A grungy post-it note with a Sharpie’d-on message has been taped to my desk for four years now, reminding me every day that “You create your own life.”
My dad, full of wisdom and admirer of quippy truisms, has been saying for years that “luck is where opportunity meets preparedness.”
I’m a strong believer that each of us are in control of the paths our lives take. Positive inputs beget positive outcomes, you reap what you sow, etc. Today I came across a post that encapsulates this outlook in a really great concept— the Luck Surface Area:
The amount of serendipity that will occur in your life, your Luck Surface Area, is directly proportional to the degree to which you do something you’re passionate about combined with the total number of people to whom this is effectively communicated.
From “How to Increase Your Luck Surface Area” by Jason Roberts
It’s a simple formula for success. Do something you care about, and make sure people know that you’re doing it. The keys? Passion, people, and effective communication. All of the million flavors and methods of personal branding, the ever-growing networking capabilities of LinkedIn… they all serve this fundamental concept. The greater the number of touch points your passion has with the outside world, the more likely it is that opportunities are finding and sticking to you. You have to be good, and you have to be loud.
This concept applies to people, brands, businesses, and any other entity in search of success that is reliant on outside forces or opportunities. But what happens if you’re good and quiet? Or loud and bad? Or, Odin forbid, quiet and bad? Because I’m an MBA student and can literally only comprehend concepts illustrated to me by the use of a 2x2 matrix, take a look at the official Create & Consume Good/Loud Matrix:
Underachiever- Neither good nor loud, this brand (or person, or thing) just sits in the corner, quietly sucking. If it’s a person, maybe he or she hasn’t taken the steps to consciously try to improve yet. If it’s a brand, perhaps the product is just plain bad and needs to be overhauled. The only way to get out of this sector is to consciously make an effort to improve.
Annoying- Loud, but not good. This is the sector of brands that believe repetitive advertising messages can make up for a poor product and incessantly-tweeting social media “gurus” that talk a lot without much to say. Brands/people in this sector are big and hollow, and most intelligent people can see right through the claims. And even if a few get taken in by the shiny lights and noises, it won’t take long to figure out that there’s not much there behind the curtain.
Best-Kept Secret- This is truly the sector of tragedy. Here lie the brands that have a sincerely good product without a platform to promote from, the people that are truly great at what they do but lack the voice to let others know. Luckily, with today’s limitless options for online networking, content creation, and distribution, this is the easiest sector to break out of. Engagement is the key to success for the secrets. Speak up!
Lucky- Where we all want to be. Pros at what they do, with the audience and reach they need to get the word out. The challenge here is maintaining a high quality product while staying on top of the ever-changing channels for communication and connection.
You’re in control of your brand, your life, and your success. Be good. Be loud.
30-Day Challenge #3
