How to be Lucky and Remarkable

When we think about luck, we often bring up images of winning the lottery, being diagnosed with a rare cancer, being born in one of the few wealthy nations in the world, or getting sideswiped by a drunk driver without insurance. These are frequently used examples of good luck and bad luck. We have little to no control over these random events.

These examples are freaks of nature, random outliers with little rhyme or reason. They aren't really useful examples of luck.

When we think more reflectively about luck, we usually come up with concrete occurances in our lives having to do with people and relationships. That special someone you met at school who is now your spouse. The stranger you bumped into at a networking event who connected you with your dream job. The rockstar employee you hired who didn't send in a resume but was referred to you by your buddy. You definitely didn't plan these relationships. You were so lucky to have randomly connected with these people! 

So let's change our understanding of luck just a little. I'm going to assert that luck is the posture and actions you take that make other people want you to win and succeed. Now we have a definition of luck that is dependent on people and relationships, not freaky random events of nature you had no control over.

Did people want Steve Jobs at Apple to win when he tried to bring beauty and simplicity to computers in an age of bloated and buggy Microsoft and IBM computers? What about Blake Mycoskie at TOMS Shoes who designed a socially responsible business by donating a new pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair he sold in stores? What happened when you rendered amazing service to the angry customer?

The thing is, when people want you to win, they talk about you. They give you the benefit of the doubt. They become evangelists and advocates. By definition, if people talk about you because they want you to win, you are remarkable, like Seth Godin's purple cow. What are you doing to make others want you to win? What are you doing to be lucky?

Comments

[Jon Dale]

This is a great post. I'm lucky to have you as a friend!

[joel d canfield]

We've decided to be open to new experiences, keep our neuroticism low and relax, and be extroverted in seeking out new relationships.

In the past week it has led to fundamental changes in our lives and our business, and it's primarily because I know that luck is not a mysterious force of the universe, but a natural byproduct of the actions we take, directed by how we think and feel.

[jd walt]

I really like the line you are on with this idea. I've worked in both kinds of places-- where people want you to succeed and where they don't. I would push you a bit on the nomenclature of "luck."

I really think you are talking about love-- in the most practical way. The difference in the two organizations is the love quotient. Try this substitution in your definition.

LOVE is the posture and actions you take that make other people want you to win and succeed.

Yes, I agree, Love as a word has lost it's essence and distinctiveness in the present day and culture; however, it's not going away. Perhaps the best gift we could give the world would be to help the word "Love" find its way in the every day world again. Isn't this what Seth Godin is really getting at in his "Linchpin" work?

Isn't this what Chris Brogan is trying to get at in his work to help business become more human?

Isn't this what Jon Dale is up to with his "Why I Love (fill in the name) blog posts? If he says this about your blog you will want him to win big.

In the end, (of life, relationships, business, art) love will be the only thing we want to talk about, making it the wellspring of all things "remarkable."

thanks for this post and the way it has challenged me.