🙏 be humble

there’s a weird thing that happens when people talk about success and failure. when something goes wrong, it’s always someone else’s fault. the market was bad. the timing was off. the algorithm changed. but when something goes right? oh, that was all me. i’m just built different.

this is called the self-serving attribution bias and basically everyone does it. we blame external factors for our failures and credit our own genius for our successes. and it’s one of the most dangerous mental traps you can fall into.

the creator example

i see this all the time in the content creator space. someone posts a video that goes viral and suddenly they’re an expert on “cracking the algorithm.” they start giving advice, selling courses, acting like they’ve figured out the secret formula. then their next 10 videos flop and it’s because youtube changed the algorithm or the niche is too saturated.

the truth is usually simpler: they got lucky once. which isn’t a bad thing — luck is a huge part of success. but pretending it was all skill sets you up for a really frustrating cycle.

the trader example

same thing happens with traders. someone makes a great call on a stock and they think they’re the next warren buffett. they start taking bigger risks, leveraging up, because clearly they have a gift. then they blow up their account and blame the market for being irrational.

the market wasn’t irrational. they just confused luck with skill.

what actually matters

from what i’ve seen, the biggest factors in success are:

1. luck — being in the right place at the right time, knowing the right people, being born into the right circumstances
2. persistence — showing up consistently even when things aren’t working
3. environment — surrounding yourself with people who push you and being in a place that supports what you’re trying to do

notice what’s not on the list: raw genius. innate talent. being “built different.”

most of the successful people i’ve met in consulting and tech aren’t geniuses. they’re smart, sure, but they’re not operating on some other level. they just worked hard, got some lucky breaks, and were in environments that amplified their efforts.

the point

be humble about your wins. you probably had more help and more luck than you realize. and be gentle about your losses. external factors really do play a role — you’re not always the problem either.

the goal isn’t to dismiss your hard work. it’s to hold it honestly alongside everything else that contributed. when you do that, you make better decisions, you treat people better, and you’re way less annoying to be around.