to believe you'd win – and rightfully so. The chances of winning the lottery are 1 in 292,201,338. Not great.

But what if you did win? What if you were a millionaire in a matter of moments?

If you did win, you'd experience blind luck. This type of luck occurs by chance alone.

Sure, you put yourself out there by purchasing the ticket, but it's a half-hearted and wishful purchase. It's like slinging a rock from the sideline. I'd argue that you're not acting to make yourself wealthy and financially free; you're doing the opposite.

Blind luck is just one type of luck, though. There are three other types of luck. And the more you know about the other three, the luckier you'll be!

Let's dive in 🤝 

Motion

Have you ever not wanted to do something but did it anyway? And to your surprise, it was a fantastic experience. Maybe you didn't want to go out with your friends, but at the end of the night, you met the girl (or guy) of your dreams and fell in love with them. That's an example of motion luck.

Motion luck occurs when you're doing things. It could be putting yourself out there through writing, making YouTube videos, or going out with your friends, not knowing what could happen. As Sahil Bloom points out, you have to put the ball in play ⬇️

Think of motion luck like this: every action you take increases or decreases your luck surface area. The more actions you take and the fewer rocks you sling from the sidelines, the greater your chances of getting lucky.

But this comes with a caveat. More is not always better. If you're running around blindly without a mission, it doesn't matter what or how much you do. It's imperative to have direction.

If you want to be a standout athlete, you can get in the arena by attending showcases and tournaments and sending cold emails to collegiate or professional organizations. You have better chances of getting lucky when you're rolling the dice consistently and for long enough.

It's action with direction that matters.

Experience

Dr. Andrew Huberman is one person that comes to mind who's had experience luck. He's built a social media empire based on his knowledge of health, wellness, and human optimization.

Some people would say he's "gotten lucky." But without the decades of experience, he wouldn't have incurred half the success he's had today.

It shouldn't be surprising that putting in the hours, meeting new people, and networking are the only ways to gain more experience. Dr. Huberman spent twenty years studying and professing before he made a dollar from social media.

And since starting his podcast, he's networked better than SBF did to secure Tom Brady and Steph Curry as brand ambassadors for FTX.

It feels like he's on a new podcast every week, increasing his reach and connecting his message with more people.

"But what if I don't want to spend twenty years studying neurology before I get lucky from my experience?" Fair point.

If you're not living underneath a rock, you're probably aware of the recent AI wave. You know, the ChatGPT thing. I bring this up because AI (artificial intelligence) engineers and operators are now more sought after in the workplace. Maybe they got lucky, or maybe they placed their bets wisely. Or maybe both.

Not everyone wants to work in the AI industry. But there are plenty of examples where experienced operators in a specific field benefit (or get lucky) when an industry has a booming business cycle.

Huberman timed the launch of his podcast well with the influx of people around the world becoming interested in health and wellness. Tim Ferris wrote a book at the right time that jumpstarted his media conglomerate. Nike took a chance on Michael Joran during his rookie season in the NBA. As they say, "the rest is history."

These feats don't happen by chance alone. They happen because someone decided to roll the dice, step up to the plate, and start swinging.

Not everyone will get lucky because of their experience. But if you can read the room and place your bets accordingly, you're more likely to get lucky and be rewarded for it.

Uniqueness

Nowadays, everyone has a YouTube guy. You know, the person you go to when you're bored or are on the toilet.

One commonality every YouTuber embodies is uniqueness. They express themselves wholeheartedly. It's why we gravitate toward them and why they're successful.

Businesses have also endured massive success from their uniqueness.

Take Paris or New York Fashion Week, for example. Who would wear anything those "artists" and "designers" create? Okay, fine. Outside of Kanye West, the Jenners, and Kyle Kuzma, I don't think many people would wear a trash bag to work.

Fashion businesses that create “stylish clothing" benefit greatly because of their uniqueness.

It's a branding strategy the top businesses around the world embody. Nike leans into its "Just do it" mentality. Equinox refuses to believe that life and fitness are separate entities. And Coca-Cola differentiates itself from cheap off-brand colas with clever copy like "Nothing refreshes like the real thing."

Leaning into your uniqueness, whether you have a business or not, is one way to increase your chances of getting lucky. Because if you separate yourself from the first and second standard deviations, you'll be different than 95% of the observations within the distribution.

Jason Levin's "Let's get weird" advice is timely.

If I were to give my 15-year-old self some advice, I'd tell him to never stop creating; embrace his uniqueness, create art, and don't worry about what people think of him.

Oh, and I'd tell him to keep creating his own luck.

Keep crushing.

Cheers,

Noah Cracknell

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