If I write these lines it is thanks to Fortune. People applaud me, with particular emphasis on my youth: “At only 22 years old and doing what you do, you will surely go far.” They don’t know me personally but that doesn’t stop them from making such bold statements. My most human impulses want to buy the compliments, wallow in them. A part of me wants to believe that he deserves it.
In this edition I navigate through my personal history to reflect on merit and luck.
I got to writing by wasting time on Instagram. I discovered in the stories several admirable, intelligent and strong characters. A sound mind in a sound body, the message that caught this lost teenager. The cold water bath accompanied by the quote from the Stoic philosopher. The strength to lift hundreds of kilos on the bar. He wanted to be like them. He wanted to be a stoic powerlifter.
Being a young man with nothing to lose, I offered the only thing I had: my time. I work for free in exchange for being close to you. Three months later he was registered as a freelancer managing several Instagram accounts in the world of fitness. At six, he was offering digital marketing services to coaches through an agency. In parallel he wrote articles on stoicism.
I built personal relationships. I was able to see beyond the character in the networks. I idealized, and my high expectations led me straight to disappointment. The one who gave personal relationship advice felt lonely. The one who talked about successful companies was in debt. I learned that appearances are deceiving and that advice is usually given by the people who need it mostthat’s why I write.
We become the people we spend the most time with. After meeting them, I didn’t want to be like them. The decision was made. Luckily – like all this history! -, had built a small boat: El Rincón de Aquiles. The boat became a ship and what began as Hobbie It required more dedication. For me it wasn’t worth the price and I acted accordingly. I left the project. While I was at El Rincón de Aquiles, I created this space to give free rein to my curiosity. If I think about it, everything starts in a few stories. I write because I wasted time on Instagram.
I build a coherent narrative to explain how I got here but I have never had a clear direction. In the aftermath seems obvious.
I could have told you all the hours I put into each project and that it was the effort that allowed me to keep moving forward. I don’t want to tease you. Effort is an indispensable but not sufficient condition. If I am writing these lines today it is due to the whims of chance. My life could have taken a totally different course but the alternate stories didn’t materialize. The list goes on forever: I could afford to waste my time on Instagram, they responded to that direct message, I had the audacity – or the unconsciousness – to give away my time, they gave me the opportunity to work with people smarter than me…
Is there luck? explains why I’m here, spending time polishing my thoughts. The translation of the title does not do the book justice. How can luck not exist? You forget it because it goes unnoticed, like the water Foster Wallace talked about.
. I reread Nassim frequently. He is the wise fish who reminds me of the crucial role of fortune in life.
Let me clarify here: of course, luck favors those who are prepared! Hard work, being on time, wearing a clean (preferably white) shirt, wearing deodorant, and this sort of conventional stuff all contribute to success; they are undoubtedly necessary, but they may be insufficient because they are not the cause of success. The same can be said of the conventional values of persistence, stubbornness and perseverance: necessary, very necessary. It is necessary to go out into the street to buy a tenth of the lottery in order to win it. Does it mean that the effort to go buy the tenth has caused the profit? Sure, skills do count, but they count less in very random environments than they do in the dental business.
No, I’m not saying that what your grandmother told you about the value of a work ethic is wrong! What’s more, since most successes are caused by very few “windows of opportunity,” not taking advantage of them can be deadly to one’s career. You have to take risks!
The passage of time eliminates alternatives. The losers illustrate the idea: “We know that Hannibal and Hitler had insane goals, because Phoenician is not spoken in Rome and there are no swastikas in Times Square or New York.” The result narrows the range of narratives we can tell ourselves. If the move had gone wrong, would it also be due to your effort?
Chance explains the good and bad results. Deep down you want to receive the pat to know how well you have done. It is more difficult to assume that luck floods your life. The same actions that could have led you to success, can make you fail. You think that what you have is the result of everything you have tried and what you lack, a subject of bad luck. The human and his curious relationship with the responsibility: if I win I score the goal; if I lose, balls out. We are not so different from the fox: we make up the story when we know the result, we understand backwards and we decide forwards.
All your actions have consequences but in a world of complex systemsyou don’t know them. Accept your ignorance. The mistake – and the success – “It is not something that can be determined once the event has occurred, but rather in the light available up to that moment.” Explain the reason for your actions before their fruits. Try to make the best possible decision, now. Take the first step: accept luck as your faithful travel companion.
Sergio -.
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