Luck is a four letter word
Today’s opinion was prompted partly due to the recent interview of Rick S., which appeared in IdnBlog, but mainly because of the various ramblings and opinions which surfaced on IdnForums following this interview. Truth be said, Rick’s past comments on IDNs and ‘moonies’ in general, have caused a great stir among IDN investors, not without warrant, but often times resulted in personal attacks and snide remarks, reminiscent of grade school days.
[It seems to me that the IDN investor community in general, is hoping for an endorsement by a highly successful ASCII professional, secretly hoping for acceptance, re-assurance and the ensuing cash-injection form the herds of ASCII domain-land. A few have been knocking on Rick's door for a few years now hoping for a positive response, completely missing the major point; stick to what you know and you should be fine.]
But I digress. One of the characterizations I have seen posted on various forums regarding Rick and many other successful domain professionals is, ‘he was lucky…’ It simply amazes me when so-called entrepreneurs, use the words success and luck in the same sentence. Success is attained from powers within and not from some obscure outside factor that you have no control over.
Success is something I create myself. Period.
Let the above be you meditation for today. Being at the right place at the right time is not luck. You brought yourself there. Look around you; where-ever you are at this moment, what ever exists in your life, it’s all there because you brought it in your life. You are there because you brought yourself there. Your health, your finances, your love-life, your mental state are all products of a series of thoughts, decisions and actions you have taken up to today since the day you were born. You are there because you deserve to be there.
Many were there 15 years ago, at the right place, in the right moment when domains were literally open for picking. Few made the right decisions. Luck for the few that did?
Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Well, why didn’t ya?
Luck is a word that carries no value, it just creates boundaries. To paraphrase a recent hilarious post made by a Russian techie in regards to IDNs, the word ‘Luck should be banished from the dictionary because it’s evil at its purest form‘
If you identify with the fact that you are the sole creator of your life, you will be creating opportunities for yourself on a daily basis.
I said that.
While I see your point, I still think it is hard to ignore the “luck factor”. I am not talking about flipping a coin, but being in the right place at the right time and more importantly in the right position in one’s life.
Of course, any successful investor has gut, vision and of many also have other admirable characteristics. But, without that luck factor they would have never had the opportunity to, errr, shine.
Take me for example. I was barely in high school when most of the serious investing occurred in the ascii realm. I hardly enough knew of the internet ocean so without a doubt I missed the coveted domain boat. Of course it is easy to say that about alot of things, but I pretty much didn’t even have a chance to “weigh” my options.
Now, let’s look at someone like RS. I don’t know him, I can’t judge his character or former career, but for the sake of argument let me be a little presumptuous. If I am correct the guy was selling 1-800 numbers and furniture before his domain triumphs. Not the most glamorous jobs and most likely not making him wealthy. He was probably hitting that point of his life where he felt he needed to make a move, had to be risky if he wanted to achieve “those” dreams. Probably single without kids. In some ways nothing to lose. What happened afterwards is well known domain history, but I believe many initial investors were in that perfect position where they could pull the trigger.
Perhaps if I analyze myself it may make more sense. I am heavily invested in idns. If they take off will I consider myself somewhat lucky? Hell ya! Why? Because I stumbled on, literally stumbled on, an interesting opportunity, had the guts and vision to invest and I am also in a position in life to do so. That last part I think is BIG. I am in my late twenties, some cash laying around, single, NO KIDS, no mortgage and continually craving success. If the same opportunity came around 5 years from now I “might be” married, 2 kids, a nice mortgage payment and probably not in the position to put 10K+ for one domain at risk. Hell, in my current position for the right deal I would deplete my entire bank account and eat ramon noodles for a month, ha ha…many can’t afford to have such a risk profile. Even if they really really REALLY want to…
Right time, right place does mean something. At least it has so far for me. I just hope I don’t look back and say wrong time, wrong place.
Mark, the way I interpret your ’stumbling upon’ the IDN opportunity is that you had your eyes and mind open to opportunity, hence the reason you saw it, and most importantly, acted upon it.
I believe opportunity is everywhere around us, present on a daily basis; we just see it when we’re open to it.
It’s also a matter of subjective interpretation. You may have found opportunity in investing in IDNs with a hold and sell later at a much higher return attitude, while someone else may find his/her opportunity in one of your IDNs and create a killer business out of it.
I could go on for ever, so before I lose myself here, my point is that in life, you get what you ask for. If you ask for opportunity, you’ll get it because it’s there already. The Universe is not linear. Everything exists here, always. All one needs to do is change their perspective and things seem to appear out of thin air. Call it ‘Luck’ if you will. ;]