Making Your Own Luck [Clip]
on Jan 23, 2010 - 7:00 AM PSTI was so inspired by this section of my interview with Laura Fitton, founder of Oneforty, that I clipped it for you. The transcript is below, the full interview is here.
Transcript
One of the most important things that influences my life was a mistake I made when I was seventeen.
I was sitting at home. My parents were away for the weekend. I had a passport. I had about $450 in my bank account. And it occurred to me, as I watched the Berlin Wall get torn down — yes, I am that old — that I really wanted to dance on top of the wall. Because that was such an emblem in my childhood of hate and oppression, and the fact that the Russians were going to nuke us at any minute. And people were being shot in No Man’s Land.
Psychologically, that was huge, seeing that wall come down.
I thought about going. I called the airline. I had the money. I could have gone, and ultimately, I didn’t.
About six months later, I told someone the story. And he’s like, “You are crazy, you. That’s a gift that stuff like that occurs to you to do.” He’s like, “Most people don’t have the idea. So, they don’t go because it never occurs to them to go. If you’re having ideas like that, you have to act on them.”
And that really, because I screwed up and didn’t go to the Berlin Wall, I have a very strong bias to action. When an idea does come to mind, and maybe it’s a little goofy, but it’s not going to hurt somebody, you never know what the result might be, but it will probably be interesting. I absolutely, I think nine times out of ten I do commit and say “yes” and do it. And that one thing has definately opened a lot of what’s happened to me.
Just being able to scan the horizon and see when the luck occurs. My superpower is that I’m lucky, but it does help that I’m probably looking for it more than most.
Full interview
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January 23rd, 2010 at 3:32 pm
I thought that was a really important line too, about taking action, committing and saying “yes”. Laura just has a great spirit, very inspiring.
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:16 pm
I missed that bit in the interview, so I am glad that you replayed. Very powerful and food for thought. I think I tend to not do things purely from “paralysis by analysis” .I want to plan things out and try to be strategic and consequently from not having the time to do the proper planning and just that bit of hesitation I don't take action. Well…. not anymore! ….?
January 23rd, 2010 at 11:01 pm
sweet…
January 24th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
9 out of 10 times Laura acts on the idea…that's just great…I'm only 6 behind her :(
January 25th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
I wish I could pull quotes from other interviews this easily.
January 25th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Yeah. Very inspiring.
January 25th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Andrew- this was a GREAT clip! One reference I always make is my “Little Black BB” BB meaning Business Book. I sleep with it, I take it with me everywhere I go, and whenever I have an idea I write it down! That was the birth of http://thesocialtee.com and http://thesocialconsultant.com . The mistake I think I make, is that I don't act IN THE MOMENT. I write it down, and then return at the end of each week to review the ideas. The problem is, at that point you already have a different viewpoint. One quote I love that fits this idea perfectly is “We cannot think first and act afterward. From the moment of birth we are immersed in action, and can only fitfully guide it by taking thought.” -Alfred Whitehead.
Keep up the great work and thanks!
January 25th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Andrew- this was a GREAT clip! One reference I always make is my “Little Black BB” BB meaning Business Book. I sleep with it, I take it with me everywhere I go, and whenever I have an idea I write it down! That was the birth of http://thesocialtee.com and http://thesocialconsultant.com . The mistake I think I make, is that I don't act IN THE MOMENT. I write it down, and then return at the end of each week to review the ideas. The problem is, at that point you already have a different viewpoint. One quote I love that fits this idea perfectly is “We cannot think first and act afterward. From the moment of birth we are immersed in action, and can only fitfully guide it by taking thought.” -Alfred Whitehead.
Keep up the great work and thanks!
January 25th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Terrific interview. Happy birthday, Laura!
January 25th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Terrific interview. Happy birthday, Laura!
February 1st, 2010 at 6:21 am
What a great way to start my Monday! I'm lucky in that I have a father who is always very conscious of the importance of experience and action. When I was 15, he told me to remember that “you can always make more money, you can never make more time.”
Thanks, Laura and Andrew, for a great reminder. I'm going to go call Dad and thank him.
February 1st, 2010 at 5:34 pm
I think we all have moments like this we can look back on and wish we had taken a different path. For me, it was between my sophomore and junior year in college. I was planning on transferring and had been accepted at a new school. Instead, I decided to stay where I was at. By the end of my junior year, I was completely burnt out and left school before I completed my degree.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:34 am
I think we all have moments like this we can look back on and wish we had taken a different path. For me, it was between my sophomore and junior year in college. I was planning on transferring and had been accepted at a new school. Instead, I decided to stay where I was at. By the end of my junior year, I was completely burnt out and left school before I completed my degree.
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:34 pm
[...] can watch Laura tell this story herself in this interview with Mixergy.) Your ideas are also a [...]