Small actions, big luck.
1 min 55 sec
I asked a question that had been bothering me.
If you don’t have a big idea, should you invent big moves? Or just focus on small actions and wait for opportunities to appear?
When you’re young, everyone says this is the time to take risks and build something big.
I didn’t have a grand idea calling me, so I felt pressure to invent one.
Across the table sat an older man whose identity I’ll keep anonymous.
He has lived around the world. Born in Spain, he grew up in Venezuela and Switzerland, and later worked in the United States for many years. He lost his first child, and his wife recently went through cancer.
His words carried the weight of someone who's been through life and has earned his wisdom through experience, not books or podcasts.
“Do not let the answer torture you. The big idea might come in five years. Ten years. Twenty years. Or it might never come. In the meantime, try as many things as you can. Play music. Make art. Socialize. Travel. Put small adventures and experiments on your calendar. You increase the number of corners and angles through which luck can arrive. The more things you try, the luckier you’ll get.”
His words reminded me of two guys in my city I’d compared myself to for years.
They sold their company for about $200 million a few years ago.
In my mind, their story seemed simple:
They woke up with a brilliant idea. They decided to be ambitious. They built something huge. They were lucky to have the right idea at the right time.
But the real story was different.
They had normal jobs and ordinary lives. One of them built small apps on the side just to earn extra money and travel.
One day, he casually posted one of those apps on Facebook.
Someone saw it and suggested collaborating.
They started meeting in coffee shops, raised a small investment, improved the product, and hired someone.
Years passed.
The small project slowly grew into the company that eventually sold for $200 million.
It wasn’t a master plan or a lucky genius idea.
It was curiosity, small projects, and iteration.
Each step created a little luck, which created the next step.
Over time, those small moves quietly became something big.
Sincerely,
Ash Lamb
(384 of 500 words)
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