I’ve had people come up to me and say, “Man, I love your book. Thanks for speaking. I saw you on Fox News.” And then, almost every time, they follow it with: “You’re so lucky.”
It’s a fascinating thing to hear, guys. It actually ranks right up there with people saying “sorry about your accident” when they’re talking about me getting shot. NEWSFLASH: That wasn’t an accident. It was on purpose!
Here’s the truth: very rarely does anything worth having come down to luck. If you look at accidental success versus hard work and accomplishment, the reality is simple: there is no overnight success.
Anybody who’s achieved something real will tell you it was years and years of grinding. Nobody just pops into the limelight. Not in entertainment, not in business, not in the military, not in sports. There are always years of sacrifice, self-doubt, and the constant internal question: Do I actually have what it takes to do this?
So if any of you reading this are thinking, “I don’t know if I have what it takes”… congratulations. You’re human. I’ve thought the exact same thing, more than once. I thought it while chasing my dream of becoming a Navy SEAL. I thought it when I decided to write a book. I thought it lying in a hospital bed, trying to figure out who my “new 100%” was going to be after I was wounded. And I still think it today, as I keep building multiple businesses and trying to level up.
Setbacks happen. Failures happen. Knockdowns happen.
The difference between the people who eventually get called “lucky” and the people who don’t is what they do after the knockdown.
Does luck play a role? Sure, a little. But here’s my honest formula: effort plus a little bit of luck equals success. Grind, hard work, and knowing exactly who you are- that’s what actually produces the results people call “lucky.”
So how do you put this into practice?
I focus on two things:
First, lead yourself, always. There are three parts to this for me: physically, personally, and professionally. Physically, I take care of this body because I need the machine running at its best. Personally, I invest in my relationships and the people closest to me. Professionally, I keep driving forward because that’s where a lot of my purpose lives. Set goals, create structure, and have the discipline to stay the course. Day in, day out.
Second, lead others. You cannot do this alone. Leadership is roughly 75% about leading yourself, but the other 25% is about leading the people around you. If you’re doing it right, people will want to join you on the journey. Whether it’s your family, your team, or your circle of friends, if you’re setting the example and motivating them to level up, they level up. And here’s the bonus: when they level up, so do you.
And through all of it, lead always. This life is hard. You will have bad days. But I’d argue there are no bad days, only hard ones… because if you woke up this morning, you’re still here, and you’re still in the fight. Keep driving forward, especially when it’s uncomfortable.
Last thing: you have to overcome. You’re going to get knocked down. You’re going to get knocked off course. And in the world of comparison, social media, watching other people’s highlight reels, it’s easy to look at someone and think, “they’re so lucky, why isn’t that happening for me?” Maybe it’s not your time yet. Maybe you haven’t put in the reps yet. It doesn’t matter. Keep putting the pieces in place.
Do these four things: lead yourself, lead others, lead always, and overcome… and I promise you, there will be no such thing as “overnight success” in your story either. There will just be one day when you look up, and you’re there. And people will start calling you lucky.
You’ll know the truth.
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LFG,
Jay