Ever heard someone dismiss a successful entrepreneur with “they just got lucky”? I hear it all the time, and I can’t help but wonder if we’re missing something important when we chalk up achievement to mere chance.
The Success Attribution Problem
In the business world, particularly in tech startups, we often dismiss others’ success with a simple phrase: “They just got lucky.” But is luck really what’s behind major success stories?
As Jono Brake discusses in his Monday Myth Check, attributing success to luck overlooks the countless hours of hard work and strategic planning happening behind the scenes. When we say Zuckerberg or Gates “got lucky,” we ignore their garage startups, investor pitches, legal battles, and numerous failures along the way.
Beyond Luck: The Edison Example
Thomas Edison’s journey illustrates this perfectly. No one would reasonably claim he “got lucky” when inventing the light bulb after hundreds or thousands of attempts. As Edison himself noted, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
Even lottery winners, who seem like the ultimate example of pure luck, often fall victim to “sudden wealth syndrome.” Without the skills to manage sudden fortune, most end up worse off than before their “lucky” break.
Building Your Own “Luck”
Real success comes from:
- Developing effective strategies
- Building strong teams
- Being intentional and attentional
- Creating repeatable processes
- Persisting through failures
Instead of waiting for luck to strike, focus on what you’re working toward. List your activities and evaluate whether they’re moving you toward your goals. Create a concrete plan spanning months or years, and take intentional steps daily.
When you achieve success through this consistent effort, someone will inevitably say, “You got lucky.” You’ll just smile, knowing the real story behind your “overnight success.”
What are you working on today that might make others think you “just got lucky” years from now?
About Monday Myth Check
Monday Myth Check is a weekly dose of reality where Jono Brake holds up commonly held leadership beliefs and asks the question “What if this was not true”. You can find the weekly videos and other posts by following Jono Brake on LinkedIn or following The Forged Leader, as well as on Youtube @jonobrake.
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