SCABs

Making Your Own Luck – By @sammcollinss

Oliver SCAB logo

By Sam Collins

 

Making Your Own Luck 

There is no such thing as luck.

You’re either in the right place at the right time, or quite frankly you aren’t.

And the concepts of a ‘right’ place or ‘right’ time are probably as redundant as the concept of luck itself.

Luck is actually nothing more than ‘a’ place and ‘a’ time that just happens to mean something to you.

There must have been a time before the word ‘luck’ existed at all. During this time, many ‘lucky’ things must have happened to many ‘lucky’ people. But they would have not been described as ‘lucky.’

Instead, on one of these particularly serendipitous occasions – say when a caveman narrowly avoided rolling a boulder over his toe – in place of the word ‘luck,’ his fellow cavemen would have perhaps said something, “how about that!” or “isn’t that funny!?”

Luck instinctively feels like a lie.

For the purposes of this seminal piece, however, I’ll use the word luck despite its ropey encounter with the truth.

Because there are ways to improve what people perceive to be as ‘luck,’ whether it exists or not.

There is only way to improve your ‘luck’ – to be in as many places as often as possible.

To escape to a place that’s a far cry from our comfort zones. Or as it’s known to me, Peckham.

In the few months I’ve had since starting SCA, I’ve been to more parts of London, visited more exhibitions, made more work and heard more professionals present their craft than I have in perhaps 5 years.

As a consequence, it feels as if my luck is improving. Simply by virtue of being in more places, more often.

I have made some amazing contacts and worked with properly talented people already. It’s showed me the value of collaboration and above all, listening.

As this intense soup of professional-contact-making-skill-acquiring-mind-stimulating-mayhem continues to stir at break neck speed, it really does feel as if what would I would have previously called ‘my luck,’ has changed.

But again, it’s just an oversimplification to put any of this at all down to luck.

Because the more people you meet, the more likely it is you’ll meet a mentor or speaker that’ll help you get to where you want to be.

The more work you make, the quicker you work out what you like and what you don’t. And the better you get at it.

This was lost on me for the years I spent in the challenger brand/start up wilderness, painstakingly going at it alone, burying myself in the endless hours of the food and events life.

Submerging yourself in any project that relies on your permanent attention for success, will limit the time you have to explore new opportunities. It was always a trade off I was aware of, but not one I was minded to change in a meaningful way.

At school though, a fluid structure of tuition and practical work has taught me a lot about managing my time. I’ve started to create better conditions in which ‘lucky’ situations are more likely to occur. Now, as Harvey Dent said in The Dark Knight, “I make my own luck.”

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