Make your Own Luck

Outliers

In the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, luck is a major theme. He explains how successful people obtain their success through hard work and dedication but wouldn’t be where they are without a bit of luck.

That some people are just brought up at the right time and in the right place. For example, he talks about Bill Gates’s success was due to his access to one of the first computers in the world. At that time there were very few computers you could write programs for. Gates happened to live right next to one of these computers.

He spent endless hours working there to learn about the computers, which others nearby did not do. So it wasn’t only him being lucky to have access to the computer but also taking advantage of that opportunity.

Make Your Own Luck

So if Bill Gates got lucky, is there a way to increase our luck? No, but also Yes.

No, it is not possible to increase your luck. You can’t get better at winning a scratch-off. Or be born in a better year or month. Or grow up in a different location. But you can increase the surface area of achieving luck.

Although you can’t get better at winning a scratch-off ticket you can increase your chances by buying more tickets. If you never buy a ticket you will never win. This isn’t an invitation to gamble on scratch-off tickets. It’s a metaphor for what are the things that make you lucky? The things that give you an advantage or an opportunity? Buy those tickets and double down.

Comparative Advantage

In economics comparative advantage is when an agent has an advantage over others when producing a good because they produce it at a lower opportunity cost.

Make your own luck by finding your comparative advantage. What can you produce at a lower opportunity cost than others around you? This doesn’t have to be a physical product or service but more of a characteristic. What about where you were born, the resources you have access to, and your personality that makes you stand out. That makes you different. That is your comparative advantage.

People are like snowflakes in this respect. Everyone’s experience is different, which means we all have something special to provide for the world. Everyone is lucky. Some people’s luck falls into their lap while others have to make it.

Complete Guide to Prize Winning

There is a book written by Linda Evanston called Complete Guide to Prize Winning. It goes in-depth on how to win these games of pure luck. It is an older book published in 1993 so it is not up to date with the online contests and revolves around sweepstakes in newspapers and magazines. But the points made still apply.

Follow the Rules

She notes to be sure to follow the rules. A lot of people consider themselves unlucky because they can’t win anything or things don’t go their way. But how often is it because you don’t follow the rules?

Strictly follow the rules in these sweepstakes if you want a chance to win. Breaking the rules is an automatic loss bringing your chances of winning to 0. This can be applied in life as well if you consider yourself unlucky. Think if you are breaking some fundamental social or economic ‘rules’ that are contributing to your unluckiness. Slight changes to your behavior and actions can make a significant difference.

Be Consistent

Another point she makes is to be consistent. Entering one sweepstake gives you a very low chance of winning said sweepstakes. But if you enter in a 100 or 1,000 your chances of winning a single sweepstake will increase. You are increasing your surface area for luck, therefore creating your own luck.

Some musicians become very popular by writing a hit song. But those same musicians wrote 100s of songs previously that weren’t a hit yet they kept on writing songs. They were consistent and got lucky. Although it only took one song to become a hit, it took 100s to actually become lucky, they increased their surface area of achieving luck.

For the individual reading focus on your comparative advantage, be consistent, and create your own luck.