Expanding Your Luck Surface Area for Creatives
Image via Unsplash
This article was originally published in Context Collapse in a shorter form.
I remember standing outside a restaurant in downtown Chicago one evening for an industry happy hour, debating whether to go inside. It had been a long week. It was my one day of working downtown and meeting with clients, and it had been an even longer day.
The thought of making small talk with strangers over tiny spanakopitas and beer seemed definitively unappealing. My living room couch was calling my name, and I could maybe even finish watching Better Call Saul at home.
But I went in anyway.
That decision to go to the industry happy hour led to a chance conversation with someone who would later become a $15,000 client.
At the time, I had no way of knowing that making myself attend that industry networking event would make a whole bunch of money.
What I was unknowingly doing was expanding my luck surface area–a concept that would later become central to how I think about making opportunities in both my personal and professional life.
Understanding Luck Surface Area
The concept of luck surface area is deceptively simple: the more you put yourself in positions where good things could happen, the more likely it is that good things will happen. It's less about luck in the traditional sense and more about creating conditions where good things are more likely to occur.
As James Clear, author of "Atomic Habits," puts it: "You can increase your surface area for good luck by taking action. The forager who explores widely will find lots of useless terrain, but is also more likely to stumble across a bountiful berry patch than the person who stays home. Similarly, the person who works hard, pursues opportunity, and tries more things is more likely to stumble across a lucky break than the person who waits."
This principle is one of the most important things that creative professionals, entrepreneurs, and self-employed individuals who rely heavily on networking and serendipitous connections need to know. In these fields, opportunity almost never knocks at your door – you have to create the conditions for it to find you.
“You can increase your surface area for good luck by taking action. The forager who explores widely will find lots of useless terrain, but is also more likely to stumble across a bountiful berry patch than the person who stays home. Similarly, the person who works hard, pursues opportunity, and tries more things is more likely to stumble across a lucky break than the person who waits.”
The Mathematics of Luck
Luck might seem random. However, there's a simple equation which helps explain how we can influence it:
Opportunity + Deliberate Action = Increased Luck
Breaking it down:
Opportunity
Opportunity represents the potential for positive interactions in your life. It includes:
- Your geographic location and its alignment with your goals. Do you live in a city like New York or San Francisco with lots of opportunities for serendipitous meetings? Do you attend large conventions and trade shows in your field?
- Your professional and social networks. Are you talking with peers on LinkedIn or another social network? Do you participate in industry Slacks or Discords?
- Your involvement in relevant online and offline communities. Are you keeping tabs on industry subreddits? Going hiking or to the gym or recreational activities with folks from your industry?
- Your skill set and knowledge base. Do you have a portfolio or a website you can easily share? Certifications or degrees that prove your expertise?
- Your access to resources and information. Are you watching online videos or listening to podcasts that further your knowledge of your field? Do you know how to use emerging tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity for your job?
Deliberate Action
Deliberate action is where many people fall short. Having opportunities is meaningless without leveraging them. Deliberate action includes:
- Reaching out and making connections. This can be as simple as emailing someone who makes a podcast or blog you admire to thank them for their work.
- Showing up to events even when you don’t want to. It’s okay to skip if you have a pressing deadline or a sick kid; it’s not okay to skip because you would just rather not today.
- Learning new skills that expand your capabilities. Never get complacent about your knowledge of your field. If you’re not learning how to do new things, you’re falling behind and reducing your luck surface area.
- Creating and sharing your work publicly. Noone will know you’re a great artist or a great musician if you’re not sharing your work with other people.
- Following up on initial connections. Did you meet someone cool at a conference, send them a followup email, have them reply and then you didn’t email them back for two weeks? Email them back.
- Taking calculated risks. Make that first YouTube video and email that hiring manager at your dream company.
Increased Luck
Increased luck is the sum of opportunity and deliberate action. Increased luck manifests as:
- New career or personal opportunities.
- Meaningful collaborations with others.
- Unexpected client relationships.
- Personal growth opportunities.
- Valuable friendships and connections.
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Strategically Expanding Your Luck Surface Area
There are a few ways I’ve found for maximizing my luck surface area. Here are several of my favorites.
Create a Strong Digital Presence
We now live in a world of websites and LinkedIn profiles and not a world of business cards. Your online presence is often your first impression. This means more than just your social media accounts. It means thoughtfully creating and sharing content which represents your unique expertise and interests. This includes:
- Maintaining an up-to-date portfolio or personal website.
- Publicly sharing your work process and insights, and not just final results.
- Engaging meaningfully in different online communities related to your personal and professional interests.
- Writing articles and making podcasts and videos which showcase your unique perspective.
- Using email newsletters as a method of consistent communication with your network.
Master Meaningful Connections
Building genuine relationships is one of the most powerful ways of expanding your luck surface area. Some easy tools for connection building:
- Preparing conversation starters that go beyond just weather, sports, and pop culture.
- Practicing active listening and asking thoughtful follow-up questions.
- Sharing your own experiences and vulnerabilities when appropriate.
- Following up with new contacts within 48 hours of meeting them.
- Keeping track of important details about people you meet.
- Looking for ways to help others without expecting immediate returns.
Cultivating Strategic Visibility
Strategic visibility is the art of being visible in the right places and contexts. Done properly, strategic visibility dramatically increases your chances of lucky encounters. Methods for strategic visibility include:
- Joining professional organizations in your field.
- Attending industry conferences and workshops.
- Participating in online forums and discussions.
- Volunteering for speaking opportunities.
- Sharing your expertise through teaching or mentoring.
- Contributing to community projects.
Developing a Learning Mindset
Build a learning mindset through continuous learning. This means expanding your capacity to recognize and seize opportunities when they arise through things like:
- Staying current on industry trends and developments.
- Learning adjacent skills which complement your core expertise.
- Studying success stories in your field.
- Experimenting with new tools and technologies.
- Seeking feedback and adapting based on what you learn.
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Navigating Constraints and Obstacles
Expanding your luck surface area isn't equally accessible to everyone. Everyone has unique circumstances and issues they have to navigate. Here are some of the most common ones and ways to mitigate them:
External Constraints
- Time limitations due to family or work responsibilities. If you have time constraints, find uninterrupted time during the day to expand your luck surface area. This may mean waking up early or going to bed late to squeeze in a few extra minutes. Do what you have to do.
- Financial restrictions or access to resources. The internet is an amazing place where almost anyone can learn for free through YouTube, podcasts, and other professional development tools. Public libraries often offer access to paid online learning platforms and gated online services as well. Many conventions and conferences also offer scholarships for attendees; ask if you do not see one.
- Geographic location. If it’s within your ability, make time each month to travel to the nearest large city by you for a day of meetings. If you are able to attend conventions or conferences in your field, do so. If neither is within your ability, lean more heavily on online interactions.
- Health considerations. If health considerations impact your ability to network with others, work with what resources you have. Adapt these recommendations to your circumstances and preferences.
Internal Constraints
Often, our own internal fears and anxieties impact our ability to expand our luck surface area. Here are some tips for overcoming them:
- Fear of rejection or failure. Learn to overcome your fear by doing small projects in public which, at worst, can just be ignored.
- Imposter syndrome. Realize that there are people far more mediocre than you who have become much more successful than you and that you belong in the room.
- Social anxiety. Work with a therapist or another professional and do exercises to reduce your social anxiety.
- Past negative experiences. Remember that the past isn’t the present and your past negative experiences have nothing to do with the future.
- Perfectionism. Overcome your fear of perfectionism through exercises designed to just get your imperfect creations out there. Remember: When it’s a deadline, you do it.
Luck is a Compound Property
Luck is just like compound interest. The more work you put into expanding your luck surface area the more it multiplies over time. Each new connection should lead to multiple opportunities, and each opportunity should open doors to even more possibilities.
Start small but remain consistent in your efforts to expand your luck surface area.
That night I forced myself to attend that networking event downtown? It wasn't just about the $15,000 client I gained.
That client led to referrals, which led to more projects, which led to speaking opportunities, which led to... well, you get the picture.
While we can't control luck entirely, we have far more influence over it than we might think.
By consciously expanding our luck surface area through deliberate actions and consistent effort, we create more opportunities for positive outcomes in our lives.
Start small.
Choose one action you can take this week to expand your luck surface area. Send that email you've been putting off. Attend that webinar. Share that project you've been keeping to yourself. The possibilities that could stem from that single action might surprise you.
Remember: Luck isn't just something that happens to you – it's something you make for in your life.
