It is true that becoming rich requires luck. So does completing college, landing a plumbing apprenticeship, or learning how to race a horse. I see life like I

It is true that becoming rich requires luck. So does completing college, landing a plumbing apprenticeship, or learning how to race a horse. I see life like I see poker. You need to learn enough about the rules to know when the odds are in your favor, then make your bets to take full advantage of the odds. In life, raising your skills in specific and deliberate areas will improve your odds. Then, you have to have enough agency to make the bets. Is that a guarantee that you'll achieve wealth? Certainly not. But you can learn how to improve your odds, and then take actions to put yourself in that improved position, and then be persistent and attentive to your progress. Analyze, adjust, optimize. Persistence is the thing, and by persistent, I mean over decades. If you're a solid poker player, you can make money over time. You may or may not ever have the right luck at the right time to win a major tournament, but you can still make a living at the vocation you choose. It's the same in building wealth. Have a deliberate plan that his high probability, but be open to identify windfall opportunities, and make a bet if you see the odds are worthwhile. There were a few deliberate choices I made to grow wealth. Each also took some amount of luck to transpire: - Choice: I put myself through college. My parents couldn't help, I had to pay for it myself. Luck: There were state and federal loan and grant programs to help with the cost, or I'd never have finished. - Choice: I decided to major in computer science instead of music. Luck: My dad's advice was that I'd be able to afford a more comfortable life in computer science. He'd chosen music. - Choice: I made the choice to move to Silicon Valley from the Midwest. That's where technology seemed to happen first. Luck: The only way I could do that was by living rent free for 3 months with a friend in Santa Clara that I happened to know. - Choice: I intentionally asked by boss for more responsibility. Luck: The company was in a growing market and needed engineering leadership. Promotions and raises followed. - Choice: I developed a business plan to open a new sales/services office in a foreign country. Luck: I had spent a lot of time traveling to that country on business and made friends with the people who established the business based on my plan and hired me. It was a lucrative choice. - I chose a lifestyle that left extra $ in the bank each paycheck, and then invested that money. Luck: My partner happened to have conservative approach to money management, and I listened to her. Each step was about improving my odds. Once I determined what to do, I had to find a way to make it happen, even if it took other people's assistance in some way. Finding that assistance at hand was the lucky part. I just had to have the agency accept it and act.