Introduction

Ever felt like you won the lottery?

Two years ago I read a book called "Life to the Max" by German entrepreneur Maximilian Scharpenack. The book tells his story of going from rich to poor and back to rich. The underlying principle Max devotes all his success to is one that fascinated me which is why we are talking about it today - The principle of MAXimized luck (you get the word play?). From meeting the right people at the right time, being introduced to important topics early, traveling across countries and landing my first ever job while still in school, this principle has already very much changed the course of my life and has continuously lead me to be blessed with lucky shots of fortune and new opportunities. This post is a practical 3-part guide to help optimize for luck.

This post contains...

1. 🏛 The fundamental idea
2. 🍀 Part I: Luck densities
3. ⏳ Part II: Timing
4. 🎯 Part III: Intention
5. 🌍 Conclusion

The fundamental idea

The principle of maximized luck fundamentally states that the amount of luck we experience in our lives is not at all a pure question of fortune but instead is something we very much influence by our behavior. When we intentionally create and put ourselves into settings where the chances of luck to occur are high, we end up experiencing more of it. If we chose to continuously avoid these settings, there are much lower chances of us being gifted with these lucky turns of fortune.

Opportunities generate when what I do repeatedly increases the chances for these opportunities to show up.
Constantin Buschmann, CEO of Brabus

Luck densities

The first part of optimizing for luck is to realize the different luck densities of different settings, activities and environments. The luck density describes how likely it is in a given setting that lucky things may happen, therefore how densely a setting is packed with luck and opportunity.
To give a contrasting example: watching Netflix by yourself, the chances of you finding the love of your life, getting a job offer or having a great conversation are very low. Taking part in an acting class on the other hand, all these things are much more likely to happen.
This is not bashing Netflix. Watching Netflix by yourself does hold opportunities and luck, too. You might watch a series at just the right time to finally come to some life-changing realization which changes everything for the better.
The goal here is not to say one activity is better than another but rather to acknowledge that different activities and settings have these different luck-densities in comparison to each other. By analyizing settings and activities for this trait, we gain the first tool for taking our luck into our own hands.

Timing

The second part of optimizing for luck is timing. The underlying principle is the 80-20 Pareto distribution. When we first enter a new environment or setting it is at its peak in terms of how much new experience, important lessons and other lucky shots it holds for us - independent of how densely it is packed with them. Timing means understanding that it takes some time to absorb the majority of these lucky shots (20% input for 80% gain), but that after too much time, even an initially rich setting becomes barren and trying to absorb the final bits of luck is no longer worth it (80% further input for the remaining 20% gain). Displayed visually below, it becomes clear that without taking timing into account, the initial luck-density of a setting doesn't really say that much. In combination though, these two tools are very powerful for effective luck harvesting.

Intention

The final part of optimizing for luck is intention. This simply refers to your willingness to be open for amazingly lucky things to happen to you. A perfectly timed setting with rich luck-density means nothing, if the person in it is resisting its gifts. When I spent a year at a boarding school in England, this became very clear to me. Many international students totally shut themselves off and thus wasted their chances of profitting from this special and rich place. Even though they had everything they needed to develop right in fornt of them, they resisted, missed out on forming new relationships, gaining new experience and making the most of their time. If you want to optimize for luck, be open for it to occur and become the identity to act on it.

Conclusion

Like with motivation, people have the perception of luck being this mysterious, magical thing that appears purely by fortune. The principle of maximized luck contradicts this common belief by stating that we do in fact control the luck we experience. By utilizing the three components (1) luck densities, (2) timing and (3) intention, we can give our lives the foundation for occasional boosts of fortune, help us redirect when it is needed and stop our lives from becoming dull and repetitive.