On Being Intentional

Intentional is the best way to be. If the easy things are done well, and your time is spent on things that matter, you set yourself up so that when an opportunity is presented you can throw some serious weight behind it.

The range, not the value

Events don't unfold in a straight line. They happen in a form of zigzag patterns that end up merging into a result. Through our actions, we are able to set the bounds in which these results can happen, making the result easier to predict and more likely to fall in our favor.

The first order effects of an action are usually simple to spot. It's the second and third order effects of an action that we can't predict. For example, the Cold War led to the creation of the internet (first order effect), which led to the creation of Google (second order effect), which led to me being able to easily post writing online to be found and read from anywhere in the world (third order effect).

These higher order effects are not something we can predict and we shouldn't spend energy to attempt it. All we can do is be intentional about the actions we take so that the end result is more likely to fall in the bounds we have set. To be clear, I'm not saying you will be able to predict outcomes to any level of granularity. What I'm saying is if you intentionally set your board so that the final result is a good one, it will be more likely to end up that way and thus easier to predict. The inverse is also true: if you aren't thoughtful about how your current actions will influence future results, the results will be left to chance.

Non-Intent

The most important thing to not do is to stumble along in life, spending time on bullshit without thinking forward to how your time spent now will influence the future later. This is called being unintentional, and it looks like this:

Unintentional-ness needs to be avoided at all costs. It leads to a life lived unprepared, without the ability to become lucky.  

Predicting with Influence

We can't control the outcome, but we can influence the bounds in which the outcome will happen. Accomplish this by doing good for others, doing excellent work, and spending your time doing things that matter. Do them everyday. Inch by inch, your board will be set in such a way that the result is all but decided to be a good one. It might look like this:

More specifically, let's say the scenario is someone wants a promotion at work. Some of those gray dots above should say: "builds genuine relationships with everyone", "work quality is always excellent", "time is carefully spent on most impactful projects", and so on. The more of these actions that are intentionally seen through to completion, the narrower the range of outcomes that can come of it.

Does it guarantee the desired outcome? Of course not. Does it make it more likely? Yes. More importantly, even if they don't get a promotion, they have genuine relationships with others and have a reputation for doing excellent work on things that matter.

The board is set for opportunity to come knocking.

Getting in position to be lucky

"Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared." - George Clason

Luck is often thought to be random, bestowing good fortune with no rhyme or reason. That's dead wrong. Luck favors the prepared, and narrowing your range of future outcomes allows you to start flirting with her. This works because influencing your future allows you to avoid the bad results more often, which allows you to see more good ones. Compound this over some period of time and it starts to look a lot like luck. But what those on the outside don't see (or don't understand) is that all of the intentional and consistent actions that led to "luck" took place weeks, months, or years ago.

So do the easy things, do them well, and do them with intent. You will drastically reduce the range in which outcomes can occur, all but ensuring when results come your way they will be favorable. This will allow you to see more and better opportunities, while being in a position to take advantage of them when they come.

Act with the intent to become lucky, and it will happen.