The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Is Success down to hard work or luck?

Anything related to matters of the mind

RayanMargham

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
75%
Aug 14, 2022
63
47
17
Now I've always believe that success comes down to doing the hard work and dedication and I don't believe in luck, after seeing this video by derek I'm not sure if my mindset is a correct one or not?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LopI4YeC4I&t=0s


I just want to know other people's viewpoints on this topic to make my own opinion
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

SSTrey

Bronze Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
88%
May 24, 2021
169
148
It is a very interesting concept, one that Ive thought about too.
Read a book called, 'Outliers'. It explains in a LOT of detail these exact concepts and how and why people become sucessful or not. However mind the ending, which is even more interesting.

All in all, I believe that the harder you work the luckier we get. Remember, the video you posted refers to extreme cases, so for example, not everyone needs to necessarily be an Elon Musk, & you can still be very successful nonetheless.
Looking at it another way. if you sit back & let luck happen to you, you will be in a much worse position than if you put in all the hard work and effort.
 

Jerma

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
242%
Aug 10, 2020
69
167
Canada
Now I've always believe that success comes down to doing the hard work and dedication and I don't believe in luck, after seeing this video by derek I'm not sure if my mindset is a correct one or not?
The video shouldn't sway your belief in hard work.

If we take the hockey example and we break it down into cases, there are two cases for this hypothetical hockey player.
Case 1: Born early. "Lucky". He still needs to work hard.
Case 2: Born late. "Unlucky." Still possible. He still needs to work hard.

So in both cases, he needs to work hard. In the unlucky case, he might need to work even harder. Therefore, focusing on working hard is the most logical thing you can do if you want to achieve your goal (given that it's a realistic goal). On the other hand, focusing on things you can't control is a waste of time and a motivation killer most of the time.
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,456
4,078
Singapore
Ce
Now I've always believe that success comes down to doing the hard work and dedication and I don't believe in luck, after seeing this video by derek I'm not sure if my mindset is a correct one or not?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LopI4YeC4I&t=0s


I just want to know other people's viewpoints on this topic to make my own opinion
Certain luck factor can be a result of the right kind of work unconsciously too.

If you are likable, not an a**hole, and willing to help others, there are higher chances that others will do the same to you, giving you better opportunities as a result.
 

Antifragile

Progress not perfection
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
453%
Mar 15, 2018
3,708
16,813
The harder I work, the luckier I seem to get …

Success sometimes means merely hanging on when others have given up.


I can’t remember who said the above two quotes, but that’s how I view this topic.
 

jdm667

Silver Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
216%
Jan 27, 2020
357
770
Boston, MA
Now I've always believe that success comes down to doing the hard work and dedication and I don't believe in luck, after seeing this video by derek I'm not sure if my mindset is a correct one or not?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LopI4YeC4I&t=0s


I just want to know other people's viewpoints on this topic to make my own opinion
You are correct. Luck is BS. They really mean probability, which you can hack by effort.

Plenty of "lucky" people who are born into riches do nothing with their lives. Most millionaires inherited nothing and built it all themselves.

Make no mistake, though - hard work doesn't just mean "nose to the grindstone 24/7".

It also means doing difficult mindset work that most people would rather put off (and often they do - forever).

First, you have to decide that you want more than mediocrity. This is difficult mindset work, because you have to accept that you will have to go against society's expectations, and it will require a lot from you to get more out of life.

Next, you have to do the difficult work of deciding on a business idea that follows CENTS, is profitable, and aligns with your strengths.

Most people think this is a waste of time, so they don't bother. They figure "better to spend time working on a career".

Then, you have to do the difficult work of learning about marketing. Most people think they can just be good at something and succeed. This is lazy, because they want to skip the marketing part.

Finally, you must persist until success. This is mostly a mental game. Most people will give up because they cannot accept "failure" for an extended period of time.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

msufan

Gold Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
202%
Mar 13, 2013
550
1,109
You are correct. Luck is BS. They really mean probability, which you can hack by effort.

Plenty of "lucky" people who are born into riches do nothing with their lives. Most millionaires inherited nothing and built it all themselves.

Make no mistake, though - hard work doesn't just mean "nose to the grindstone 24/7".

It also means doing difficult mindset work that most people would rather put off (and often they do - forever).

First, you have to decide that you want more than mediocrity. This is difficult mindset work, because you have to accept that you will have to go against society's expectations, and it will require a lot from you to get more out of life.

Next, you have to do the difficult work of deciding on a business idea that follows CENTS, is profitable, and aligns with your strengths.

Most people think this is a waste of time, so they don't bother. They figure "better to spend time working on a career".

Then, you have to do the difficult work of learning about marketing. Most people think they can just be good at something and succeed. This is lazy, because they want to skip the marketing part.

Finally, you must persist until success. This is mostly a mental game. Most people will give up because they cannot accept "failure" for an extended period of time.
MJ's gumball machine idea really answers OP's question best, IMHO.
 

heavy_industry

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
541%
Apr 17, 2022
1,597
8,634
Depends on how you define luck.

@MJ DeMarco has two amazing videos on this topic:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_J1lSTdhfw&ab_channel=MJDeMarco

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYBtdmJWoTc&ab_channel=MJDeMarco


This question regarding "luck vs hard work" cannot be answered because it's the wrong question. Luck doesn't exist and hard work does not guarantee success, which means that there is no causality between the two. There are billions of people that work very hard at their job and will never get ahead (unfortunately).

What ultimately leads to success are good choices: a valid target and a strategy to achieve it. Hard work is only useful when you are going in the right direction.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Andreas Thiel

Silver Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
112%
Aug 27, 2018
626
702
43
Karlsruhe, Germany

Kak

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
493%
Jan 23, 2011
9,678
47,666
34
Texas
While it’s not luck, it’s not work either. There is some work and probability involved, but something more important determines success.

A great example is a casino. Is a casino gambling by offering games of chance? Are they gambling by taking the bets? In the aggregate we all know the house wins. The cool part about entrepreneurship is that you can choose to be the house or the gambler.

You can choose engage in high probability business or low probability business.

You can work extremely hard on an unscalable business and the best you’ll do is what your time is worth. You can also pull your time out of your business and continue making a lot of money without breaking your back.

Your overall long term success is fully teathered to neither luck nor work. I believe success is mostly determined by making good decisions.
 
Last edited:

K1 Lambo

Silver Contributor
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
138%
Oct 11, 2021
564
778
Oslo
Now I've always believe that success comes down to doing the hard work and dedication and I don't believe in luck, after seeing this video by derek I'm not sure if my mindset is a correct one or not?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LopI4YeC4I&t=0s


I just want to know other people's viewpoints on this topic to make my own opinion
It's a little bit of both.

Does luck exist? Of course. When you see these crazy near misses on YouTube like when a guy dodges a rockfall and manages to survive despite the crazy odds you can call it luck. Or you walk down the street and the truck behind you misses you by 10 cm(4 inches) instead of ramming you, that's luck. You can't really control that.

I was an athlete myself at a pretty high level in Norway in professional football for the under 19s(league is called elite G19 in Football/Soccer or the highest level for under 19/20), so I might be a little qualified to talk about this.

From an athlete's perspective who played Football most of his life, there is definitely an element of luck that you can't control since it's a team sport aka you can have an unbelievable game but 2-3 teammates play horribly and your team loses 1-0 despite your level of play or it can go the other way round; You play very bad but your team plays well and you win 1-0.

It's a little bit of a lottery in physical sports. But at the same time, there's also a lot of work involved behind the scenes to ultimately reach a point to know whether you're talented or not. It's all about muscle memory, it takes so much practice to master your technique in football with ball control, passing, shooting, dribbling and not to mention game iq with attacking/defending etc. For example, when I was 12-13 I was rather an average middle height athlete, middle athleticism and was the worst guy on our team(started playing football late, and heck, I used to play with people who were 1-2 years younger than me). Once I was 18.5-19, I was pretty much the best player on the team, and the best athlete of them all, no one could catch me in a straight line. Got a couple of trials for professional ekstraklasa clubs in Poland as well. Even my coach who played for Viking said I had hell speed(or helvetes fart in Norwegian hahaha). This is not to brag, I'm doing this to inspire others and show what is possible when you put in the work day in and day out for years. Keep in mind, there's a F*ck ton of work in between these two pictures. Early 5am workouts, and late 12pm workouts. Here's some before and pictures for all the skeptics:
IMG_7497.JPGIMG_1846.JPG
(14.5 here, 22.5 in the other pic. Camera was a little dirty in the second pic).

So, yes there is some luck involved in sports for sure. Take NBA for instance: If you're not 6'8, 240lbs and have a 44 inch vertical like LeBron James, you're never going to play like him. No matter how much you practice or try to manifest that in your mind. Or Michael Jordan; who had a reported 48 inch vertical and gigantic hands for his size where he could palm the basketball at will. You can't train that. Of course, both of them have worked their asses off to become the two goats of NBA, especially MJ who was cut from his varsity high school team. So yes, those guys won the genetic lottery in that aspect. They're more "lucky" in that regard. However, that doesn't mean you can't be successful in basketball though! You still have guys who under 6'2 who were very good basketball players like Allen Iverson or Muggsy Bogues. Once you've practiced that much you are all of a sudden "talented" in a sport because you've played it for many, many years. At that point, you become a natural. Aka you don't think about it anymore, you just do it. You can't skip that part. It's a long, monotonous process where you have to sacrifice so much.

In individual sports like Chess or Boxing it's a little different since it's a one on one sport which means you have to hold yourself accountable even more. My boy Andrew Tate talks a lot about this. If you lost in Chess that means at one point you messed up, you've made a mistake(even if you don't realize it) which means you're responsible for the loss.

Business is somewhat the same thing. Sure, there are some freaks like Elon Musk or Steve Wozniak who are supremely intelligent and want to change the world etc.

But for the average person listening here: If you put in the effort along with consistency, and you learn from your mistakes then you'll be successful in business too. Business is a little more work since it's not as immediate as fitness. In fitness as a complete noobie, you will see a lot of results in your first year of training(if you have a good diet along with a good training regime).

Fitness is very binary: Want to build muscle? Eat more protein rich foods and workout consistently + good rest periods. Want to lose weight? Eat less food, and workout consistently and watch your rest as well.

Business takes more work and will rarely be as explosive in your first year because there are so many things you have to get good at as an entrepreneur. You have to learn skills like sales, marketing, hiring the right people, determination, grit, discipline, building core values, building a brand, learning to cope with failure and so on. The people who usually have a lot of results in their first or second year in business have other skills from sports, sales or other industries where they can apply them to their own company/business so it grows really fast.

Bonus point: People who have tremendous success in many areas of life KNOW that luck has very little to do with it because they understand that and been through it. Regular folks or 99.9% of individuals will never know that because they've never tried hard enough or did the bare minimum before the real world kicked their a$$ and told them to be "realistic" so they don't have that point of view. It's absolutely possible and don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it. 80% of that mindset will be built from your real life experiences, no book can teach you that. You gotta go out there on the battlefield and fight.

Hope it helps!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,456
4,078
Singapore
Luck is not something that is totally out of your control as you would image.

Instead of worrying that you are not lucky you can find actions to improve your luck.

1) Learning to be likeable and helpful improves your luck, as other people are more likely to help you.

2) Learn whatever cost effective hacks. Crystals, Fengshui.. whatever. If it just costs between $50 to a few hundred dollars. Why not? Who cares if it does not work? Think in terms of risk/reward not dogma.

3)Do good things. Accumulate good karma.
 

Andreas Thiel

Silver Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
112%
Aug 27, 2018
626
702
43
Karlsruhe, Germany
While it’s not luck, it’s not work either. There is some work and probability involved, but something more important determines success.

A great example is a casino. Is a casino gambling by offering games of chance? Are they gambling by taking the bets? In the aggregate we all know the house wins. The cool part about entrepreneurship is that you can choose to be the house or the gambler.

You can choose engage in high probability business or low probability business.

You can work extremely hard on an unscalable business and the best you’ll do is what your time is worth. You can also pull your time out of your business and continue making a lot of money without breaking your back.

Your overall long term success is fully teathered to neither luck nor work. I believe success is mostly determined by making good decisions.
I think a huge aspect behind the sentiment that luck is required, is that there are no good options to choose from for more unfortunate people.
90% of their available time and energy is tied to keeping the lights on. The remaining 10% are not enough to get momentum going with a side project.

Relationships and support are a huge part of the battle. For many there are no good options to team up with ambitous and capable people.
Somebody who attends an elite university has infinitely more good options to choose from when they want to create WhatsApp.
 

Antifragile

Progress not perfection
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
453%
Mar 15, 2018
3,708
16,813
While it’s not luck, it’s not work either. There is some work and probability involved, but something more important determines success.

A great example is a casino. Is a casino gambling by offering games of chance? Are they gambling by taking the bets? In the aggregate we all know the house wins. The cool part about entrepreneurship is that you can choose to be the house or the gambler.

You can choose engage in high probability business or low probability business.

You can work extremely hard on an unscalable business and the best you’ll do is what your time is worth. You can also pull your time out of your business and continue making a lot of money without breaking your back.

Your overall long term success is fully teathered to neither luck nor work. I believe success is mostly determined by making good decisions.
Excellent post.

The challenge is that even in your example, a lucky person will need to make fewer good decisions than an unlucky one. This applies not just to being born a white male in a good country (typically seen as the genetic lottery win), but to facing no serious setbacks in life. A young man drinking, gets into a fight or drives and ends up in jail. One bad decision can derail big part of life.

A casino typically wins based on odds. Every player on earth knows that. Yet among those who own and operate casinos, luck plays a role in getting the right opportunity to open one (location, permits, investors etc). You must be good and lucky in any business.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

The Sandman

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
223%
Jul 12, 2022
81
181
Luck absolutely matters. We are all fortunate that we even exist in the first place. Denying that luck exists and saying "it's all me" is fundamentally arrogant.

The problem is thinking about luck as an excuse for past poor decisions, and even future ones. As MJ says, put yourself in situations where you can get lucky. And don't put yourself in situations where "bad luck" will ruin your life.

Do the work. Make good decisions. AND be grateful for your good luck!
 

Mike Thiel

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
37%
Mar 15, 2021
27
10
Europe
imo is the combination of both. Tho the mindset is essential to have the capacity to focus on a particular task for an extended period of time which is inevitable for success.
Everyone is so different - generalizing some opinions over others is meaningless to me. Know thyself first, and then start to fight your limitations.
I am preparing my mindset for a chunk of work ( battling hard with long-term focus ) - meaning I am reading "Deep Work" atm, later probably will read sth from Joe Dispenza
 

Thinh

Bronze Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
213%
Aug 11, 2018
134
286
Now I've always believe that success comes down to doing the hard work and dedication and I don't believe in luck
Be careful, if you don't believe in luck, luck won't believe in you.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Albert KOUADJA

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
84%
Mar 13, 2022
309
259
Be careful, if you don't believe in luck, luck won't believe in you.
okay but you have to do so that it's you who attracts luck and the opposite. That said, okay, you have to know how to be in the right place and at the right time before hoping for luck.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,079
169,495
Utah
Yes, luck plays a major role for success, namely, we need to be lucky enough to be born in a nation with high economic freedom, but that's were it mostly ends. Let's be clear: I was lucky to be born in the US, and not Syria. I was lucky to be born with all my faculties, in a lower-middle class family, and no disabilities.

From there, luck mostly ends because then I can control my decisions. Today, luck has become a nice, convenient crutch for many who need something to justify their poor decision making. Are you unlucky because you chose to have 7 kids before you're 30th birthday? And now you can't make ends meet?

Warning: Luck is an excuse for losers and the mainstream is trying to normalize this belief so you can rightly "stay in your lane."

Caes in point...


What a classic case in reductionism.

Yes of course, the smartest people aren't the richest and it doesn't seem to have a high correlation to wealth.

This totally ignores ones vocational pursuit and the mathematical role it predominately plays. Totally ignores the power of one's choices. In other words, wealth is all about luck and you can't do anything about it. That's right, give up and just resign to be an obedient employee, a mediocre citizen who pays his taxes and is subject to the whims of your government overloads.

What a bunch of Slowlane, "stay in your lane" loser crap.

Luck, which is largely perceived as uncontrollable, is now being normalized in the mainstream as a incontrovertible excuse to your lack of upward mobility. It fits in perfectly with this "being obediently broke is cool" culture.

SMH.
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,456
4,078
Singapore
Yes, luck plays a major role for success, namely, we need to be lucky enough to be born in a nation with high economic freedom, but that's were it mostly ends. Let's be clear: I was lucky to be born in the US, and not Syria. I was lucky to be born with all my faculties, in a lower-middle class family, and no disabilities.

From there, luck mostly ends because then I can control my decisions. Today, luck has become a nice, convenient crutch for many who need something to justify their poor decision making. Are you unlucky because you chose to have 7 kids before you're 30th birthday? And now you can't make ends meet?

Warning: Luck is an excuse for losers and the mainstream is trying to normalize this belief so you can rightly "stay in your lane."

Caes in point...


What a classic case in reductionism.

Yes of course, the smartest people aren't the richest and it doesn't seem to have a high correlation to wealth.

This totally ignores ones vocational pursuit and the mathematical role it predominately plays. Totally ignores the power of one's choices. In other words, wealth is all about luck and you can't do anything about it. That's right, give up and just resign to be an obedient employee, a mediocre citizen who pays his taxes and is subject to the whims of your government overloads.

What a bunch of Slowlane, "stay in your lane" loser crap.

Luck, which is largely perceived as uncontrollable, is now being normalized in the mainstream as a incontrovertible excuse to your lack of upward mobility. It fits in perfectly with this "being obediently broke is cool" culture.

SMH.
I was thinking about how the “Being wealthy is lucky” fits into the business/fastlane discussion.

If someone chooses an hourly paid job with little upside as lifetime career option without the intent of trying anything else, it is impossible to be lucky.

Isn’t being lucky about the pursuit of asymmetric return? Someone still has to take the action first.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Thinh

Bronze Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
213%
Aug 11, 2018
134
286
The problem with luck really is when you look at it like a mystic, overarching force, and even worse when you personify it, granting it a sense of agency.

Luck is simply probabilities colored with the human mind's perception.

Saying someone is "lucky" means they just landed on the smaller percentage of a probability spectrum.
RE: MJ's Gumball Machine analogy.
In this case, almost anyone actually has the ability to increase their odds at whatever they are trying to achieve.

Also note that many—if not most—of the people who ended up achieving wild success did so for something they initially didn't plan for (e.g. the Slack team who initially wanted to create a game, Johnny Depp wanted to play in a rock band, etc.). These could be deemed as lucky breaks, but we shouldn't forget that these people were also working their a$$ off anyway in the first place.
 

Antifragile

Progress not perfection
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
453%
Mar 15, 2018
3,708
16,813
Business is one of very few pursuits in life where you have the opportunity to create better odds of finding luck.

I’ll go as far as to say this may be the most important realization for any aspiring entrepreneur!

So yes, luck plays a role. But not in the way it’s accepted by the masses.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Trait

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
286%
Jun 22, 2021
83
237
22
Bangladesh
Contrarian View
I believe luck does not exist. Look at it from a scientific point of view and it will expose luck - you cannot quantify it, its a term coined by people to pat themselves on the back after failing. A simple one-stop solution to all problems and failures, a simple concept that cannot be proven.

Then what is real? Probabilities - scientifically quantifiable answer to uncertainty and also replaces luck. The events described as caused by luck or due to "bad luck " should be called LOW PROBABILITY EVENTS. These are what they are called - events that have a low probability of happening and are the result of reality. The Reality is not everything can be predicted, there is always a low probability that an airplane can crash into your house. Its very unlikely, but it can happen - so tell me what accounts better for this event - Luck? which says its just a random event or you just have bad luck? or Probability - which had informed you already it could happen but chances were extremely low.

Low probability events (LPE) have a constant possibility, they can and will happen to everyone. Low Probability Events is just an insignificant variable that has little effect on the last outcome compared to all the other variables like - hard work, smart work, Belief in self, Perseverance etc. LPEs can either help you or mess you up in a varying (mostly small) way, but that can be overcome or used in leverage using all the other variables that are in YOUR CONTROL.

Go to every successful millionaire and billionaire in their childhood and make them believe that all successful people are just lucky, do you know what will happen? all of them will end up being a mediocre average joe and not the successful people they are today. But you know what? you can CONTROL your probability of being successful. But if you believe in the shitty concept of luck then you believe you have no control and end up staying poor.

It is clear to me that Probabilities are a Significantly better way of processing reality than Luck. One gives you excuses and takes control away. Another informs you of How much you have in your control and even explains failure better and warns of rare occurrences and best of all, you can change your probability of being successful through action. Luck promotes external locus of control. Probability gives Control back to us and promotes internal locus of control.
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,456
4,078
Singapore
This is year 2022. The luck debate related to business and wealth has been more or less quite well researched.

The old cliche is true even for people who have no business experience. No one gets rich working for a stable pay cheque. It is impossible to be lucky. The first thing about luck is about making choices and embracing risk.

The older generation of business people and entrepreneurs before the days of internet relied a lot on guts and balls, because there isn’t a wealth of information that is easily assessable. People made silly mistakes that are obvious to business people today. Taking excessive investment and business risk before finding buyers, taking personal debt instead of finding investors, falling in love with a dying idea for too long, doing business that cannot scale and subject to control risk…

In other words business in the past resembled more like survivorship biases. People made right decisions that are only brilliant in hindsight. There could be no work ethic difference or knowledge gap between a bankrupt business person and someone who made a generational fortune.

The luck argument is very weak in today’s world where the new generations of hustlers are extremely savy about concepts and terms such as lean start-up, product market fit, asymmetric return, and all the business trends that are taking place. People got rich in real estates in the past are people who are extremely surprised by how much they are rewarded. Business people today who choose lanes like blockchain, green energy, cyber security or biotech are making a informed bet supported by a sea of numbers.

30 years ago the stereotype of an entrepreneur is a high school drop out opening a chain of burger restaurants. Today the stereotype of an entrepreneur is a techno number mumbling MIT PHD dropout who did an IPO for his VC backed business while his business is deep in negative cashflow.

Luck always plays a big part, but clearly less today than before.
 

Albert KOUADJA

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
84%
Mar 13, 2022
309
259
In any case, personally I don't believe in luck. I'm not saying it doesn't exist or someone can't be lucky. But to be really lucky, you have to do certain actions which in turn will increase your probability of luck.

yes because I know that all the times I was the best student (first or second in my class from primary to secondary), it was due to the hard work I was doing. yes, I was sometimes lucky to get a better grade during an uninformed assignment, simply because I had stayed up at night to learn my lessons. sometimes I was lucky to have learned a part of the course that the others did not. and I got better grades than them. Yes, that's luck.

For example: if I was lucky to be here on this forum, it's only because I decided to read the books. I not only found myself by a miraculous blow.

Even a lottery winner is not supposed to be called entirely lucky. Because he first made actions. He decide to go to the lotto house and pay the ticket. And now, then hope to be lucky to win.

I am against games of chance but those who win don't sit idle at home to win. Luck happens...
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

socaldude

Saturn Sedan and PT Cruiser enthusiast.
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
212%
Jan 10, 2012
2,380
5,043
San Diego, CA
The right answer is neither.

The question, semantics and context is wrong all together.

Success depends on YOU and how much you are willing to see the truth in you and outside in the world.

Of course life is not fair, there are people who get away with murder or who have millions and stole that money.

Life is about how much you are willing to make good out of a bad situation. Don't worry about the reasons why others had it "better" or "easier" than you. People who focus on these kinds of things are trying to prove a pointless point.
 
Last edited:

socaldude

Saturn Sedan and PT Cruiser enthusiast.
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
212%
Jan 10, 2012
2,380
5,043
San Diego, CA
Only time will tell why we are born with particular parents, body, set of traumatic experiences, personality etc. Maybe when we die we will know why.

Our consciousness is localized, the universe has a global kind of consciousness. Just pray for access and union to the utility driven consciousness that exists. You wouldn’t want the utility of your heart or kidneys to cease, nature provided it for some purpose or reason. Inventors and even people like ray dalio know that about nature. They know that nature is the ultimate utility operator. Align yourself with that and forget any excuse or reason why you can’t be of use in any economic system. Stop worrying about luck.
 
Last edited:

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top