How an Entrepreneur Can 'Get Lucky' in Business
For millions of people across the globe, success is always associated with the idea of 'luck' and 'getting lucky.'
We look at prime examples of success, success beyond anyone's wildest imaginations.
Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, Jeff Bezos and Amazon, Bill Gates and Microsoft.
For the average person, we can't come close to comprehending this level of success and so our initial instincts are to call it luck.
"They got lucky."
"They started the businesses a long time ago."
"There are no more opportunities like that."
"There's way too much competition now."
All of those statements could be true - in fact, I was the same person screaming them out not long ago.
All of those businesses were started before I was born or a few years after and so there was nothing I could have done.
When I started and failed my first ever online business, I called everyone else lucky for succeeding.
When I failed forex trading, I called every successful trader lucky.
When I failed my marketing agency, I called everyone lucky for starting theirs a few years earlier.
So is success really associated with luck, or is it all about skill?
There's a famous quote about luck that goes:
"The more you work the luckier you get"
And that's the truth, you don't get lucky out of nowhere. There's a science, a numbers game behind getting lucky in business.
To succeed in business, you need to have an aspect of luck.
In this article, we're going to discuss how an entrepreneur can get lucky in business.
Never give up
Getting lucky in business really only comes down to one key principle.
That is the principle of 'never giving up.'
A few days back, I wrote an article on not giving up, outlining factors every entrepreneur needs to follow to keep going.
In business, you're going to feel like nothing is going your way a lot of the time.
You're going to experience lots of failures and sometimes the only option will seem like giving up and quitting on everything you've set out for yourself.
However, there's always a second option that a lot of people don't exercise.
That's the option of not giving up - keeping on the right path and not turning back.
When you don't give up, success almost becomes inevitable.
You're bound to get your lucky break some way down the line.
Maybe it's going to be next month.
Maybe within the coming year.
You may even need to wait for 2, 3, or even 5 years before you're able to get lucky.
However, if you want to get lucky, then this is the most fundamental principle to follow.
I could have given up immediately after my first dropshipping failure.
When I started to work at Amazon, I could have gotten too comfortable with myself and just given up on everything I've wanted.
I initially set out to work at Amazon for a few months (2-3 max) until my partner and I could sort out the marketing agency.
Months quickly went by and I found myself working there for almost 7-8 months.
I could have chosen to never pursue a business again and just work for the rest of my life.
However, I knew that taking the risk and pursuing it with everything I've got is the only way to win.
It might not happen today, it might not happen tomorrow, but it will happen one day and that will be the best day ever.
Just don't give up - trust yourself to succeed and you've already conquered half the battle.
The other half is just doing the work needed to cross the finish line.
Learn from your mistakes
From almost a dozen businesses started and mostly failed over the past 2 years, I've come to learn a lot about what success IS NOT.
Within my first year of business, I made a bunch of mistakes that you can avoid by reading this article.
There is always a valuable lesson or two disguised in each failure you encounter.
The most important part is not to get caught up in those failures but to use that failure as an opportunity to learn.
Learn about what went wrong, why it went wrong, and what you could have done to avoid it.
When you don't learn anything from a business failure, it's truly just a heart-aching failure.
However, when you really take the time to reflect on why this failure happened, you start to see ways of avoiding that same demise.
For example, why did my clothing line ultimately fail?
Let's first deconstruct this statement - I didn't fail at starting the clothing line, I failed at running it.
I decided to strategically stop pursuing that venture because it was not the right time to do so.
Read this article on the signs it's time to quit on a business venture to learn more about this.
Why was it not the right time to do so?
There are many more businesses that require smaller upfront investments that one could start.
I could use another business as a stepping stone to starting a clothing line.
Although I tried doing print-on-demand, the quality of the clothing was nowhere near the quality I expected.
I've also created a YouTube video that outlines the reasons why the clothing brand failed and the sort of things I'd need to do next time to succeed.
The main takeaway from this was spending more time on finding better suppliers.
After all, the quality of the clothing was the most important thing.
Don't be afraid to break down each failure and find that hidden gem inside.
It will be scary to face it head-on, but it's the only way to ensure you succeed next time.
Believe you're lucky
When you're trying to build good habits, you need to first believe you're the sort of person who has that specific habit.
For example, if you want to wake up early in the morning and train for an hour before you start work, you need to first believe you're a determined athlete.
Once you've made an identity level shift, then you can go a step further and start to put that habit into action.
This same principle applies here - you can't get lucky if you think you're out of luck.
You can't get lucky if you think that you're the unluckiest person in the world.
If you're reading this, you're probably a lot luckier than you think.
You've most likely got a roof over your head.
You've probably got food on the table.
You've got a bed you can safely sleep on each night.
You have people who love you and accept you.
There's so much to feel lucky for, to feel grateful for.
This makes this step so much easier - you don't have to pretend you're lucky, just identify things that make you feel lucky and tell yourself that you're a lucky person.
I always feel lucky for having the foresight I have.
I'm lucky that I could see opportunities where others see nothing.
I'm lucky that I took the risk and bet on myself when others blindly followed the status quo.
I'm lucky to have the people I have around me - my mother, my sisters, my girlfriend, grandparents, and so much more.
I'm lucky!
Once you start to see that you're lucky, all of a sudden, you start getting luckier and luckier.
I haven't seen much success over the past 2 years in business, however, my most recent venture - Hawk Prospecting, has been the luckiest I've gotten in this time.
I can now see that Hawk Prospecting is something people want, something people need, and with time, hard work, and some more luck, it could fulfill my vision.
Believe you're lucky, and you'll attract more luck.
Get obsessed
When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I think of is "how will I be successful today and in the future?"
When I brush my teeth or shower in the bathroom, the only thing on my mind is "how will I be successful?"
When I'm having breakfast, dinner, or lunch, the only thing on my mind is "how will I fulfill my vision?"
When I'm outside with my friends or family, the only thing on my mind is "how will I be successful for these people?"
Success requires obsession - be obsessed not with success, but with the vision.
Yesterday, I wrote an article on how you can make success in business your only option, which I highly recommend you read.
Once you become obsessed with bringing something to life, you're going to do anything it takes to make it happen.
The only thing that ensures you stay true to your vision is having a powerful WHY - a reason for being, a reason for doing what you're doing.
I have a lot of friends who simply want to be successful, they want the money with no true purpose behind it.
They want success but don't want to work for it - "if it comes, it comes," they say.
The same friend who introduced me to Forex trading quit a few weeks later because he got scammed by a get a rich quick schemer.
This is an example of someone who only sees the barriers standing in his way.
Obsession is having a vision so bright, that all the challenges in its way become obsolete.
If you want something, you've got to be prepared to do anything to go and get it.
Almost a year ago now, I read one of my favorite motivational books called 'The 10X Rule,' by Grant Cardone.
Although he has questionable practices, you can't disagree with his determination and drive.
I believe anyone reading this article should take a page out of Grant Cardone's books.
That's how an entrepreneur can get lucky in business.
Did you find this article valuable?
If so, please comment your thoughts below - do you think there's anything I missed?
Share this article with others in your network, it really means the world to me!
Till next time,
Mohamad
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