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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Success and Luck summary
Robert H. Frank
Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy
21 mins
Brief summary
Success and Luck by Robert H. Frank challenges the notion of individual merit and emphasizes the role of luck in success. It examines the social and economic factors that contribute to success and provides alternative approaches for cultivating better outcomes.
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Success and Luck
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Key idea 1 of 7
Luck plays a greater role in economic success than we acknowledge.
November, 2007. The author, Robert Frank, is locked in a fierce but friendly tennis match with a colleague. The two players volley back and forth when disaster strikes. Frank falls to the court in a state of acute cardiac arrest.
On a normal day, it would take an ambulance several minutes to arrive at the scene – far too late to offer medical help. But, on this day, one happened to be just around the corner. It was pure luck, and that luck saved Frank’s life.
Of course, these strokes of fortune happen all the time, for both good and ill. Freak accidents, happy coincidences, and other twists of fate shape our lives at every turn. Importantly, they also shape our economic outcomes.
The key message is: Luck plays a greater role in economic success than we acknowledge.
There’s an enduring myth in our society that those who achieve great economic success do so through hard work, dedication, and great ideas. This is meritocracy and it says that those who rise to the top deserve their position, power, and prestige. Meanwhile, those at the bottom also deserve their status because they didn’t try hard enough.
But, there’s a problem with this logic. Sure, successful people usually work hard for their riches, but consider this: for every successful person there are thousands more who are just as talented and ambitious, yet never achieve great fortune. Why? Well, partly, it’s pure chance. At some point, the prosperous person got a lucky break and that helped their merit flourish into rewards.
This luck can come in many forms. For instance, the circumstances you’re born into are completely down to chance, but have a huge impact on your trajectory in life. A person born to wealthy parents in a developed country has a much easier time gaining money and status than an equally talented person born into harder conditions. Even talent itself is down to luck – some people are born with it, while others are given more opportunities to develop it. Either way, if you have it, you’re lucky.
Why is this important?
In our winner-takes-all society, those with resources tend to accumulate more and more while everyone else loses out. If we keep up the myth of meritocracy then the rewards will just keep going to a lucky few at the expense of everyone else.
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What is Success and Luck about?
Success and Luck (2016) presents an unconventional look at the role chance plays in our economy. This manifesto argues that a little luck matters a lot more than we think and that ignoring this reality is what keeps us from thriving.
Who should read Success and Luck?
- (Aspiring) business leaders
- Government officials
- People interested in the irrationality of human behavior
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