3-2-1: How luck works, why improvement is hard, and a call for courage

“Talent is a gift. Reliability is a choice. But every family, team, and organization needs reliability just as much as they need talent.”

“What we call luck is often not purely random, but rather the delayed byproduct of consistently putting yourself in good positions.”

“Why is improvement hard? Part of the issue is everyone wants to improve, but nobody wants to destroy. Change often requires destruction. Or, at least, unlearning. Let's call it gentle elimination. You may have to leave little habits, update current beliefs, eliminate comfortable patterns. When you want better outcomes, your daily norms may need to change. The process of improvement is not just about adding things you like. Sometimes habits and patterns belong to who you were, not who you are trying to be. If you'd like something better, then a routine you are comfortable with may have to die.”

“The number of hours we have together is actually not so large. Please linger near the door uncomfortably instead of just leaving. Please forget your scarf in my life and come back later for it.” Source: For M

“The sense of danger must not disappear: The way is certainly both short and steep, However gradual it looks from here; Look if you like, but you will have to leap.” Source: “Leap Before You Look” (December 1940)

Talent is a gift. Reliability is a choice.

What we call luck is often not purely random, but rather the delayed byproduct of consistently putting yourself in good positions.

Sometimes habits and patterns belong to who you were, not who you are trying to be. If you'd like something better, then a routine you are comfortable with may have to die.

Look if you like, but you will have to leap.

What do you keep near you because it is beautiful?