Rule #5: Work and Luck

Rule #5 – The harder I work, the luckier I get.

In the early 80s I spent two years in the life insurance business. One day I was cold-calling for appointments and getting beaten up pretty badly on the phone. I had been assigned twenty prospects to call and after dialing all the numbers, I came away with zero appointments.

As I was putting on my coat to quit for the day, the phone rang. It was some guy I had called a few weeks earlier. Although I didn’t remember him, I liked what he had to say: “You know, I’ve been thinking, and I’d really like to sit down with you.” We set an appointment and I headed for the elevator with a smile on my face.

Out in the lobby I happened to run into the president of the company and told him my experience. His face lit up and then transitioned to a serious expression as he said, “Malcolm, before I say what I’m going to say, understand that I have a graduate degree in engineering and run one of our company’s most successful agencies. But, also understand, there’s no doubt in my mind: if you had not dialed that phone those 20 times, your phone would not have rung.”

Assume that there is a fundamental relationship between your effort and your luck. Hyde has developed a number of concepts to help you get on track with this rule. Ask someone to tell you about “The 1-Thing” and “The Effort Savings Bank.”

Onward, Malcolm Gauld