⚡️ Luck as a System

Batko OS #5 - For luck to strike, increase your surface area.

Every life-changing event involves luck.

• How did you meet your life partner?

• How did you get your last job?

We stumble into our jobs -
get a referral from a friend of a friend, ace the interview against all odds, talk to the right person at the right time.

We meet our life partner against all odds -
on the other side of the world, in a bar we never go to, in a school we don’t choose ourselves.

What if these pivotal moments never happened?

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Luck is like a lightning bolt.

Unpredictable, powerful, and easily missed in the blink of an eye.

How do you get luck to strike?

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When I quit my job at Expert360 in 2017, I had no idea what to do with my life.

I wanted to build my own company but wasn’t obsessed with any problems.
I wanted to join a startup but wasn’t passionate about any one industry.

After months of reflection, I found my heart of hearts.

Instead of helping one startup, I wanted to work and help as many as I could and make a meaningful difference in as many lives as possible.

I was going to join an accelerator or a Venture Capital firm. 

I told anyone who would listen. The more I talked about it the more my conviction cemented.

I made a list of every accelerator in the world and started my cold outreach. Most places never replied, the few that did only to tell me they weren’t hiring. Through sheer luck, I was introduced to Niki for the Head of Ops role at Blackbird Ventures by someone who I told I was looking for a role in VC. I jumped on a call, which only made me realise that I could never do that job. The next day I emailed Niki saying that. Even though this role didn’t work out, he mentioned to hang on as there might be a role coming up at Startmate, Australia’s (and now New Zealand’s) best accelerator.

A couple of conversations and months later, I moved back to Sydney and started working at Startmate, where I’m now the CEO.

Side note: Ironically, I was turned down for a program manager role at another accelerator because I wasn’t senior enough. That accelerator died 2 years later. Luck.

Michael Batko @batkomichael

What's the story you tell about yourself? Mine has always been that I'm super lucky. Coupled with a strong belief that you create your own luck.

Michael Batko @batkomichael

I noticed the effect on people of stories they told about themselves. If you listen to people, there are patterns in the way they talk about themselves. Be careful about stories because it starts to become you. You are—in the way you craft your narrative—crafting your character. https://t.co/SSWGOlZM2X

More accurately, I believe

Luck is a process. You have to expose yourself to luck in order to be lucky.

🗣 Share your Story
- transparently and widely

You can’t hide under a rock and expect luck to strike.

Luck starts with you getting out from under your rock. Climb the highest hills and thunder against the rolling hills what you’re about. Put it out there. Tell anyone who will listen - family, friends and the universe.

Don’t hide under a rock. Get out there and declare your goals and dreams to the world.

When you shout to the world, you will often fall on deaf ears and closed minds. Bypass their minds and resonate with their hearts. Get everyone emotionally invested in your journey. Standing shoulder to shoulder believing in your vision.

💘 Capture hearts with the full colour of your story.
🎢 Share your rollercoaster of emotions, ups, as well as downs, be transparent and vulnerable.

Your story is the magnet to attract luck,
transparency and vulnerability your amplifier.

For luck to strike, increase your surface area.

🔁 Luck as a System

Luck is a process. You have to expose yourself to luck in order to be lucky.

1. Story - The Magnet

What’s yours?
What motivates and drives you?

2. Transparency / Vulnerability - The Surface Area

 You can only get help if you are honest about the ugly parts of life and running your business.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
If you don't tell people you need help, they can't help you.

The way you get the most help is directly correlated to the hygiene you create around asking for help.

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Here are three ways to amplify your surface area for luck to strike.

Pick one or all of the below and establish your hygiene around taking people on your ride by sharing your story and asking for help.

a. Internal -  Edrolo OS + Daily Slack messages

Everyone on our team sends a weekly Edrolo OS - read more here.

We also send around a daily stand up, post every small thing we're working on and an “end of day wrap up”.

We overshare. We over-communicate.

Most of the time it’s superfluous, sometimes it’s game-changing. You never know who can help you or make your life easier. Luck is everywhere.

b. External - Monthly GBUs

On the first of the month, we religiously send out our Monthly Update including our GBUs (Good, Bad and Uglies).

All Startmate updates are public, fully transparent - you can read them here.

You don’t have to post them publicly, but I encourage you to polish up your hygiene of sharing an update with your closest advisors, investors, and customers.

Here is a template you can use.

c. Close Circle -  Elephants and Monthly Family Updates

There’s nothing better than having close friends who you can share anything with. Start an Elephant group - more here.

It’s easy to lose touch with your closest family and friends. Before you know it you resort to Instagram pictures and convince yourself you have a meaningful relationship.

Your family and closest friends are the most important people in your life.
Keep them in the loop. They are your biggest supporters.

I send a Monthly Family Update - here is my format - feel free to use it as a starting point.

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🙆‍♂️ Surface from under the rock, my friend.

🧲 Fine-tune your magnet,
💘 conquer hearts and
⚡️ increase your surface area for luck to strike!

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My Ask for You

💌 If you started using one of the above tips or one of your friends should - share this on Twitter and tag me @batkomichael!