Secrets of the Lucky (and what it means for your startup)

We all know someone who seems to have the best luck. Everything seems to go well for these people. They find money on the streets, they stumble upon great opportunities, and any number of other seemingly unexplainable positive things.

There’s a good chance you also know someone who seems to have incredibly bad luck. If something can go wrong for these people, it will go wrong.

What distinguishes these two types of people? How and why do good and bad luck happen to people? How does the concept of luck impact your startup?

Attitude

Attitude is the one thing that can make or break any situation. This doesn’t just apply to business, it applies to personal life as well. Having a good attitude makes it easier to see opportunity and easier to deal with adversity that is bound to arise as you embark on your startup.

A bad attitude brings on chains of bad events. Lets say you have a day at the park planned, but it suddenly rains all day without warning. You have two options: sulk and pout about your plans being ruined or make the best of it. Your attitude determines which one happens.

 If you have a good attitude and make the best of it, the day can still be good in some way. Perhaps you can build a fort from couch cushions inside with your kids instead or maybe it gives you a great reason to get a project or research out of the way that you’ve been putting off. There’s no reason for nature’s curve ball to throw your entire day off. You can still make something of your day, or you can sit around doing nothing and waste it.

The choice is always yours.

Timing

If anything in business is subject to the concept of luck, it’s timing. Throwing your startup into the market at the wrong time can cause failure for an otherwise very strong startup. Changes in the market, another startup or established business launching a similar business concept at the same time as your startup, or any number of timing mishaps could occur at any time during your startup journey.

You have to make the best of the timings available to you and your business whenever possible, but when timing doesn’t work in your favor, take a moment to check your attitude in order to make the best of it. It may not be what you had planned, but it doesn’t have to defeat you.

Passion & Determination

While these have nothing to do with luck, they can make it seem like you have all the luck in the world! The level of passion you have relating to your startup and the determination you have to succeed all make all the difference in your success. If you don’t care about your cause, you won’t be willing to put in the work necessary to succeed. If you aren’t determined to succeed, you won’t fight and do what it takes to succeed. Passion and determination must be present in order for your luck to finally come in—even though you’re the one creating the luck (also known has hard work).

What this means for your Startup

No matter what your view on luck may be, its clear that things such as timing, your attitude, the level of your passion, and your work ethic will have a direct impact on your startups success. There are many uncontrollable aspects in business, especially with a startup, but there are also many things that can be controlled. The important thing is to recognize which aspects are which and do what you can to succeed in those things you can control.