Unlocking Serendipity
Reverse engineering the four types of luck
Whether you listen to the VoiceOver for accessibility, because you’re more of an auditory learner or so you can grab some movement while we’re together—it will consistently be an option.
Recently I’ve dragged you into cultivating luck alongside me.
Either it’s working or, more likely, my clothes washer is doing a final rally before its rather *timely* demise—but I digress.
As we move forward toward a new way to cleanse my apparel exciting new ventures in 2024, I’m more committed than ever to consistently focusing on what we can do to position ourselves to be prepared for good fortune. Here’s the thing: research shows readying ourselves for luck is the best way to identify and receive it.
Luck, for our community’s purposes, is not that proverbial roll of the dice. It is a multifaceted concept which impacts our successes and influences how we experience the world around us.
Serendipity always rewards the prepared.
- Katori Hall
The 4 Types of Luck
In 1978, a neurologist named Dr. James Austin published a book entitled Chase, Chance, & Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty.
In it, Dr. Austin made the then quite radical suggestion there exist four unique types of luck.
To my mind (I await the ‘to your mind’ part of the substack post in the comments) identifying which of the four we believe to be most accessible to us as individuals directly impacts the amount of luck in our lives.
Let’s break the four types down:
Blind Luck
This sort of luck is out of our control. It includes where we are born, to whom we are born etc—all the foundational circumstances of our existence. The notion of Blind Luck encompasses the truly random occurrences of the universe.
Full disclosure: As a believer in the concept of ‘luck’ being the marriage of preparation + opportunity this one is challenging for me (if by ‘challenging’ you mean frustrating which I do). It does, however, remind us we cannot control everything in life/need to be consistently flexible which, I’ll admit, is a good thing.
Luck from Motion
I like to think of this sort of luck as the Power of Proactivity.
As we engage with the world around us we create motion and these metaphorical-collisions result in ripples which increase our chances of ‘lucky’ events. To simplify and create a visual: the more we collide the more we set ourselves up for fortuitous occurrences.
The more art we create, the more Substacks we write, the more we volunteer, the more we venture into the world and *engage* - the better the chance we will ‘suddenly’ become lucky and achieve what it is we desire.
As the inimitable Sahil Bloom put it, "You increase your luck surface area through simple movement."
I’d say consistent movement but: YES. THIS.
Luck from Awareness:
This luck is the result of our awareness and understanding of a specific area of life. This depth of expertise, be it in pickleball or Pinterest, allows us to become adept at positioning ourselves (there’s that preparation!) for lucky breaks.
Luck from Awareness demands we read the landscape, identify trends and learn to spot opportunities before other less aware humans might. It also asks we live with openness, curiosity, and optimism—all traits I value in other people and which sets the stage for:
Luck from Uniqueness:
In a world where there exists so. much. noise. this sort of luck is attracted by our greatest asset: OURSELVES.
Luck from Uniqueness occurs when our idiosyncratic set of attributes attracts good fortune in the form of opportunities. This luck seeks us out rather than us seeking it. Luck from Uniqueness happens wholly by virtue of who we are, what we know and how we show up in the world. It’s a result of a unique personality, brand, and mindset which all coalesce to make one stand out become a magnet for good things.
What does any of this matter?
As much as luck is serendipitous—we *can* deconstruct or reverse engineer the kind of luck we desire to attract. (Helloooo numbers 2 & 4).
When we are aware of the power and significance of the four types of luck, we are able to scrutinize our lives and unveil the hidden patterns of consistency that shape our experiences.
Recognizing luck is not merely random chance, but a force we can influence, which empowers us to navigate our world with *hope* and intention. By understanding and harnessing the dynamics of good fortune, we gain the ability to engineer the outcomes we want and remind ourselves during those dryer and washer dying and pipe frozen from weather moments a proactive mindset plays a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of our lives.
Now you.
Because I choose to live a filterfree life the red car theory made me think of college when I would have friends with a pregnancy scare.
We would marvel now that pregnancy was in the forefront of our minds everywhere we looked were pregnant women.
And it really is the same damn thing.
Also, I adore that notion of the rest of your life being the life of yes.
I'm pretty sure luck from awareness needs to be my focus. I tend to go through life just going through the motions, but a few things have happened recently that are forcing me to really LOOK at how life comes at me, and at how I move through life. And, for the first time in a few years, my time is MY TIME. Thanks for writing.