4 Secrets to Attracting Good Fortune
In 1978, neurologist Dr. James Austin published "Chase, Chance, & Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty." He proposed four types of luck:
Blind Luck
Luck from Motion
Luck from Awareness
Luck from Uniqueness
In other words, there are four lucky paths to success. Today, I’ll share how to use this framework to achieve the success you desire by following one of these paths.
Let's dive in.
Lucky Path #1: Blind luck
"Blind luck is completely accidental and requires no effort."
An example of this type of luck would be winning the lottery or being born into a wealthy family and becoming a trust fund kid.
Life is filled with things that don't make sense, and this path is one of them. Despite being highly desired because it requires no effort, I believe it's actually unlucky.
The universe dangles this path like forbidden fruit (e.g., lottery, marrying rich), promising ease but creating "dis-ease." Many trust fund kids suffer from "affluenza," having everything but still being miserable. Nearly one-third of lottery winners go bankrupt within three to five years.
This is the "be careful what you wish for" path. It looks like the best path but is a decoy, misleading those who haven't learned that opportunities are created, not found.
However, this might be the exact path you need to follow to learn the lessons required to become your highest and best self.
Lucky Path #2: Luck from Motion
"A basic level of action stirs up the pot and lets chance operate."
This type of luck can be summed up by the saying, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." You create your own luck by hustling, moving, making noise, and networking. By staying active and engaged, it's inevitable that you'll bump into Lady Luck.
This was the first path I chose in my 20s, full of energy and feeling invincible. But over time, I realized all the hustling took away my balance. I thrive on balance and enjoy exploring various aspects of life, not just grinding until I strike luck.
I'm not saying this is a bad path. Many people achieve tremendous things through relentless work and energy. Some are natural hustlers—always on the phone, attending events, meeting people. I'm impressed and inspired by them, but I know this path isn't for me.
If this path resonates with you, choose it, but realize there's a cost. On your deathbed, will you be saying, "I wish I made a few thousand more cold calls?"
Lucky Path #3: Luck from awareness
"This type of luck involves a special receptivity and intuitive grasp of significance."
This was the type of luck my father had after spending over 60 years as an executive in the retail industry. Every new business he opened in his later years seemed to catch the next trendy wave before it happened. His deep understanding of retail allowed him to position himself for lucky breaks.
Entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant summarized this beautifully: "You become very good at spotting luck." With depth of knowledge and experience, you can “spot luck” from a mile away.
This type of luck is becoming rarer these days. It was the kind of luck my father's generation, the boomers, believed in: get a job, stay loyal, work hard, and good things will happen.
But we live in a different world today. Things move too quickly, and it's hard to keep up. Our attention spans have shortened dramatically—from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds today, even shorter than a goldfish's 9 seconds. We are in the ADHD era, which is certainly not conducive to the lucky path of awareness—there are just too many things competing for our attention.
The world is also a lot more volatile economically. With the rise of AI and supercomputing, we’re going to see significant industries rise and fall. Job security will be increasingly threatened. Opportunities to gain deep, widespread knowledge in a specific area are becoming harder to come by and will continue to do so at an accelerating rate.
Yet, what a wonderful path to be on if you get the chance. Some of our greatest organizations and most notable leaders came from the lucky path of awareness.
Lucky Path #4: Luck from Uniqueness
"This type of luck comes to you because of your unique attributes and behaviors."
This type of luck occurs when your unique qualities attract specific opportunities. Luck seeks you out, unlike other paths where you try to generate it.
It's the hardest luck to achieve, requiring a unique character, brand, and mindset. For example, imagine you're the best deep-sea diver, known for daring dives. Someone finds a sunken treasure they can't reach and hires you. Their luck becomes your luck because you're uniquely qualified. This isn't blind luck; you created it by being unique.
This path is future-proof because it relies solely on your unique expression in the world. Yes, it's the riskiest because there are no guarantees when banking on yourself, but Kevin Kelly's concept of 1,000 true fans changed our thinking. Out of six billion people, you only need 1,000 who think you're great, and you'll never have to worry about making a living again.
I believe this is a wonderful path to teach our children as an option. We often don't due to our fears as parents. We want to guide them towards secure and stable careers. But times are changing, and taking the leap onto this path might provide the most security and happiness in an uncertain future. The old model—degree, job, white picket fence—won't serve our kids.
We all have the capacity to follow this path of uniqueness because we are all unique, with our own gifts and strengths. But we're often taught to conform, to hide our true selves to be accepted.
The path of uniqueness requires significant self-work. For me, it involved shedding the straitjacket of societal conditioning and rediscovering my authentic self—the self that existed before the world got its hands on me. This challenging self-discovery process enabled me to create a life aligned with my unique design.
In the end, all paths lead to the same place
No matter which path you choose, it leads to the same place. It's not about the destination but what you learn along the way.
Each path provides the challenges and obstacles necessary to teach you the lessons you need in this lifetime. Even the path of blind luck offers hard lessons if you choose to listen.
Path #4 was the one I needed, not because it's better, but because my lesson in life has been and continues to be finding and expressing my voice. My upbringing stifled my voice and opinions, teaching me that what I had to say wasn't important. The path of uniqueness provided the exact journey I needed to find and express my voice.
Choose the path that feels right for you. It will provide you with the exact curriculum you need.
That's it for now
See you next Thursday. Have a lucky week!
Whenever you're ready, there are 6 ways I can help you and your team:
Book me to speak at your next sales kickoff meeting or conference: I've spoken about sales negotiation to over 20,000 people worldwide. Text the word "SPEAKER," to 310-927-5657 and someone will contact you within 24 hours to discuss.
Bring me on to train your sales team: I've trained teams from some of the world's largest organizations, yielding an incredible ROI of $535 for every dollar spent. My methods have generated an additional $1B in revenue across various industries. If you're interested, please text the word "TRANSFORMATION," to 310-927-5657 and someone will schedule a discovery call with you shortly.
[COMING SOON] Negotiate Price Like a STUD, Not a DUD: An online, self-directed course designed to help you defend your pricing and fees effectively.
[COMING SOON] The Ethical Conman Mastermind & Bookstudy: I've recently been certified as a master trainer in persuasion and influence by Dr. Robert Cialdini himself. I'm launching a new, exclusive 8-week program that deep dives into the principles of ethical persuasion and influence for leaders. Learn how to become a more magnetic leader and get more people to say "Yes" to you.
[TBD] Live 2-Day Public Negotiation Seminar in Los Angeles: Join us for a unique opportunity to master negotiation skills, network with other leaders, and enjoy a swanky hotel in LA. It's also a perfect chance to train key people from your organization if in-house training isn't feasible.
[TBD] Annual Retreat for Leaders in Life Transitions: Join our intensive retreat designed to help leaders navigate life transitions and discover their next chapter. These retreats focus on authenticity and living a life true to your authentic self. Hundreds have experienced transformation through my retreats.
