Good luck is something you make; bad luck is something you endure.

[Antifragile]

Good luck is something you make; bad luck is something you endure.

Successful people share many traits, and success provides a roadmap for others to follow. It's often that straightforward.

You've probably heard this advice before - draft a personal mission statement. Doing so will naturally lead you to ponder life's big questions and set goals. With some clarity, your mind begins to focus on what's necessary to leave your mark and achieve your objectives. In this sense, luck is something you engineer through proactive behavior. Being proactive means having a clear purpose and taking steps that move you towards your goals. This approach doesn't guarantee you won't face setbacks, but it's a common thread among all successful entrepreneurs. Reflecting on my life, I see this pattern echoed in every business success book and biography I've encountered.

Confessions:

Do you carry regrets from past actions? Moments that have left a lasting impression or "scarred" your brain? Maybe times when you didn't behave as you should have or missed an opportunity? We all have these moments. Here's where I'm going with this:

I recall a time at university when I was a broke student. I saw a brand new Mercedes in the student parking lot. With friends around me, I loudly remarked, "F*ck, wouldn't it be nice if my mommy and daddy had the money to buy me a car like that. Some people are just so lucky." My tone was dripping with judgment, jealousy, and bitterness. Then, I noticed the window was down; someone inside had heard me. Embarrassed, I turned away but kept my head high to save face. That memory, of being a jealous loser, haunts me like a mental scar.

Another incident was when I was a custodial worker, and my boss reprimanded me over taking a small piece of leftover toilet paper home. I looked her straight in the eyes and said, "You think you're a big boss, but one day I'll be somebody, and you'll look like a nobody to me. I quit." And I walked out. That memory casts me in a somewhat positive light; I stood up for myself.

Looking back over the decades, two truths stand out:

• Chasing money out of jealousy led me down a path of failure and self-doubt.
• Focusing on being genuinely useful by improving myself, led to rapid betterment of my life.

This is the essence of my post. Having lived long enough to reflect over decades, I can share what has worked for me and what I've observed in successful entrepreneurs, including world-famous billionaires. My life's trajectory has been astonishingly quick, and I believe it stems from common, replicable strategies. This is why I'm convinced that good luck is something you make, and bad luck is something you endure. I've had my share of bad luck too - epic, ongoing challenges. Bad luck is just something you have to deal with.

So, what's the blueprint for making good luck?

My most significant success came when I shifted my focus from what I wanted to what others needed.

After listening to 300 hours of "self-help" audiobooks, 3 times! during my long commutes almost two decades ago, I realized it's not about me. The world doesn't care about my desires; it cares about my contributions. And it rewards me only based on my contributions. Turns out, the world is very generous.

Rules for Making Good Luck:

1. Think about how you can be useful. Strive to become increasingly useful. This means excellence.
2. To be truly useful, you must invent. That's how I ended up in this forum; MJ's book mentioned that an inventor got him to become an entrepreneur, that the two are the same thing. This revelation changed everything for me. I understood that to succeed, I had to invent, and to do that, I had to master something. You need to know the rules before you can break them and create something better.
3. Find the intersection of three circles:
   • What am I passionate about?
   • What could I be the "best in the world" at?
   • What could be my "economic engine?"Spend your undivided attention there. If you don't know the answer, keep thinking, trying, and striving to find it as long as it takes.
4. Accept that you cannot succeed without failing. If you accept that you are an inventor, you must also accept that whatever you are doing hasn't yet been done. There is no blueprint or checklist, and you'll stumble. I can attest that I've failed more times than I've succeeded by a factor of 10x. Each failure brought me closer to being more useful in life.
5. Clear thinking comes from a clean life.You must have clear thinking to invent things. Your brain cannot be clear if your life is "dirty." Partying, excessive sex, drinking, doing drugs, the "play hard, work hard" philosophy is a misnomer. If you have a personal mission statement, and it's clear - you will not want to waste time. You will value clear thinking above all else.
   • Sleep is most important. Create conditions for amazing sleep.
   • Diet is the runner-up. It gives you health, energy, and longevity. Study how you feel post-meal and adjust accordingly. Use a 3x3x3 rule - how do you feel 3 minutes, 3 hours, and if you were to eat this for 3 years every day on repeat - how would you look and feel after 3 years of this?
   • Fitness. Humans perform best when moving. Lift weights, do cardio, no excuses.
6. Life is a collection of moments. If you feel stressed, is it because of something you think will happen or something that has already happened? How about right now - are things OK? If you're OK with this moment, you're being present. For me, this is meditation.

That's it folks. Hope you find this helpful.

Post your thoughts below.

 

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[Kak]

Oh boy… You kicked the hornets nest suggesting that you make your own luck with good choices.

For those of you that want to argue, and still want to be successful, refrain. Go buy the books Extreme Ownership by Jocko, and Rich Habits Rich Life by Randall Bell.

Studies show that the successful are, by a massive delta, people with an internal locus of control.

You happen to the world. The world doesn’t happen to you.

If you suck it’s because of decisions you made.

If you are happy and fulfilled, it is also because of decisions you made.

You are only harming yourself if you want to argue the opposite.

 

[piano]

Well said, Antifragile.

Luck is indeed self made and I just keep seeing it in my own life.
Making me believe that in the long run, you can achieve almost everything if you just consistently hack away at it.

Recently for example, a customer of mine asked me if I were interested in a long term part time job as an Event Manager in a business-related field.

What?
I'm only 18 years old,
I said.

But he thought of me as very hardworking and reliable.

Tomorrow I have a zoom call with 2 other members of that organisation and it's probably going to determine if I'll be working there.
Wish me good luck

 

[Jobless]

This advice found me at a good time. I am attending some meetings soon and I was thinking "how do I promote my company", but really I should approach it from the view of learning more about them and their needs, so we can be useful.

I agree clean life is important. I am limiting my schedule and paying more attention to sleep/diet/exercise these days. I used to work too many hours and this only makes the rest of your life suffer and causes stress.

 

[Kevin88660]

I had an incredible streak of good luck events happening from 2024 and carrying all the way till now.

I think the most important lesson for me is to stay in the game.

If you quit you are out.

Nothing good can happen if you sleep at home.

You want to be very lucky? Prepare to persevere in the same subject for five years.

When good luck happens it requires no explanation. It cannot be analysed.

It’s your turn to shine.

Let us say you are a struggling actor in LA. You have decent acting skills. One day the lead actor was sick. They need a replacement. Someone remembered you because you were a nice and hungry guy who networked around. ..

The script was good. The crew was supportive. You acted well. Bang you become an “overnight success” after struggling for seven years despite trying all things that didn’t work.

Most important lesson for me is staying in the game.

It reminds me of the tough days of playing competitive chess.

There is no genius move to kill the opponent. You are good. He is good. We keeps playing for three hours until one of us blinks. I am tired. He is tired.

He is distracted. He needs to pick up his child later.

At the 145th move he blunders his queen.

That’s how I “become lucky”.

You cannot ask “how do you make your opponent blunder the next move”? That’s a stupid question.

You persevere. Do not make big mistake. Wait for opportunity. When he blunders, recognizes it, finish it.

When big opportunity comes the execution is usually not too difficult. You need to see it, recognise it and most importantly persevere until the chance comes.

Human luck is deeply cyclical. You need to survive long years “nothing seems to be working” to see 2-3 years of “F*ck is this real? All numbers are flying”. Most of the money people made are always in that few moments.

 

[Antifragile]

staying in the game.

You make an excellent point.

Staying power also improves luck specifically in a business setting. But you have to continue to improve.

Proactive staying power > staying power.

If every single day you get just a little bit better, across all areas needed, your overall level reaches excellence untouchable by others. Luck is then a product of your proactive action. Just like you said in chess or as I posted a while ago about cycling and 1% gains. Copying here:

Team Sky is an excellent example of a 1% gains across every conceivable little gain possible. They re-defined how cycling teams won Tour de France.

Turn the clock back to 2010 and Britain had never produced a Tour De France winning rider.

The team was founded with the primary goal of producing the first British winner of the Tour De France. To accomplish this, it was decided that the core of the squad should be comprised of relatively young British riders, supplemented with several established foreign names. The first roster of Sky riders reflected this, including the likes of; Thomas, Froome, Wiggins and Stannard, alongside Simon Gerrans, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Thomas Löfkvist..

Marginal gains yield major rewards​

The long list of triumphs enjoyed by Team Sky since their inception can be largely attributed to what is known as the ‘aggregation of marginal gains‘.

This philosophy was implemented by Dave Brailsford following his appointment as general manager of the team. In his own words, the basis of the theory is that “if you break down everything you could think of, that goes into riding a bike, and then improve it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together. They’re tiny things, but if you clump them together it can be the difference between winning and losing.”

Their search for efficiency has included countless innovative tweaks, some of which may seem to the untrained eye to be tenuously linked to performance on a bike. Such changes include; travelling with their own mattresses and pillows to ensure riders sleep and recover as best as possible, colour coding water bottles to differentiate between water and energy drinks saving time on the road, and travelling on their state of the art team bus known as ‘The Death Star’, decked out with reclining padded seats, a shower, a treatment room, and a built in sound system.

Result? The British based outfit have produced the race winner 7 in a row.


Apply this to business - ANY business, and success is 10x more likely.

 

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[Lou7]

Good luck is something you make; bad luck is something you endure.

Successful people share many traits, and success provides a roadmap for others to follow. It's often that straightforward.

You've probably heard this advice before - draft a personal mission statement. Doing so will naturally lead you to ponder life's big questions and set goals. With some clarity, your mind begins to focus on what's necessary to leave your mark and achieve your objectives. In this sense, luck is something you engineer through proactive behavior. Being proactive means having a clear purpose and taking steps that move you towards your goals. This approach doesn't guarantee you won't face setbacks, but it's a common thread among all successful entrepreneurs. Reflecting on my life, I see this pattern echoed in every business success book and biography I've encountered.

Confessions:

Do you carry regrets from past actions? Moments that have left a lasting impression or "scarred" your brain? Maybe times when you didn't behave as you should have or missed an opportunity? We all have these moments. Here's where I'm going with this:

I recall a time at university when I was a broke student. I saw a brand new Mercedes in the student parking lot. With friends around me, I loudly remarked, "F*ck, wouldn't it be nice if my mommy and daddy had the money to buy me a car like that. Some people are just so lucky." My tone was dripping with judgment, jealousy, and bitterness. Then, I noticed the window was down; someone inside had heard me. Embarrassed, I turned away but kept my head high to save face. That memory, of being a jealous loser, haunts me like a mental scar.

Another incident was when I was a custodial worker, and my boss reprimanded me over taking a small piece of leftover toilet paper home. I looked her straight in the eyes and said, "You think you're a big boss, but one day I'll be somebody, and you'll look like a nobody to me. I quit." And I walked out. That memory casts me in a somewhat positive light; I stood up for myself.

Looking back over the decades, two truths stand out:

• Chasing money out of jealousy led me down a path of failure and self-doubt.
• Focusing on being genuinely useful by improving myself, led to rapid betterment of my life.

This is the essence of my post. Having lived long enough to reflect over decades, I can share what has worked for me and what I've observed in successful entrepreneurs, including world-famous billionaires. My life's trajectory has been astonishingly quick, and I believe it stems from common, replicable strategies. This is why I'm convinced that good luck is something you make, and bad luck is something you endure. I've had my share of bad luck too - epic, ongoing challenges. Bad luck is just something you have to deal with.

So, what's the blueprint for making good luck?

My most significant success came when I shifted my focus from what I wanted to what others needed.

After listening to 300 hours of "self-help" audiobooks, 3 times! during my long commutes almost two decades ago, I realized it's not about me. The world doesn't care about my desires; it cares about my contributions. And it rewards me only based on my contributions. Turns out, the world is very generous.

Rules for Making Good Luck:

1. Think about how you can be useful. Strive to become increasingly useful. This means excellence.
2. To be truly useful, you must invent. That's how I ended up in this forum; MJ's book mentioned that an inventor got him to become an entrepreneur, that the two are the same thing. This revelation changed everything for me. I understood that to succeed, I had to invent, and to do that, I had to master something. You need to know the rules before you can break them and create something better.
3. Find the intersection of three circles:
   • What am I passionate about?
   • What could I be the "best in the world" at?
   • What could be my "economic engine?"Spend your undivided attention there. If you don't know the answer, keep thinking, trying, and striving to find it as long as it takes.
4. Accept that you cannot succeed without failing. If you accept that you are an inventor, you must also accept that whatever you are doing hasn't yet been done. There is no blueprint or checklist, and you'll stumble. I can attest that I've failed more times than I've succeeded by a factor of 10x. Each failure brought me closer to being more useful in life.
5. Clear thinking comes from a clean life.You must have clear thinking to invent things. Your brain cannot be clear if your life is "dirty." Partying, excessive sex, drinking, doing drugs, the "play hard, work hard" philosophy is a misnomer. If you have a personal mission statement, and it's clear - you will not want to waste time. You will value clear thinking above all else.
   • Sleep is most important. Create conditions for amazing sleep.
   • Diet is the runner-up. It gives you health, energy, and longevity. Study how you feel post-meal and adjust accordingly. Use a 3x3x3 rule - how do you feel 3 minutes, 3 hours, and if you were to eat this for 3 years every day on repeat - how would you look and feel after 3 years of this?
   • Fitness. Humans perform best when moving. Lift weights, do cardio, no excuses.
6. Life is a collection of moments. If you feel stressed, is it because of something you think will happen or something that has already happened? How about right now - are things OK? If you're OK with this moment, you're being present. For me, this is meditation.

That's it folks. Hope you find this helpful.

Post your thoughts below.

My dad is an entrepreneur since he was 19.

He never finished college and was really poor. He told me that somedays he didn't had even what to eat.

He didn't like to study. But the was straightforward and humble.

He created some companies and sold them afterwards. He could relax and enjoy his money now. But he still works because he believes that companies push the world forward, not the government.

I remember asking him about my idea for the fashion jewelry e-com biz with my wife. 'What if it does not work out? What if I don't reach my goal after 5 or 10 years?'

He said: 'It does not matter. What matters is that it will improve. Things will improve if your focus is to improve'

in other words: stop focusing of perfection and focus on improving things everyday. It's how society moves forward

And I think this concept resonates deeply with what you are saying here, @Antifragile

Another curiosity: the never reads self help book, not even business books. He does not like to read, he says it is usually not straightforward if the theme is not technical LOL

He just tries to do something. If it does not workout, he goes after somebody who knows how to do it. He learns. And then he improves things

 

[Antifragile]

in other words: stop focusing of perfection and focus on improving things everyday. It's how society moves forward

Absolutely. Get better and better and the rest will take care of itself. That’s why luck isn’t something you wait for, if you do it may never come, it’s something you work on. You attract and create luck this way.

And I think this concept resonates deeply with what you are saying here, @Antifragile

Thanks.

Another curiosity: the never reads self help book, not even business books. He does not like to read, he says it is usually not straightforward if the theme is not technical LOL

Everyone has their own approach. I've seen many succeed through trial and error, without relying on external guidance like books.

However, while you could attempt to summit Mt. Everest by learning from your own mistakes, wouldn't it be better to have a Sherpa guide you? That way, you could truly appreciate the mountain's beauty.

I can go on with analogies because I believe it’s better to learn from others than just on your own mistakes.

- You might build a house by trial and error, hammering nails without a blueprint, but isn't it wiser to use an architect's plan to ensure your walls don't crumble?

- You could navigate the ocean by reading the stars and learning from every storm, but wouldn't you prefer a seasoned captain's compass & GPS to steer clear of the tempests? Books to me are just like a new technology advancements but for my brain. I’m infinitely grateful to MJ for writing his books, they upgraded my brain to a “GPS” navigation.

I stand behind my advice: learn and continue to learn at all times to get better. On your own or ideally, by reading and applying best practices.

 

[mikecarlooch]

Absolutely. Get better and better and the rest will take care of itself. That’s why luck isn’t something you wait for, if you do it may never come, it’s something you work on. You attract and create luck this way.



Thanks.


Everyone has their own approach. I've seen many succeed through trial and error, without relying on external guidance like books.

However, while you could attempt to summit Mt. Everest by learning from your own mistakes, wouldn't it be better to have a Sherpa guide you? That way, you could truly appreciate the mountain's beauty.

I can go on with analogies because I believe it’s better to learn from others than just on your own mistakes.

- You might build a house by trial and error, hammering nails without a blueprint, but isn't it wiser to use an architect's plan to ensure your walls don't crumble?

- You could navigate the ocean by reading the stars and learning from every storm, but wouldn't you prefer a seasoned captain's compass & GPS to steer clear of the tempests? Books to me are just like a new technology advancements but for my brain. I’m infinitely grateful to MJ for writing his books, they upgraded my brain to a “GPS” navigation.

I stand behind my advice: learn and continue to learn at all times to get better. On your own or ideally, by reading and applying best practices.

I thought this quote by Naval Ravikant was relevant here:

Naval: "I’ve found business biographies to be useless for building a great business. They’re good for inspiration. I can read Steve Jobs’ bio and be inspired, but I can’t be Steve Jobs. And if I want to be amazing at something, then I have to find my own way there. For mechanical things, how-tos work, but when you’re trying to to operate at the top of a field or when you’re trying to do something creative, how-tos don’t work beyond the most extreme basics. When you’re first starting something, it is actually a mechanical endeavor. You’re just figuring out how to drive a car, but when you’re trying to figure out how to race it around a track faster than anyone else, then all coaches and techniques and prescriptions have to fall by the wayside and you are at the edge of the art."

 

[Rawr]

Ive quit and enduring bad luck - its tied to laziness but thats not the full way to call it - energy, lack of motivation, those are factors. Without desire to use energy - without the PAYOFF for using that energy - the enjoyment of it - it is actually hard to do something. Thats why they say X begets more X - same here - energy used gets more energy - but only if u want to use it. Unfortunate really that when its hard thats when its the hardest. For me Im staying in a very boring place now - i thought ill work but for the last 2 months i just wanted to crawl up walls as i was going slowly mad reliving groundhogs day. Without YOUR motivations for life its freaking hard to sit down and work if you havent for awhile. All you want to do is not be even more bored. Motivations for me for example - meeting girls, talking to people , riding bike around to beautiful beaches and tropical locations) Four months ago i was doing exactly that in Bali and life was good and I felt creative. So im just saying if someone is in a tough spot dont be too hard on yourself - and a good way to kick out of it is by changing location.

 

[Lou7]

Absolutely. Get better and better and the rest will take care of itself. That’s why luck isn’t something you wait for, if you do it may never come, it’s something you work on. You attract and create luck this way.



Thanks.


Everyone has their own approach. I've seen many succeed through trial and error, without relying on external guidance like books.

However, while you could attempt to summit Mt. Everest by learning from your own mistakes, wouldn't it be better to have a Sherpa guide you? That way, you could truly appreciate the mountain's beauty.

I can go on with analogies because I believe it’s better to learn from others than just on your own mistakes.

- You might build a house by trial and error, hammering nails without a blueprint, but isn't it wiser to use an architect's plan to ensure your walls don't crumble?

- You could navigate the ocean by reading the stars and learning from every storm, but wouldn't you prefer a seasoned captain's compass & GPS to steer clear of the tempests? Books to me are just like a new technology advancements but for my brain. I’m infinitely grateful to MJ for writing his books, they upgraded my brain to a “GPS” navigation.

I stand behind my advice: learn and continue to learn at all times to get better. On your own or ideally, by reading and applying best practices.

Btw , @Antifragile

Your concept is also related to Schwarzenegger’s latest book

The name is literally ‘Be Useful’ lol

There’s a good quote: ‘some days you wake up happy, some days you wake up sad. Don’t dwell on it. Focus on being useful’

Love it !!!

 

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[maverick]

Oh boy… You kicked the hornets nest suggesting that you make your own luck with good choices.

For those of you that want to argue, and still want to be successful, refrain. Go buy the books Extreme Ownership by Jocko, and Rich Habits Rich Life by Randall Bell.

Studies show that the successful are, by a massive delta, people with an internal locus of control.

You happen to the world. The world doesn’t happen to you.

If you suck it’s because of decisions you made.

If you are happy and fulfilled, it is also because of decisions you made.

You are only harming yourself if you want to argue the opposite.

And we all know people that have a lot of misfortune. Most of them always think that it occurs to them. That the universe is conspiring against them.

Never pick victim mentality.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Great post, upgraded to GOLD.

The book I've been writing has a deep dive on the various forms of luck, and how they can be influenced, and unfortunately, sometimes coerced negatively.

Altogether, luck is a fascinating topic which I won't dive deeper here other than to say that everything is subject to directional probability, and how our choices influence those probabilities.

Here's how.

If you drive drunk, you're influencing directional probability for a poor outcome, and hence, influencing Titanic Luck, one of the negative lucks imbued by poor choices. Titanic Luck is adverse luck instigated by your poor choices, and is NOT to be confused with BAD LUCK.

Bad luck is random and can occur with good choices.
Titanic luck is bad luck kick-started by our poor choices.

"Playing with fire" -- "Kicking a hornets nest" -- or "walking on thin ice" are all idioms that come to mind.

Conversely, if you upload 400 YT videos and refine your technique with each, you also are influencing directional probability on the upside, and hence, influencing the potential for good luck, while minimizing the odds of bad luck.

 

[Antifragile]

Great post, upgraded to GOLD.

Thank you, MJ.

The book I've been writing has a deep dive on the various forms of luck, and how they can be influenced, and unfortunately, sometimes coerced negatively.

Altogether, luck is a fascinating topic which I won't dive deeper here other than to say that everything is subject to directional probability, and how our choices influence those probabilities.

Absolutely, well put, directional probability.

Thinking in probabilities might be the key to crafting an exceptional life, but not everyone wants to dance with numbers. Yet, numbers are unemotional and incapable of deceit; they narrate a story. Through them, we can often predict the future with a high degree of certainty.

Most people dodge the effort to understand or even consider models that predict outcomes. "It's too hard, too complicated," they say, but perhaps it's human nature to fixate on anomalies. Take smoking; a lifelong smoker getting lung cancer isn't an anomaly, yet tales of centenarian smokers who never got cancer are far more memorable.

This anomaly bias also applies to wealth. In our 20s, few grasp the power of compounding interest beyond textbook definitions or the superficial advice of some MBA who just regurgitates bank scripts for client sales. I mean understanding compounding like this:

1. If you lose 50% of $100, you need a 100% return on what's left just to break even - a scenario with low success probability and high failure risk, often leading to zero. Thus, one should only gamble negligible amounts on high-risk ventures like crypto. Yet, people crave stories of those rare few who went all in and struck gold, turning into multimillionaires.
2. Any double-digit return on investment can snowball wealth, provided the risk-reward asymmetry is in your favor. Here's where it gets nuanced: I'll jump on any deal where the odds are heavily stacked in my favor. For example, if a deal has five potential positive outcomes and one needs to materialize for us to hit our return, I'm in. But if all five must happen for it to pay off, that's a no-go - everything has to go perfectly, which is a terrible bet.

With these insights, entrepreneurship emerges as a venture with a promising success probability. When young, the cost of failure is time, but it's not a true loss; it's learning. Failing and problem-solving become skills over time, turning potential negatives into positives. I'll take those odds.

As we age, starting a business seems riskier with hard-earned capital on the line. However, an older entrepreneur should stand on firmer ground with better success odds. Even if the business tanks, the experience gained should be worth more in the job market. Done right, one can recover through another venture, leveraging experience without personal capital, through investors. Again, I'll take those odds.

Probabilities and luck... what's the link?

Much of what we call luck can be explained through probabilistic thinking.

I also know that living cleanly, keeping mentally sharp, setting goals, and planning makes you far more likely to spot the opportunity tailored for you. Others might call it luck, but I call it seeing things that are suited for you. Like Sherlock Holmes, who sees what others miss.



P.S. I am glad to see that no one on the forum is disputing this thread! I expected at least a few to come and argue.

 

[SDE]

P.S. I am glad to see that no one on the forum is disputing this thread! I expected at least a few to come and argue.

They left already.

 

[Antifragile]

They left already.


View attachment 62817

Bad luck?

 

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[Kevin88660]

P.S. I am glad to see that no one on the forum is disputing this thread! I expected at least a few to come and argue.

There is another related angle to this, that for those who are open minded enough. It is the metaphysics and spiritual or semi-spiritual angles to this:

Since for Antifragile I understood you are in the real estate business, what is your opinion on Fengshui?

Even for the most skeptical people who call the metaphysics bullshit, on their birthday they hope to hear good wishes not curses. On the deepest level they know this is mot entirely bullshit, at least they are not sure, and it’s better to play on the safe side.

 

[ZF Lee]

There is another related angle to this, that for those who are open minded enough. It is the metaphysics and spiritual or semi-spiritual angles to this:

Since for Antifragile I understood you are in the real estate business, what is your opinion on Fengshui?

Even for the most skeptical people who call the metaphysics bullshit, on their birthday they hope to hear good wishes not curses. On the deepest level they know this is mot entirely bullshit, at least they are not sure, and it’s better to play on the safe side.

I think there IS some physical science that helps fengshui (eg corner houses can enjoy slightly more space and light, and different air flow than norm due to its general shape-- yet folks relate them to bagua and qi). But the feng shui folks term them with their own lingo.

The funny thing is that feng shui didn't really get adopted for business until pretty recently.

The top pro of the day was Lillian Too who specialised in ornaments and trinkets. When she met a certain Joey Yap, he kinda knocked on his consultation model and study of the classics, saying it just wouldn't work.

This fuelled Joey to keep on pushing...and now he's a brand name.

 

[Antifragile]

There is another related angle to this, that for those who are open minded enough. It is the metaphysics and spiritual or semi-spiritual angles to this:

I see myself as a spiritual individual. For instance, while some believe life is devoid of purpose or meaning, leading to a depressive spiral the more one questions, I hold a different view.

I believe there is indeed a purpose to life; it's about discovering and then living out that purpose. I regularly draft and revise my personal mission statement because I am convinced that my existence has significance. I'm here on this planet for a reason, and my life has impact—not just on me, but on my family, friends, colleagues, everyone in this community, and beyond. We all have a reason and a purpose for being here.

Since for Antifragile I understood you are in the real estate business, what is your opinion on Fengshui?

I don't know enough about it to have an opinion. When it comes to my business, market decides what we should build - not me. My opinion then doesn't matter. That said, I am not superstitious.

Even for the most skeptical people who call the metaphysics bullshit, on their birthday they hope to hear good wishes not curses. On the deepest level they know this is mot entirely bullshit, at least they are not sure, and it’s better to play on the safe side.

Here's a distinction I make:

1. Impact of Well Wishes vs. Curses: I don't believe that the good or bad intentions others send my way actually alter the course of my life. People can wish me well or ill, like me or dislike me—that's their prerogative, not mine.
2. Behavior and Its Consequences: However, how I behave can significantly affect my life's trajectory. If I repel those who try to assist me or if I choose to be unproductive rather than contributing positively, I'm setting myself up for a less favorable outcome. Conversely, I believe that helping others often results in gratitude and positive sentiments, which can enrich one's life.

 

[Lou7]

P.S. I am glad to see that no one on the forum is disputing this thread! I expected at least a few to come and argue.

Trying to be 100% precise here, @Antifragile, I think there’s a detail:

1. There’s luck in the universe. If it wasn’t for a combination of events, I would not meet my wife, for instance

This can be applied to wealth or business as well. Luck happens. There are people who had the luck with a combination of events to get a certain deal that sky rocketed their revenue and then this led to a VC putting money, for instance

2. However, we can’t measure or even act on luck. It’s an exogenous variable in the model of action —> results. Thus, we should do all the planning and actions to get the results.

And with this in mind, I feel like the ones who made it should also be grateful, not only proud. Proud because their actions led to the results. grateful for the exogenous variable also working in favor (god/destiny/life, whatever you wanna call it)

What do you guys think?

 

[Jobless]

I try to avoid using the L-word. It's too diffuse. Need to prune my vocabulary. Thoughts > Words > Actions > Effect.

 

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[Kevin88660]

A lot of luck can be partially engineered.

-Sales often boil down to the laws of large numbers. If you get in touch with enough leads, soon you will get one big deal out of the thousands of contacts you engage with.

-Real-world luck often has prerequisites. You have to be good to get spotted. Just like a big-name director spotted the next candidate for the male/female lead in his coming move, after watching a how in which you acted. This means you have to at least persevere in a field for at least several years to accumulate the prerequisites. Luck was almost never given to someone new to the field.

-Spotting the next big trend can also be "luck". People who saw the Internet as the next big thing jumped into it while others dismissed it as a fad. Not all who jumped into it made it, but that makes a big difference. Being sensitive to how the tides changes help you to be "luckier".

 

[jarbasams]

Very very interesting discussion! My two cents:

Clear thinking comes from a clean life.You must have clear thinking to invent things. Your brain cannot be clear if your life is "dirty." Partying, excessive sex, drinking, doing drugs, the "play hard, work hard" philosophy is a misnomer

In my life this is absolutely fundamental not only to invent things but also to sustain the balance and to keep faithful to the original purpose of all my efforts, which is to me in the end to live a meaningful life, a life through which the spirit can live according to its original essence and not a life driven solely by instinct, or constrained to only survivorship. (This is very particular and individual, I know)

1. There’s luck in the universe. If it wasn’t for a combination of events, I would not meet my wife, for instance

I could say the same about the way I met my wife. But our "combination of events" started a few years before I met her, when I decided to move to a different city. That event alone, led by my personal choices, increased the probability of meeting her from one in millions to one in tens of thousands. So it seems in this case I made my own luck...

 

[TheWiseGuy]

Very good read, I've marked as "Gold"

Chasing money out of jealousy led me down a path of failure and self-doubt.

This resonated with me and made me assess my thoughts within the last few weeks.

After picking up a Tony Robbins' book, I scrolled through some reviews on Amazon. Came across a lady who read it, and within ONE year started her own business and accumulated $200k in revenue.

Found myself thinking: "must be nice to barely do any work and get yourself a nice little business. I'm working my a$$ off, why are some people so spoiled?!"

Upon self-reflection, I've realised this is the beginning of a poisonous attitude.