Book Review: Get Lucky

A couple of months ago, I received an unexpected package in the mail from Amazon.com. It was a book entitled Get Lucky: How to Put Planned Serendipity to Work for You and Your Business

I had no idea where it came from, but I was intrigued by the idea. I have always said I didn’t believe in luck, but the truth is that things happen to me all the time that many people would call lucky. It seemed this book might hold an explanation.

I was even more intrigued when I learned where the book came from. The previous month, I had decided on a whim to back a different Kickstarter project every day. Near the end of the month, Kickstarter just happened to introduce a new feature where you could follow other users. I just happened to learn about this feature because a friend followed me. I decided to pick my next few projects based on what friends were backing.

On the last day of the month, I just happened to find a project backed by a friend and I just happened to contribute less money to this project than to any of the other projects I had backed. The project seemed like a fun idea, but I just didn’t have more to contribute.

What I didn’t know at the time was that this project just happened to be the brainchild of the Thor Muller and Lane Becker – the authors of Get Lucky. The project had nothing to do with the book, and as far as I know the book had never been promised to anyone as a reward for backing. What the authors decided to do, I presume, is send it to everyone as a surprise reward. It was a fantastic idea, if you ask me, because it is serendipity in action – especially since it showed up on the first day it was available on Amazon.com

The premise of the book is that luck is not random. One can learn certain skills that will maximize the likelihood that good things will happen. I have no idea how solid the “science” of it all is, but it rings true for me in a big way.

The authors present the creation myths of several startups and big ideas, and point out where these skills were responsible, at least in part, for bringing about serendipity.

The book did not disappoint. It was fun to read, inspiring, and thought provoking. I highly recommend it.