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People think that luck is something binary, you either have it or you don’t. This might be true for some people, i.e., those born into privilege, but you can create your own luck by creating optimal conditions for lucky things to happen to you.

In 2010 Jason Roberts coined the term “Luck Surface Area” (LSA). His model is that Doing and Telling will increase your “luck”. That investing time in your passions will help draw people to you. Learning in public is a perfect example of how to increase your LSA by doing and telling.

To satisfy my mathematically oriented brain I’ve gone one step further and formalized the concept into the equation L = D * T, where L is luck, D is doing and T is telling – Jason Roberts

Naval summarized luck into four kinds:

  1. Hope luck finds you – Do nothing and hope that something comes your way

  2. Hustle until you stumble into it – Do lots of various things and hope that something sticks

  3. Prepare the mind and be sensitive to chances others miss – Noticing when something lucky has happened that most others will miss. This might come from some unique experience or knowledge that you have.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. — Seneca

  1. Become the best at what you do. Refine what you do until this is true. Opportunity will seek you out. Luck becomes your destiny – This last one aligns with Jason Roberts’ LSA as it tells you to keep refining your knowledge and that that will open up more opportunities.

It’s very possible to create your own luck or at least increase your chances of being lucky. How you go about doing it is up to you.

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