“We’re adding a new program to our curriculum!”
I was in 4th grade. My school introduced this new typing program to get kids ready for basic computer skills later in their lives. My sister, who’s two years older than me, missed the boat to participate in it.
We learned how to place our fingers on the keys. We’d play a variety of typing games with colorful pictures to test our speed. We’d also practice our muscle memory to the point where we could type while staring at the screen.
If it weren’t for that class, I doubt I’d be the writer I am today.
That’s why writing takes a dash of luck — along with talent and hard work.
Being a Successful Writer Takes More Luck Than You Think
You need some luck to get a viral article. You need some luck to think of awesome writing ideas while you’re making chump change. You need some luck to get freelancing opportunities that mysteriously fall into your lap.
Tons of incredible athletes wouldn’t be successful if they didn’t luck out with their genes:
Simone Biles is 4'8'’. She’s the most decorated gymnast in the world. However, she wouldn’t be able to do so many twists and contortions in the air, (more than anyone has ever done before) if she wasn’t short enough. Being a short person gives her more agility than your average 5'3'’ gymnast. There’s less surface area for you to control.
Michael Phelps has the most medals in Olympic history. He’s a monster swimmer. It turns out his body type is best suited for swimming because he has a long torso, shorter legs, and a long wingspan. This allows him to swim faster without his legs dragging him down. He can kick faster while maintaining a long stroke with his arms.
Michael Jordan is the most obvious one here. Did you know Micheal Jordan didn’t make his high school basketball team because he was too short (5'9'’)? Thankfully, he grew to 6'3'’ and made the team. Eventually, he grew to 6'6'’ for his NBA career.
You need to have innate abilities to be an online writer. You need to have fast typing ability, high screen focus, and numbness to rejection. Those are the prerequisites to being an online writer.
If you don’t have those, this job isn’t worth it.
Again, my sister never took the typing class I did in elementary school. She struggles to get words on the screen today. However, she has an amazing ear for languages. She can speak to anyone in fluent Italian and French on the street. I don’t have that ability.
Your Whole Writing Career is Based on The Number of Times You Roll The Dice
I wrote over 800 articles online — 5 of them have gone viral.
Why am I still going? I believe I’ll get lucky one day. Writing is a seamless process for me. I can do it all day. There’s no specific formula that creates a viral article. It just happens when the universe declares it.
So…I wait.
Would I be a writer if I didn’t take that typing class in school? Hell no. Everything we choose to do in our lives has some sort of luck attached to it.
Where that luck takes you is your decision.
Good luck, my friend.
Great post!! Also, I think beyond luck, consistency will be always the key. If you keep yourself doing the thing, no matter what, you will get somewhere. In the end, quantity will kill luck, and you will realize that you have all that is needed to achieve the goal.
Incredible. Just yesterday I outlined an article about planned serendipity for creators.
We can't avoid chance. Both positive and negative.
But you can do enough of the right things to increase the probability of positive outcomes. And reduce the consequences of negative events.