Chapter 14
You can't get hit by luck if you don't stand in front of it. I listen to many people comment about how lucky I am, or how lucky others have been. How it is better to be lucky than good, that some people just have all the luck.
While there is a semblance of truth to those comments, they often ignore the central point to being “lucky”: You need to go out and put yourself in a position to be lucky. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever been hit by a train without being in front of it. It is the same thing with the luck. You need to get out and put yourself in situations or environments where experiences and opportunities can happen. The Greek philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity.” The main reason I put this quote in the book is to try to make myself look intelligent by quoting a Greek philosopher. But you already knew that.
Yet the essence of what Seneca said is most certainly true. Being lucky can only come about by deciding to do something and putting yourself out there. So in a sense luck can be manufactured. By preparing or getting good at something and then bringing that something into the world, you allow the possibility of serendipity to happen. If you compose amazing songs but keep them on your laptop, or are an amazing singer but only sing to yourself in the bathroom, there will be no chance for any kind of unexpected good fortune to come your way. If you want to make shit up you eventually have to put shit out there.
We opened Improv Asylum 20 years ago in Boston's North End, arguably Boston's most famous and visited neighborhood. The “Little Italy” of Boston, it is the city's oldest neighborhood and is filled with Italian restaurants, cafes, pastry shops, and more. Home to Italian immigrants in the early twentieth century, and Jewish and Irish immigrants before that, the North End is a vibrant place where locals and tourists both feel at home. With its maze of tight‐laced streets and old world tenement architecture it is reminiscent of old European cities. It is well known for the Freedom Trail, Paul Revere, and heavyset men in leisure suits.
We found our theater space on Hanover Street, the main street that cuts through the heart of the North End. It was a 200‐seat theater and bar below the iconic European Restaurant (Now a less than iconic CVS) and, miracle of miracles, it was empty. Seems the previous owner of the building had been stealing electricity off of the buildings behind it for the last 20 or so years, and got busted. (Yes, that element is part of the history and character of the North End as well). We could not have been more lucky; a theater and bar in the heart of the North End, surrounded by 200‐plus restaurants and cafes with no other entertainment options nearby, sitting empty. We jumped at the opportunity and the rest is history.
Sooo lucky. But is that accurate? Yes and no. Yes, we were lucky to find a space in this neighborhood that was available at just the right time when we were looking. But here is the key: We were looking! We had decided that we wanted to grow from a small show in the basement of the Hard Rock Cafe (Clarendon Street, circa '97) to an established professional improv comedy theater (which ironically was still in a basement). From our years of doing comedy in Boston we recognized that there wasn't a professional improv comedy theater in the city. We said to ourselves, “Well, what if we create one?” So we took the next logical step to find a good location for this kind of show.
We also identified the North End as a place we should look, for all the reasons I mentioned. One of the founders, Paul D'Amato, was from the North End and knew of several places we should check out. We hit the street, opened doors, met with various property owners, and lo and behold stumbled upon a “For Rent” sign in the door of what would become the home of Improv Asylum for two decades and counting.
Lucky? You bet. On the other hand, we put ourselves out there to allow ourselves to be lucky. We took action to try to make something happen. By physically getting out into the world we exposed ourselves to far greater potential for opportunities to find us. We got out on the street and made our own luck.
The whole concept of making shit up is about doing for yourself. Making shit up is empowering yourself to try to do the things you want to do without asking permission from other people. Making shit up is about not waiting for someone else to determine your future and what you're going to do. When you become proactive and begin to do things, you set in motion a chain of events that invariably creates new opportunities, that is, luck. The more you are able to engage in new experiences, the more likely an unexpected opportunity or piece of information will make itself available to you. Like anything else, the more you put yourself into these kinds of situations, the more likely that you will recognize these opportunities.
What are some things we can do to practice getting lucky? (Yes, I am aware of all the jokes and double entendres that can be made here. In keeping with the title of this book I am choosing to keep it highbrow.) Pick something for yourself that you would like to experience a little bit of luck with. For example, you would like to have better luck fishing. Instead of going to the same fishing spot again and again and getting the same results, let's think of something new.
If I want to get lucky at fishing, is there a bait shop where I can get different opinions? What if I drive around on land or cruise around on the water looking to see where other people are fishing? What if I go to the boat shows or equipment demonstrations or lectures about fishing?
Invariably other people who love fishing will be there and I will be able to pick up information and tips that I can apply to my own quest to be a better fisherman. When I am able to finally piece enough of this information together and become more successful at fishing, my friends won't understand why I am always more lucky than they are at catching fish. The primary reason is that I put myself out there and in situations where I could learn more and get more information that I could act upon that can lead me to catch more fish.
So pick that thing you want to get luckier at. Find the different situations you can put yourself in that are remotely connected to your field of interest. If you do that enough, I guarantee luck will eventually hit you like a train.