Publishing your work increases your luck

No matter how hard you work, it still takes a little bit of luck for something to hit. That can be discouraging, since luck feels like a force outside our control. But the good news is that we can increase our chances of encountering good luck. That may sound like magic, but it’s not supernatural. The trick is to increase the number of opportunities we have for good fortune to find us. The simple act of publishing your work is one of the best ways to invite a little more luck into your life. Before we get into the “how,” it’s important to get on the same page about the “what.” What are we talking about when we say “luck?” There are a lot of definitions that could apply, but let’s stick with a simple one: Luck is when something unexpected and good happens to you. Unexpected and good. Who doesn’t want to increase the odds of something unexpected and good? In our world, luck can include: Having your OSS library take off Being invited to speak at a conference Landing a new job Getting a new consulting client Being invited onto a podcast Making new friends in your community None of these things are totally in your control, which can at times feel frustrating. How can we increase the odds of finding luck? By being a person who works in public. By doing work and being public about it, you build a reputation for yourself. You build a track record. You build a public body of work that speaks on your behalf better than any resume ever could. The goal is not to become famous, the goal is to increase the chances of luck finding us. For me, one of the most helpful ways to think about this has always been the concept of the “Luck Surface Area,” described in an old post by Jason Roberts . He wrote (and note, the emphasis is mine): "The amount of serendipity that will occur in your life, your Luck Surface Area, is directly proportional to the degree to which you do something you’re passionate about combined with the total number of people to whom this is effectively communicated ." Going further, he codifies it into a formula where: Luck = [Doing Things] * [Telling People] The more things you do multiplied by the more people you tell, the larger your Luck Surface Area becomes. The larger your Luck Surface Area, the more likely you are to catch luck as it flows by. Source: Jason Roberts Jason Roberts Doing the work Before you can publish your work, you have to actually do the work. The good news for you is that by even reading this Guide on The ReadME Project, you’ve probably already self-selected into a group of people for whom “doing things” comes somewhat naturally. You’re a developer, a designer, a creator, an author, or something else entirely. Whatever moniker you want to give yourself, you’re built to do things, and...

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