Achievers Make Their Own Luck (2 Min Read)
December 13, 2024
“Luck has nothing to do with it, because I have spent many, many hours, countless hours, on the court working for my one moment in time, not knowing when it would come.” – Serena Williams
Achievers Make Their Own Luck
Happy Friday the 13th! The idea that today is a particularly unlucky day is the love child of two historical fears – fear of Fridays and fear of the number 13.
People may have started thinking Fridays were unlucky because it was execution day in Rome. Early Christians were well aware that Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Ancient mariners also warned against launching voyages on Fridays. Thirteen being unlucky could come from many origins. First, in Norse mythology, Loki was the uninvited 13th guest at a dinner party in Valhalla. Loki convinced another guest to shoot Balder, the god of joy, with an arrow tipped with mistletoe. Balder’s death led to an age of darkness. Early mathematicians also thought 13 was the odd number out in their base-12 systems. There is no shortage of lore around both Fridays and the number 13.
The two fears came together in 1907. Thomas W. Lawson’s bestselling novel, Friday, the Thirteenth popularized the superstition that today is unlucky. Fast-forward 73 years and you get Jason stalking the grounds of Camp Crystal Lake.
Study achievement long enough and one thing becomes clear. Your actions will magnify your good luck and your bad luck. When you do the fundamentals, the surface area of your good luck increases. When you neglect those basics, the opposite is true. For example, there’s a low probability of getting a business deal from a random stranger. But when you make a point to chat up strangers, have a clear value proposition, and know how to work it into conversations, your odds of getting a random deal go way up.
I remember chatting with my friend Brandon Turner about luck in investing. He said it was like flying a kite on a windless day. If you just stand there, nothing happens. But if you start running with the kite, you can get it up in the air. And the higher you get it, the greater the odds you’ll find the wind.
Forget Friday the 13th. Achievers make their own luck. Go make yours.
One question to ponder in your thinking time: What’s one thing I can do today to magnify my luck?
Make an Impact!
Jay Papasan
Co-author of The ONE Thing & The Millionaire Real Estate Agent
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