A cheat code I wish I knew at 22:
The 4 Types of Luck
In 1978, a neurologist named Dr. James Austin published a book entitled Chase, Chance, & Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty.
In it, he proposed that there are 4 types of luck:
(1) Blind Luck
(2) Luck from Motion
(3) Luck from Awareness
(4) Luck from Uniqueness
Here's what they are:
Type 1: Blind Luck
Completely out of your control:
• Where you are born
• Who you are born to
• Base circumstances of your life
• "Acts of God"
These are the truly random occurrences of the universe.
Type 2: Luck from Motion
You’re creating motion and collisions through hustle and energy that you are inserting into an ecosystem.
You increase your luck surface area through simple movement.
The increase in collisions opens you up to more lucky events.
Type 3: Luck from Awareness
Depth of understanding within a given arena allows you to become very good at positioning yourself for lucky breaks.
Naval says: "You become very good at spotting luck."
You can “spot luck” from a mile away because of your knowledge and experience.
Type 4: Luck from Uniqueness
Your unique set of attributes attracts specific luck to you.
“[This type] favors those with distinctive, if not eccentric hobbies, personal lifestyles, and motor behaviors.” - Dr. James Austin
Type 4 Luck actually seeks you out.
The Stages of Luck
I personally think of Types 1-3 as coming in stages as you grow up:
• Type 1 dictates your early years
• Type 2 as you hustle in your 20
• Type 3 as you gain experience in your 30s+
Type 4 is unique—it’s dislocated from age.
Always remember the Luck Razor:
When choosing between two paths, choose the path that has a larger LUCK SURFACE AREA.
Your actions put you in a position where luck is more likely to strike.
It’s hard to get lucky watching TV at home—it’s easy to get lucky when you’re engaging and learning.
There are lots of simple ways to increase your luck surface area:
• Talk to more new people
• Send more cold emails
• Write/share in public
• Participate in digital communities
• Spend time in rooms where you feel like the dumb one
To recap the 4 types of luck:
• Type 1: Blind Luck
• Type 2: Luck from Motion
• Type 3: Luck from Awareness
• Type 4: Luck from Uniqueness
If you enjoyed this and learned something new, follow me @SahilBloom for more in the future!
The 4 Types of Luck
In 1978, a neurologist named Dr. James Austin published a book entitled Chase, Chance, & Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty.
In it, he proposed that there are 4 types of luck:
(1) Blind Luck
(2) Luck from Motion
(3) Luck from Awareness
(4) Luck from Uniqueness
Here's what they are:
Type 1: Blind Luck
Completely out of your control:
• Where you are born
• Who you are born to
• Base circumstances of your life
• "Acts of God"
These are the truly random occurrences of the universe.
Type 2: Luck from Motion
You’re creating motion and collisions through hustle and energy that you are inserting into an ecosystem.
You increase your luck surface area through simple movement.
The increase in collisions opens you up to more lucky events.
Type 3: Luck from Awareness
Depth of understanding within a given arena allows you to become very good at positioning yourself for lucky breaks.
Naval says: "You become very good at spotting luck."
You can “spot luck” from a mile away because of your knowledge and experience.
Type 4: Luck from Uniqueness
Your unique set of attributes attracts specific luck to you.
“[This type] favors those with distinctive, if not eccentric hobbies, personal lifestyles, and motor behaviors.” - Dr. James Austin
Type 4 Luck actually seeks you out.
The Stages of Luck
I personally think of Types 1-3 as coming in stages as you grow up:
• Type 1 dictates your early years
• Type 2 as you hustle in your 20
• Type 3 as you gain experience in your 30s+
Type 4 is unique—it’s dislocated from age.
Always remember the Luck Razor:
When choosing between two paths, choose the path that has a larger LUCK SURFACE AREA.
Your actions put you in a position where luck is more likely to strike.
It’s hard to get lucky watching TV at home—it’s easy to get lucky when you’re engaging and learning.
There are lots of simple ways to increase your luck surface area:
• Talk to more new people
• Send more cold emails
• Write/share in public
• Participate in digital communities
• Spend time in rooms where you feel like the dumb one
To recap the 4 types of luck:
• Type 1: Blind Luck
• Type 2: Luck from Motion
• Type 3: Luck from Awareness
• Type 4: Luck from Uniqueness
If you enjoyed this and learned something new, follow me @SahilBloom for more in the future!
Always remember my Luck Razor:
When choosing between two paths, choose the path that has a larger LUCK SURFACE AREA.
Your actions put you in a position where luck is more likely to strike.
When choosing between two paths, choose the path that has a larger LUCK SURFACE AREA.
Your actions put you in a position where luck is more likely to strike.
I just noticed you can watch a video on X and then swipe up to see more videos you might like.
Pretty cool to see @elonmusk and team integrating these features so quickly.
My observation is that the reach of video on the platform is already quite strong.
It'll get even better.
Pretty cool to see @elonmusk and team integrating these features so quickly.
My observation is that the reach of video on the platform is already quite strong.
It'll get even better.
There are two sides to luck:
(1) Increasing luck surface area
(2) Removing "anti-luck" from your life
The best analogy I can think of to explain what I mean by "anti-luck" comes from the movie Interstellar (spoiler alert):
There’s a scene in which the main characters discuss the habitability of a planet on the edge of a large black hole.
They realize the proximity to the black hole makes life unlikely to exist on the planet.
Why?
The black hole absorbed all of the “lucky” events that might have been the spark for life. The asteroids carrying the seeds of life, the chance collisions—none could occur.
The black hole was "anti-luck".
In order to get lucky, you have to remove the “anti-luck” from your existence. People, behaviors, and actions that are blocking all the luck from entering your atmosphere.
Remove the Anti-Luck.
(1) Increasing luck surface area
(2) Removing "anti-luck" from your life
The best analogy I can think of to explain what I mean by "anti-luck" comes from the movie Interstellar (spoiler alert):
There’s a scene in which the main characters discuss the habitability of a planet on the edge of a large black hole.
They realize the proximity to the black hole makes life unlikely to exist on the planet.
Why?
The black hole absorbed all of the “lucky” events that might have been the spark for life. The asteroids carrying the seeds of life, the chance collisions—none could occur.
The black hole was "anti-luck".
In order to get lucky, you have to remove the “anti-luck” from your existence. People, behaviors, and actions that are blocking all the luck from entering your atmosphere.
Remove the Anti-Luck.
Loading suggestions...