Why Luck Has Nothing to Do With Success

I have read, listened to, and watched talks claiming that luck plays a major role in the success of a company, a career, or any project. I grew up in an average family, living an average life, watching the 1% circle from the outside, always chasing new goals even when we had to save every last cent just to eat three times a day.

That kind of environment trains you to believe that success will one day fall from the sky and that luck will be the deciding factor that finally lets you live the life you dream about.

Even serious magazine pieces like this one tend to push the luck theory. Even Forbes has gotten success wrong. As I say in every talk I give: ask the right questions if you want the right answers.

6 Reasons Why Luck Has Nothing to Do With Success

First, you have to understand the difference between “Being Lucky” and “Creating Your Own Luck“. Instead of betting your future on the hope that fortune will smile on you and drop an opportunity in your lap, I have always said it is better to take full responsibility and create your own luck. But that is not luck at all. The real idea behind the phrase is solid: position yourself so your odds of winning go up. Working hard every single day to secure your company’s future is non-negotiable. Many small businesses fail simply because the owners were not willing to do the exhausting work required to build something that lasts. What does that work look like?

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1. Successful people know there is no substitute for hard work

There are no real shortcuts. Successful people build their names by working hard, learning from mistakes, and never quitting. They do not fold when things get tough. They stay locked on their goals every day. There is no substitute for time, enthusiasm, strategy, and execution. That is a valuable lesson for any CEO or leader: keep going and you will create what others call luck.

A great friend of mine, Erez Cohen, visited my home last week. We talked for two hours about the markets we have attacked over the past few years. He shared his drive to grow and match the results of close friends and leaders he has worked with. One story was about his time working with the Trump family. With all their money, he expected to find people who simply delegated everything. What shocked him most was that despite every achievement, every vacation day, and every holiday they could have taken, Donald, Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr. were always the first to arrive at Trump Tower and the last to leave. Those years taught him that no matter how much money you have, effort and discipline are what put you ahead of the competition and keep you there.

2. Successful people take risks

Many successful entrepreneurs did not win on the first try. It often takes several attempts to build a profitable, sustainable business. Most thriving companies exist because someone had the guts to start them and grow them by nurturing a new or unique idea. It takes courage, not luck, to step out and begin. And risk-taking does not stop once the company succeeds. You must keep pushing throughout the life of the business to take it to the next level, then the next.

Remember my slogan: “If you stop growing, you die.” In life you cannot stay in a comfort zone. You have to keep advancing and growing because that is exactly what your competition is doing. If you stop moving and fighting, you fall behind.

3. Successful projects stay laser-focused on the customer

I am a customer experience expert, so a sharp focus on the customer is close to my heart. Think about how critical it is to take care of your end user. Customers are the lifeblood of every business and must be considered in every decision. Look beyond what is right in front of you or on your to-do list. Your customers must sit at the center of your growth.

Always remember this line from Tony Robbins: “The most common mistake of any entrepreneur who has failed is that they fell in love with their product or service instead of falling in love with their customer.” It is not luck when a customer becomes your number-one fan and keeps buying year after year. It is because you built a company culture that consistently adds value for them.

4. Successful people do not procrastinate

A few years ago I wrote about procrastination. Plenty of people criticized me, saying there simply are not enough hours in the day to handle everything a project demands. Then they realized there are ways to organize projects by levels of importance instead of making endless to-do lists.

Successful entrepreneurs do not put off until tomorrow what can be done today. They do the work even when the task is not their favorite or sits in an area where they feel less confident, so they can move on to the next project. Successful people also do not wait for others to hand them solutions. They hunt for answers themselves and take action. In most cases, action, not luck, equals success.

5. Successful people deliver more than expected

As a kid I did not like school. I was not a bad student, but I saw homework and extra activities as a waste of time that stole hours from things that actually excited me. In France it is common to get homework with optional exercises that can earn extra points for exams and grades. I never wanted to do them, yet my parents made me do them anyway. Today I am grateful for those two “bullies” (as I saw them then) because they drilled into me the value of going beyond what is expected. That habit has driven the results I have achieved so far.

Successful people go further when it comes to ideas and time invested in a project. Look at any thriving entrepreneur or executive and you will see that from the start of their career they produced more than was asked of them. So the next time you or someone on your leadership team thinks you have done enough, do a little more. It can pay massive dividends over the long run.

6. Successful people are not afraid to hear “no”

As I have said thousands of times, “no” is a bridge to “yes”. Countless top executives heard the word “no” over and over on their way up. In his book “The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed,” Adam Bryant quotes several CEOs who faced adversity, learned from the hard times, and used those lessons to build a rock-solid work ethic.

“No” is a gift. It forces you to sharpen your offer, your ideas, your vision, and the entire project so it better answers real market demand. Never treat a “no” as final. It is hard to hear, but if you treat it as a challenge and a learning tool, you can turn it into a “yes.”

Luck in business does not exist. It is your responsibility to create it for yourself. Through long hours of study, work, failures, and wins, you build your own path. Every new challenge is a new lesson, and every achievement is a signal that you are organizing your business and your life the right way. One step at a time. Take a simple example: many people lost a lot of money during the pandemic and called it bad luck. They said the virus cut them off from customers, the government would not let them work, and so on. At the same time, many other companies made a lot of money because they adapted. They set aside their main activity and sold governments and communities exactly what was needed in that moment. Those who failed will tell you the winners just got lucky with the right contacts. There is no luck here. It is about always seeking growth, always taking risks, and always working harder than the competition so you stay above water and eventually fly above them. It is hard work, not luck.