The 4 Types of Luck: How to Increase Your Odds of Success
It’s not down to random chance
Luck's role in success is often understated.
PR companies know the most powerful tool you can hand a person in life is hope.
This explains why stories of successful people are often manipulated to fit the rags-to-riches paradigm.
TLDR: It’s relatable.
Don’t get me wrong, talent and hard work are incredibly important for success…
But so is luck.
Warren Buffett knows this reality and has often attributed his investment success to good fortune.
He said, “I’m just lucky to have been in the right place at the right time. Another place, another time, I wouldn’t have been as successful. Society enabled me to make my money and my money should go to society.”
Luck plays a massive role in the level of success you attain, but it’s not just down to random chance.
In many instances, you play a significant role in the amount of luck you experience in your lifetime.
This is why you must know the 4 types of luck that exist…
The more you know, the more you can turn your odds of success in your favor.
Type I: Blind luck
The luck most people refer to when they acknowledge someone’s level of success is known as blind luck.
This type of luck occurs by random chance and unpredictable events beyond our control.
For example, Warren Buffet once said, “If I had been a female, my life would have been entirely different.” He also acknowledged that being born White in America in 1930 played a massive role in his life achievements.
Another example of blind luck is playing out before our eyes…
A couple had gone to a concert by Nigerian artist Omah Lay.
At various segments, the artist invited female fans to perform his set with him.
He ended up calling the girlfriend of a fan, who initially cheered as his lady got to meet her favorite musician.
The smiles quickly turned to disgust when the artist took his girlfriend behind a white curtain, which showed the shadows of the two figures.
The lady then proceeded to dance on the artist in the most suggestive way possible.
This event went viral.
Several cameras caught the guy looking heartbroken as he watched his girlfriend betray him in front of a packed arena.
There was even footage of him walking home by himself at the end of the event, and his girlfriend could be heard in the background asking her friends, “Was it that bad?”
Social media managed to track the guy down within a few days — this is where his life took a turn…
Before the embarrassment, he was a nobody.
After, he accumulated 87k+ (and counting) followers on Instagram, was featured in an advert by a popular south London chicken shop called Morley’s, was also featured in a stream with one of the most popular streamers in the world, Kai Cenat, who sent him $20,000.
This guy could’ve never dreamed his life would turn out this way — it just happened.
He had no hand in it.
Type I luck is the type that covers random occurrences of the universe.
You can’t do much about them, but they play a massive role in the level of success that could be attained.
Type II: Luck from motion
The second type of luck is Luck from motion.
This is where you create motion and collisions through hustle and energy that you insert into an ecosystem.
Much of my current success is as a result of luck from motion…
One day, my manager told me to start a blog to help me understand concepts in data science.
A few months later, I was put on furlough and feared losing my job.
During this period, I doubled down on my blog and garnered plenty of attention.
This led to many opportunities, from being a guest on several podcasts to having my LinkedIn inbox filled with freelance opportunities.
Fun fact: it only took 2 days for me to land my first freelance gig after I had been made redundant. All I had to do was reply to a direct message on LinkedIn, and I was hired — no interview, nothing.
James Clear was talking about this type of luck when he said, “You can increase your surface area for good luck by taking action.”
The more action you take, the more collisions you create.
These collisions open you up to more lucky events, which can propel your career to new heights.
Luck by motion is all about putting in work.
You must put in work, take risks, and be proactive in pursuing your goals to experience it.
Type III: Luck from awareness
The year was 1994.
Jeff Bezos was working at a hedge fund on Wall Street when he came across a report about the future of the internet.
The report stated that projected annual web commerce growth was at 2,300%.
Bezos immediately took this as information and created a list of 20 products that could be marketed online.
From his list of 20, he narrowed it down further to the five most promising products: compact discs, computer hardware, computer software, videos, and books.
This list was further narrowed down to one; Bezos decided he would sell books on the internet.
He left his high-paying hedge fund job to start a business from his garage in Bellevue.
According to Forbes, he surpassed Bill Gates to become the richest person in the world and the first centibillionaire in 2018.
This kind of luck is known as luck from awareness.
It’s when your awareness allows you to take advantage of opportunities that are seemingly in plain sight but others can’t see.
For example, Bezos wasn’t the first to read that report, but he saw an opportunity where many just saw statistics.
Luck from awareness requires a keen eye to spot trends and opportunities or a deep understanding of a specific domain to notice when things can be improved or where the industry is going.
These insights enable you to position yourself so lucky breaks play out in your favor.
You also must be curious, open-minded, and have a positive outlook on life.
If you’re not somewhat interested in the world around you, you’ll never see the potential in unexpected situations.
One way to experience this type of luck is to get extremely good at something.
The better you are at your craft, the easier it becomes to spot limitations and constraints.
Another way is to expose yourself to new adventures.
This will result in you having varied experiences, which you could use to link concepts or disciplines that most people thought had no connection.
Type IV: Luck from uniqueness
Luck from uniqueness occurs when you develop unique attributes that attract opportunities.
You don’t go seeking; luck comes to find you.
Look no further than Danielle Peskowitz Bregoli or Bhad Bhabie as an example…
She first became known in 2016 when her mum took her on the Dr. Phil show.
The episode was titled I Want to Give Up My Car-Stealing, Knife-Wielding, Twerking 13-Year-Old Daughter Who Tried to Frame Me for a Crime because her mother had become concerned about her out-of-control behavior.
On this show, she uttered the phrase, “Cash me outside, how ‘bout that?”
What was supposed to be a threat to the audience became a viral meme and catchphrase among youth.
This threw Bhad Bhabie into the spotlight.
She landed a $900,000 endorsement deal with Copy Cat Beauty and, at 16 years old, got a lucrative publishing deal with Pulse Media Group.
Luck from uniqueness is not sought out.
Who you are and how you behave draws opportunities to you.
The way to engineer this kind of luck is to develop your skills and unapologetically be yourself.
Mr. Beast is another great example of luck from uniqueness.
His distinct personality, relentless work ethic, and ever-evolving brand distinguish him from other YouTubers and attract countless opportunities — it’s not often you see Billionaires seeking out a YouTuber for advice.
Final thoughts
Luck plays a massive role in the level of success you attain.
While it doesn’t disqualify the importance of hard work and talent, it’s often disregarded to sell people a glimmer of hope.
This doesn’t need to be disheartening; you can engineer your own luck — in 3/4 instances.
It’s vital you know the 4 different types of luck:
Type I: blind luck Type II: luck from motion Type III: luck from awareness Type IV: luck from uniqueness
Learn and use them to your advantage to increase your odds of success.
Thanks for reading!
Grab your FREE copy of my short e-book — Don’t Just Set Goals, Build Systems.
