Results = You + Others + Luck

Let’s say that results are influenced by 3 things: (1) You; (2) Others; (3) Luck such that you have the following formula: Results = You + Others + Luck

What percentage would you ascribe to each of those parts? What % of you contributes to your results versus others versus luck? Some might say 33%/33%/33%, Some may say 80%/10%/10%, Some might say 100%/0%/0%. Is there’re a right or wrong answer? Possibly. But do we have access to the exact percentage? Not so much.

High Performers tend to weight the “You” component more heavily than the “Others” and “Luck”. This causes them to work very hard to get higher results. They are motivated to work hard because they believe that work will be translated to better results which usually means attaining goals.

Do Low Performers then weigh the “You” component very low? It is certainly possible. And you will hear a lot about people telling you that the person who takes responsibility for their life, makes no excuses, and hustles will differentiate you from a Low Performer.

However, there’s something deeper going on.

A good friend of mine one said, “Poverty isn’t about not having money. It’s about the fact that no matter how hard you try, everything you build can be taken away from you. It’s the threat that lingers for your entire life. And when you spend decades with this fear, you begin you feel that you deserve it.”

If you are a hard worker but you’re playing a game where luck is the primary driver of results yet you believe that You are the primary driver of results, you will begin to feel you deserve the fruits of low performance if the luck factor didn’t come into your favor. The opposite is true as well. (There’s a famous monopoly study on entitlement https://www.businessinsider.com/ted-talk-monopoly-makes-people-mean-2014-8)

The truth is that the difference between the High Performer and Low Performer is not necessarily an analysis of the equation Results = You + Others + Luck. The High Performer analyzes assesses the actual percentage split between You/Others/Luck and makes decisions accordingly. The Low Performer accepts whatever percentage they observe and takes it as an immutable truth. Unfortunately, it can be due to psychological reasons such as lower sense of self.

Can we know the actual percentage contribution of You/Others/Luck? Maybe, maybe not. It takes experimentation, observation, discipline, and humility. You need to understand yourself and understand reality in order to make high quality decisions. Higher Quality decisions = Better results. Everything else is just noise.