Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Most Successes Come From Taking Action During Windows Of Opportunity

In his book Fooled By Randomness, Nassim Nicholas Taleb discusses how most successes come from taking action during windows of opportunity. Here’s an excerpt from the book:

Let me make it clear here: Of course chance favors the prepared! Hard work, showing up on time, wearing a clean (preferably white) shirt, using deodorant, and some such conventional things contribute to success—they are certainly necessary but may be insufficient as they do not cause success.

The same applies to the conventional values of persistence, doggedness and perseverance: necessary, very necessary. One needs to go out and buy a lottery ticket in order to win. Does it mean that the work involved in the trip to the store caused the winning? Of course skills count, but they do count less in highly random environments than they do in dentistry.

No, I am not saying that what your grandmother told you about the value of work ethics is wrong! Furthermore, as most successes are caused by very few “windows of opportunity,” failing to grab one can he deadly for one’s career. Take your luck!