I hear people talk about luck a lot. Straightup - luck doesn't exist.
If you believe in luck, then you believe either:
(1) some people consistently defy probability, or,
(2) some things aren't a result of cause and effect.
Life is a series of probability. Every day, there's a chance that a given set of things will happen. If you want to have a successful life, expose yourself to as much high-upside low-downside probability as you can. Any given thing you do might not work out, but if you expose yourself to high-upside low-downside, good things will happen. Read books, reach out to people, try to get projects working, keep trying to write and build things, keep learning new skills, keep treating people well.
If you want to fail at life, expose yourself to high-downside no-upside probability. This is short term gain at long term expense type stuff. Cigarettes. Unsecured debt for consumption. Most TV.
You'll keep getting "lucky" if you keep exposing yourself to things with upside and limited downside. If you get an amazing job or contract that you had a 1 in 1,000 chance of getting, were you lucky? No, especially not if you applied and pitched 1,000 other places. If you say, "Ok, I'm going to keep trying to get what I want until I do" you'll get it, as long as it's a positive sum game you're playing.
Wow. We've had over 10,000 visitors in the last 24 hours. It started with "How do I write so much, you ask? Well, glad you asked -" hitting the front page of Hacker News, but then there's been a steady stream of tweets and blog referrals. It's been crazy, and it's still going. After it settles down I'll do an analysis post on the traffic, comments, emails I've gotten, etc.
This leaves me scratching my head - hmm, I now have a lot of new visitors and readers (hi, welcome, glad you're onboard). And like I said in "How do I write so much?", I don't think someone can exactly control the quality of their output. You give your best, but you're not always firing at your highest level.
So I'm cheating, and I'm producing a best-of here. I took the best posts on here, and grouped them in a way so you can find exactly what you're looking for. I'd also like to invite you to comment on which you like, make suggestions, ask questions - I read every comment. Alright, here we go -
Want to get more done?The Evolution of My Time/Habit/Life Tracking (probably my best post on getting more done)The Joys of Public AccountabilityMore About Intek – Knowing a Skill vs. Living a SkillSome General Life GoalsGuest Post: On Being On-Track With Obsessive TasksWhy Isn’t My Book Done?Fill Up Your Dead TimeNew Word: intekPositive Sum Games Don’t Require Natural TalentQuitting Spectator SportsBecoming Prolific
My Philosophy:Me? I’m a strategistI think greatness is something you do, not something you areGuest Post: Greatness and HumilityBecoming a Liberal and Magnificent TipperWhy Build? Because I Like HumanityProducing is a Million Times Better Than ConsumingLuck Doesn’t ExistRule an Empire, Fistful of RiceBad Stuff That’s Happened to You = Expensive Lessons You’ve Already Paid ForIf luck doesn’t exist, then should we give way to fatalism?Cowboy ScienceWe All Get 24 Hours…Watching the LightningObserving the PainA Lot of Victory is Just Walking Around
