Manifesting Luck —Putting Yourself in Position to Get Lucky
By: Tony Sossong
Tags: Motivation, Risk Taking, Luck, Risk, Entrepreneurship

This week I listened to another episode of The Science of Success podcast titled “Your Luckiest Year Ever — The Science of Luck with Gay Hendricks and Carol Kline” and I’ve decided to write an opinion piece instead of a summary.

Gay and Carol were on the pod to talk about their new book Conscious Luck: Eight Secrets to Intentionally Change Your Fortune. Gay is a psychologist and a NYT best selling author. Carol is also a best selling author. Both have focused their careers in personal growth. They address 8 “secrets” in their book, however, they discuss 4 qualities in the podcast. In my opinion, the points that they make are great, however, on the surface they do come off as no-brainers.

You can find the podcast episode here, it’s an hour listen.

I believe the points that they make are overall good, but what bothers me is that it seems that they have studied others’ luckiness as opposed to trying to get lucky themselves, which involves risk. I will try to relate and apply my personal experiences as much as I can into this piece.

The topic of discussion is how to “engineer” luck for yourself. Is this possible? I believe so, and feel that I have done so, especially in the last year or so. I will do my best to draw parallels between their thoughts and ideas and my personal experiences. Let’s get to it!

Be Bold — Bet on Yourself

“Fortune favors the bold” as the Latin proverb goes, and as Gay and Carol say. Those who are “lucky” are often those who are not afraid and are willing to take risks. Don’t be afraid to be yourself and to have your own convictions.

“It is better to have a handful of enthusiastic advocates than hoards of people who appreciate your work. It is better to be loved by a dozen than to be liked by the hundreds. This applies to the sales of books, the spread of ideas, and success in general, and runs counter to conventional logic.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Fooled by Randomness

I’ve been very inspired by Taleb’s Incerto Series over the span of the last two years, which is where this quote comes from. Taleb explains luck and how to put yourself into position to increase your chances of becoming lucky. Taleb exemplifies in his work his fearlessness to be bold and to be his true self. In many ways Gay and Carol mention the same things that Taleb does about luck and success, just in their own ways.

The most recent bold decision that I’ve made was to leave my full time job as an electrical engineer to become an online English coach/tutor. Leaving a salary and “benefits” was something that no one advised me to do. However, I knew from day 1 of working with non-native speakers that my days at my previous job were limited, and it was just a matter of time before I would leave.

The main issues of leaving my job were that I had no experience in helping anyone with a language. I was (and still am) very up front about this with everyone that I work with, and I initially set a price on my services that reflected this. I had to teach myself how to help others (I’m still learning everyday), which required me to continue working at my previous job to support this process. 80 hour work weeks became the new standard for me.

Weekends were the main times where I was free to work with people from LA to Hong Kong and the 13 hour time zone differences. Working 20+ hours a weekend was necessary for me to spend as much time as possible learning and improving my processes. In the beginning, after the time I invested outside of the classroom, I was on average making a little less than $1/hour. I chose to do this instead of hanging out with my friends.

4 Qualities to Being Luckier

There are four qualities that Gay and Carol gloss over in the podcast, and they made it somewhat difficult to put an exact title on each of them. I will do my best to cover each one, what they mean, and how I’ve applied these principles.

Have a Willingness to Be Luckier

Every decision that we make boils down to opportunity cost. If we play it safe, what will we potentially miss out on in both the present and the future?

“…the reality is that the most important economic decisions to any individual’s well-being are the ones they conduct in their trade-offs with their future self” — Saifedean Ammous, The Bitcoin Standard

The actions we take everyday have direct and indirect consequences. We make tradeoffs that involve time and money. We make these decisions based on both our present happiness as well as our future happiness. If we do not consider our future happiness and the impacts that our current decisions will have in our future, we have not properly assessed the risk of our decisions.

I’m admittedly not perfect, but I’m always trying my best to make decisions that involve delaying instant gratitude that will bring future gratitude. I look at risk as something that is unavoidable, as we are all guaranteed to die at some point, and see risk as something necessary to take in order to ultimately achieve the freedoms that I desire.

Looking at my future, I weighed the risks of staying in the same job for 5+ years, the skills I would develop for future success, and my present well being (financially and emotionally with regards to my happiness). I ultimately decided it was worth it to take a leap of faith and leave a steady paycheck to pursue a totally new venture that was, and still is, very uncertain.

At the end of the day, I’m willing to bet on myself in the long run, which involves making short term sacrifices of being paid sporadically (and potentially not at all). I’ve put myself in a position to be able to take this risk as I only have a dog that depends on me and have saved some along the way. As long as Buster is fed and happy, I’m happy.

Doing My Best to Keep Buster Happy

Being at the Right Place at the Right Time

We’ve found ourselves in what I think is the most exciting time to be alive. The world around us has almost completely evolved into a digital world. We have become cyborgs (we carry smartphones on a limb that give us the ability to connect with the minds of the entire world) in an age of a mature internet. There has never been a time in human history where there is so much opportunity to instantly plug ourselves into the global economy.

Taleb talks about increasing your probability to become lucky by moving to areas that have lots of people (big cities) and areas that are economic hubs. I am a firm believer that it only takes one person to completely change your life. You are probabilistically more likely to meet the one person that can change your life if you surround yourself with more people. Thus, I sold my house in Arkansas and moved to Dallas, Texas, which is the 4th largest populated area in the US.

A combination of working globally online and living in Dallas has led me to working with individuals in 40 countries and that speak 22 different native languages.

Locations/Origins of Past and Present Students

Have Luck-worthy Goals

A huge component to becoming luckier is having goals that set up a luckier future. Gay and Carol pose the question “would you do what you’re doing if you weren’t paid a dime for it?”

This is an extremely important question. I’ve asked myself this, and even told some of you my answer to this question.

I would certainly do what I’m doing in my free time, free of charge, if I was still working at my last job. I feel extremely lucky and fortunate to be able to have the opportunity to speak with such incredibly intelligent and wonderful people across the world. I personally don’t know any other individuals that are tapped into such a network of people. It is just an added bonus for myself that I’m able to support my everyday life by speaking with you all.

Insane Courage — Have Strong Convictions and Be Brave to Follow Them. Be Persistent.

I have quoted Calvin Coolidge before in my previous writing, so this won’t be the first time for me to do so, and I feel confident that it won’t be my last. Here is my favorite quote of all time from the 30th President of the United States, that I engrained into my memory roughly 10 years ago —

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. — Calvin Coolidge, Amherst, 1895

I do my best to press on each day no matter what each day brings me, be it good or bad. It is easy to become “fat and happy” when things are going well, and it’s easy to throw in the towel when negative things happen.

Without an extremely strong conviction in myself, a belief that I’m able to manifest my dreams, I would’ve given up back in April of 2019, roughly one year before I set sail on this venture of being a lone wolf.

In April I had just returned from a trip to South America to see my best friends marry each other in Bolivia. I was blown away by the people and culture in both Lima, Peru and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, and knew that I would want to return in the future. Upon leaving Bolivia, I was determined to learn Spanish so that I could return one day and further connect with people.

I began taking online Spanish lessons within two weeks of returning to my everyday life in Arkansas. After the second lesson, I was ready to give up. My tutor spoke 0 words of English with me (while being completely capable of speaking English), and I only understood roughly 30% of what she said to me.

I had never had hour long discussions in a foreign language with a native speaker before. My brain was ready to break trying to comprehend what she was saying to me while my body was sweating profusely as I directed every ounce of energy that I had in me to my brain.

I didn’t give up, however, and this ultimately led me to understand that I could potentially help non-native speakers around the world by speaking with them in a similar manner. It would’ve been extremely easy to give up on learning Spanish, but I had just had a life changing experience in South America that created a burning desire within me for me to continue pursuing learning a new language.

This decision has ultimately led me to this office chair that I’m writing this article in here in Dallas, Texas.

Where will it lead me to next? I honestly have no clue, but I am certain it will lead me to long term happiness, which motivates me each day to be my best self. It has already led me to meet 4 of you in person, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that I end up meeting many more of you as I ultimately hope to travel the world.

Don’t Be Afraid to Say No to Certain Things

Tune into your physical response to people when you look at someone or think about someone; what is your initial reaction?

It is easy to want to do everything. Being able to say no is what Warren Buffet claims to be the most beneficial ability that he has and is what has led him to be one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.

For me, being able to say no to living “traditionally” and being more of a contrarian has already paid dividends. I said no to living what I feel others expect of me and instead I’ve placed an enormous bet on myself.

I feel it’s the proper time to insert my second favorite quote of all time here:

“Missing a train is only painful if you run after it! Likewise, not matching the idea of success others expect from you is only painful if that’s what you are seeking.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

It’s so easy to say yes to something because someone else thinks it is a good idea. It’s so easy to do something because we feel that others will view it as cool, sexy, smart, or all the above.

The realization that I’ve come to, though, is that I’m the only one that lays my head down on my pillow at night and puts my pants on each morning. That no one else has enough skin in my game to feel what I feel and to make those things pleasant, other than myself. I’m not afraid to do whatever it takes to make myself happy, regardless of what others think about it.

Show Gratitude

There are so many people that we come across and have an impact, big or small, in our lives. Starting with our parents and the place that they put us in the world, everyone plays some sort of role in our lives. Whether we decide to allow these people into our lives or decide to block them out, we can learn from everyone.

I understand that I’m extremely lucky. It’s very easy to think highly of ourselves and omit the credit deserved by all of those that have helped us when we experience personal success.

I’m beyond grateful that you all are willing to take time from your days and weeks to work with me. The fact that there are 40 of you actively working with me, spending your hard earned money, is something that is hard for me to wrap my head around when I think about it. Without your continued trust and belief in me, I’m just another guy in the world trying to make it. For this, I am forever grateful.

Speaking of showing gratitude, I should show some gratitude here to Shiri for leading me to this podcast. Thanks Shiri :)

Homework — Commitment: “I commit to being luckier everyday”

The homework that Gay leaves us with at the end of the podcast is for us to make a commitment to ourselves. Each day when we wake up we should say “I commit to being luckier everyday.”

Life is hard. The world is a dirty, dirty place, but it keeps on turning. Life is too short to not pursue your dreams. I believe it’s totally possible to create a luckier future for yourself, but it most certainly won’t be easy. The one thing I know for sure is that you gotta risk it to get the biscuit. If not you, someone else will do it, so why not try? Who knows, you might just get lucky!