Comment by twawaaay
3 years ago
To be sure, most people who got successful don't really understand how they got there. Most of the time they think they do but then what really happens is they are rationalising and/or using circular logic.
Don't get me wrong, they most likely put a lot of work in and most likely did a lot of things right but deep understanding of it is not necessary for success.
I understand perfectly well how I achieved success: a little bit of work and a whole lot of luck, mainly in the form of being in the right place at the right time on more than one occasion. The problem is not that this is hard to understand, the problem is that it is hard to replicate, even for me.
I agree a lot with this - but I also think many underestimate their ability to recognize when they are in the right place at the right time and take an action, as little as it might be, in the right direction. Of course, the action being taken ending up being the right one may entail plenty of luck in and of itself.
It might be as simple as "whatever I was interested in as a kid happened to also make good money", which in itself is luck but also requires a bunch of work to action on it.
But as you already like the thing it doesn't feel like you put the work, it was just "the fun stuff I liked to do happened to be profitable", even if it required just as much work as anything else
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I love the theory about four types of luck.
Blind luck: You're walking and find money on the ground.
Luck of activity: You go walking a lot, if there's money on the ground you're likely to walk by it.
Luck of optimism: You know you're lucky, so you're always looking for confirming evidence. If you walk by money you're likely to notice.
Luck of eccentricity: You don't walk along the same paths as other people. If there's money on the ground, you're likely going to be the first to walk by it.
PT Barnum got where he got by being a good bullshitter. I think he was well aware of it, and I think he was smart enough not to put that in writing.
If you read the book he's very open about being a bullshitter!
This is accurate for people without a long-term track record of success. One hit wonders.
But for others, it’s the same stuff that great entrepreneurs always say…
- luck: having a great team with the right skills
- luck: being in the right place at the right time
- resources/luck: having enough capital to realize an opportunity
- focus/discipline: being able to focus on 1-2 things and disciplined enough not to pick up other items
- moral fortitude: it’s hard to be successful in business long-term while being a full-time crook
Interestingly, I read that is why Reason exists anyway as per evolution, source for this is a book called The Enigma of reason.
Basically, through evolution, our ability to 'Reason' is basically to provide excuses for things that sound plausible or are beneficial to us, it came about as we began to communicate, we needed to explain our actions.
When viewed through this lens, it makes a lot of sense that this is basically all that is happening here and perhaps all that is ever happening, the problem then becomes that we don't realise this and our logical thinking becomes an exercise of reading other peoples 'excuses'.
People explaining things, is just people giving reasons for them, but it is a reason that sounds plausible after the fact it happened and not necessary why it actually happened in the first place.
Can you define "success" ?
Was all poor artists who died in poverty successful in the past ?
Successful person is one that is able to achieve their goals that they deem worthy.
That's it. If you set out on doing something you would be proud of if you did and then achieve it, you are successful.
"To be sure, most people who got successful don't really understand how they got there."
IMHO: Wrong. "People that win the super bowl didn't just show up. It was intentional."
But lots of people who don't win the superbowl do all the same things.
Not that I disagree, but how can you be confident that this is the case? Have there been studies on this topic?