We can all agree that luck plays a significant role in success. The top 1% did not get there through sheer grit and hard work; some element of luck was important to get them where they are.
Now, luck is something that seems completely out of our control. Something that simply falls in the lap of a chosen few. Something that is out of reach for the rest of us. Although I get that perspective, it is not entirely true.
Luck is something we can create. We do that by increasing our luck surface area.
Luck Surface Area
The term ‘luck surface area’ was coined by Jason Roberts in a podcast episode. He wrote about it in his blog, Codus Operandi, where he went on to say, “The amount of serendipity that will occur in your life, your Luck Surface Area, is directly proportional to the degree to which you do something you’re passionate about combined with the total number of people to whom this is effectively communicated.”
This then created the formula: Luck = Doing × Telling
Doing is about the work. It’s developing a skill, building something worthwhile, learning, experimenting, and becoming genuinely good at something you care about.
The work you’re doing must be something you genuinely care about because, according to Jason, your passion for what you do matters just as much as the work you do. People can tell when you genuinely enjoy what you do. Your enthusiasm becomes contagious, which makes others more likely to connect with you and the work you’re putting out into the world.
Telling is making that work visible. It’s sharing your ideas, talking about your projects, publishing your writing, posting your portfolio, attending events, and meeting people. In other words, it’s giving opportunity a chance to find you.
You need both of these things to create luck. If you spend years becoming exceptional but never tell anyone, very few opportunities can reach you. On the other hand, if you tell everyone what you’re doing but have nothing valuable to show, attention rarely turns into lasting opportunities.
Luck grows where preparation and visibility meet.
Work Hard
“An overnight success is ten years in the making.”
― Tom Clancy
People love to talk about how lucky successful people are. We hear stories about the actor who got discovered in a coffee shop or the entrepreneur whose business took off overnight. What we don’t hear about are the years they spent preparing for that moment.
If you want to increase your luck surface area, you need to work hard. Talent alone will not carry you. You need to put in the work to produce something valuable.
Not because hard work guarantees success, but because hard work creates more opportunities for luck to happen.
Every article you write, every skill you learn, every project you finish, and every problem you solve increases your chances of stumbling across an opportunity you never saw coming. The more work you put into the world, the more chances you create for someone to discover it.
Hard work doesn’t just improve your skills. It increases the number of opportunities luck has to find you.
Be Visible
You could be the best in the world at what you do, but if nobody knows you exist, your luck surface area remains small.
This is the telling part of the formula.
Creating valuable work is only half the equation. The other half is making sure people know about it. You have to give your work a chance to be discovered.
Fortunately, we live in a time where becoming visible has never been easier. You don’t have to wait for a publisher to approve your book, a newspaper to feature your story, or a company to give you a platform. You can build one yourself.
Write articles. Start a YouTube channel. Share what you’re learning. Publish your portfolio. Post your projects online. Speak at events. Whatever it looks like for your field, don’t keep your work to yourself.
You never know who is watching. One post, one article, or one conversation could lead to an opportunity you never expected.
How to Increase Your Luck Surface Area
Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn.
― John Wesley
Increasing your luck surface area is actually quite simple. Work hard and become visible.
Create work that is worth discovering, then make sure people have the opportunity to discover it.
Write the article. Launch the business. Publish the video. Share the project. Introduce yourself. Go to the event. Apply for the opportunity.
Most importantly, keep showing up because you never know which article someone will read, which video someone will watch, or which conversation will lead to your next opportunity. Most opportunities don’t announce themselves in advance. They show up because you kept showing up.
The people we often describe as lucky are usually the ones who have spent years creating opportunities for luck to find them.
Luck is rarely one big moment. It’s usually the result of hundreds of small actions that create opportunities for something unexpected to happen.
The more valuable work you produce and the more people who know about it, the larger your luck surface area becomes.
You can’t control when luck will find you, but you can make it a lot easier for it to do so.
So, go out there and create luck for yourself 🍀.
Thank you so much for reading.
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