Olson’s Observations

I should have written about this a while ago but, well, I have no excuse. Fraser Kelton, who writes Disruptive Thoughts and who I have been lucky enough to get to know over the past half year or so, asked me to write a piece for DT on what I have learned about business in my first couple years “out of the gate.” Here is what I came up with:

Luck is underrated. I grew up and went through my business education thinking that all I needed was my smarts and my work ethic to get me to where I wanted to go. What I’ve learned is that while smarts and hard work are very important, luck is how a lot of things happen in both life and business. With that said, I think one can do a lot to create luck for themselves. The most important thing one can do is get out there. Whether it’s writing a blog, producing a podcast, going to conferences, just get out there and meet people that share your passions. Once you meet these people, be a mensch. Then, when you’re a big tycoon, remember that at least some of your status in business (maybe even a lot of it) came from luck. It’ll keep you humble and that’s a good thing.

I am interested to hear what all of you think about my thoughts. Have you all found luck, both plain and created, to be a major factor in your careers and lives? What advice/thoughts do you have?