How One Message Gave Me an Unexpected Opportunity
How One Message Gave Me an Unexpected Opportunity
Luck-surface areas, startups, and 10 actions to unf*ck your life.
“Honestly, we should team up and scale this.“
On Black Friday I purchased Productize Yourself, a course on how to use your skills to offer a service with a specific scope of work.
In my case, software development.
While the course itself is decent, it comes packaged with access to a community on Circle.
The other day, I got an email summarizing the latest community posts.
I noticed one message titled, “Looking for a Dev partner”.
Curious, I opened the message and quickly scanned it.
What caught my eye was one of the answers.
It was from a Toronto developer. He offers his development services.
I thought I would reach out to him to ask how it was going and learn a few things about the process.
That quickly turned into a discussion about what he was working on and how we could potentially work together.
We have a call to discuss on Monday morning.
This experience reminded me of a concept known as luck-surface area.
Many good things in life are a result of luck. But there are ways that we can increase our “luck-surface area” to more frequently benefit from good fortune.
By sending a cold message to someone that I didn’t know, I increased my luck-surface area. I made it a little easier for me to benefit from good things happening.
You increase your luck-surface area by generating movement.
Put in the work, and put the odds in your favor.
👾 Little Bits
A story that reminded me to cherish every moment with my son.
WARNING: this may make you cry. But it was important for me to read. Maybe it will be for you, too.
From Unicorns to Zombies: Tech Startups Run Out of Time and Money and Startup decoupling and reckoning.
At a startup myself, I can’t say I’m not a little worried. But I remind myself daily to focus on what I can control:
Levelling up my skills
Delivering high-quality, high-impact work
Diversifying my income streams (increasing part-time mentor hours and finding other opportunities to make a side income)
10 Simple Actions That Unf*ck Your Life
Your life doesn’t need to be in shambles to benefit from watching this video.
The self-development landscape is oversaturated. But Mark Manson is one of the best. And he’s both incredibly entertaining and inspiring.
If you don’t plan on watching the video (you should!), here’s the checklist:
Go to the gym
Meal prep healthy foods
Read more books
Try something new
Learn a new skill
Cold plunge
Go out and be social
Show appreciation (something I need to do more of!)
Apologize to someone
Forgive yourself