Luck: Do We Have It or Do We Create It

In this episode, I dive deep into the idea of luck—what it is, and whether it's something we can actually create for ourselves. From overhearing a coworker's comment that challenged my mindset, to stumbling upon forgotten savings just when I needed it most, I share stories that explore the intersection of effort and chance. Tune in as I reflect on how showing up, even in small ways, helps us build momentum and prepare ourselves to seize life's unexpected opportunities. 

Transcript

Have you ever felt like your luck has just run out? Like no matter what you do, life keeps throwing you curveballs, and you just can't seem to catch a break? Of course you have. We've all been there—whether it's getting sick at the worst possible time, feeling overwhelmed with life's chaos, or just going through what feels like an endless streak of hard times.
 
 It's so easy to say, “I'm just down on my luck.” But here's my question for you today: What if luck isn't just something that happens to us? What if we create it? What if luck is actually a product of the energy we put into our lives and into the world around us?
 
 Welcome back to Wander Off Course. I'm your host, Eli Hartman, and today we're gonna talk about luck—whether it's real, whether it's something we can actually control, and most importantly, in my opinion, how we can shift our mindset when it feels as though our so-called luck has simply run out.
 
 So this topic came to my mind because I got placed on a different team at work, and this specific day—this shift—it was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right. Y'all, the machines were messing up constantly. It felt like we had setback after setback. I could feel my own frustrations building up, and I could feel my team's frustrations building up.
 
 And then I overheard a coworker say to one of the other guys on the team, “I guess Eli didn't bring any luck with him.”
 
 At first, y'all, I was pissed. I started going off in my mind like, "Who does this guy think he is? He doesn't know me. How could he just throw out a statement like that? Am I unlucky because I happened to be on this team today?"
 
 And that's what got me thinking about this topic. Because the more I thought about it, the more I started to realize that I don't necessarily believe in luck—at least not in the way that I feel most people do. Because when I look at my life, I don't see luck. I see a lot of hard work. I see sacrifices that I've made. I see late nights working on projects, putting that effort into places that I feel need it, to push me forward.
 
 I started my career knowing absolutely nothing about my field—wind energy, wind turbines—and through sheer effort and determination, I was able to work my way up to earning a six-figure salary without a college degree.
 
 Now, in my opinion, when I look at that, that's not luck. To me, that's showing up, that's putting in the work, and creating my own opportunities.
 
 But then there's that other kind of luck that I can't deny exists—the luck where things just seem to fall into place. And that happened to me recently in a way that made me stop and think about this topic as well.

 So back in January, my partner discovered that our podcast network, Buzzsprout, was giving away a select number of tickets to Podfest 2025. Y'all, when my partner told me about this, I had no idea what Podfest was. It was not something on my radar—not something I had been introduced to, really. She had told me a story here and there, 'cause she had gone before. But basically, it's a big convention—almost like a Comic-Con in a sense—but for podcasters.
 
 They host a bunch of classes depending on what you want to do with your podcast or what you're looking for inspiration in. So there were classes about monetizing your podcast, how to grow your listeners, how to structure your episodes—even crazy things like how to use AI to help you create an episode or marketing posts for your content. A bunch of really cool stuff.
 
 They were giving away tickets to this, and tickets are like—I don't know—a thousand dollars. They're pretty pricey. So my partner applied, and she in turn encouraged me to apply. At that point, I hadn't launched my podcast yet. It was in the works; I was thinking about it. I'd come up with my podcast name and even some topic ideas, if you will, but I hadn't published an episode. Gosh, I don't think I'd even recorded an episode at that point in time.
 
 But I figured, "Why not?" It seemed like a really cool opportunity, and if nothing else, if we won tickets, I'd learn a lot by going—and maybe that would boost me forward.
 
 So guess what? We both won tickets—complete three-day passes. Some might call that luck, but here's where I think it gets interesting. Because that is a certain kind of luck, but we still had to figure out how to actually get there.
 
 The passes only covered the admission to Podfest. There were still travel expenses—you know, getting there, whether we're flying or driving; lodging—hotel, are we camping out, are we trying to stay in the car? And what are we gonna eat? You know, all of those things.
 
 And living paycheck to paycheck, we didn't have that in our budget necessarily. But instead of saying, "Oh well, I guess we can't go," we talked about it, and we made a decision that this felt like something important that we needed to be a part of. So we were gonna do whatever it took to make it happen.
 
 Y'all, literally just days before Podfest was about to start, I stumbled upon $500 in a savings account I'd completely forgotten about. That, plus a little bit of birthday money I'd just received from my family, became our budget to make this trip happen. We found the cheapest hotel that wasn't infested with bedbugs—because that is my number one. I don't do that. If there's anything remotely talking about bedbugs in a hotel review, I will not stay there. Side note: always check hotel reviews before you book anywhere.
 
 We ended up walking 30 minutes each way to the convention center from the hotel because we needed to save on gas. We didn't have a ton of gas money; we spent it all to get there, and we decided to pack our own food. We lived off sandwiches every day.
 
 And let me tell you—it wasn't glamorous, but gosh, y'all, we made it happen. We were bound and determined to go to this thing, and we were gonna do whatever we could to make it happen. And that's exactly what we did.
 
 And those were three of the best and most inspiring days of my life. It was hectic—we were in classes from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM all three days, literally overloading our brains with knowledge. We got to network with so many other creators, and ultimately we walked away with new friendships that I personally believe will last a lifetime.
 
 It was exhausting but so inspiring. And y'all, we left there feeling so fired up. The whole 13-hour drive home, my partner and I couldn't stop talking about all the ways we were going to use what we had learned to grow our podcasts. We were planning, envisioning, and we were so ready to take action.
 
 And then life hit. Life hit hard.

 The moment we got home, man, we both got sick—like, really freaking sick. Super weak. Could hardly muster up enough energy to get off the couch, let alone do anything. Obviously, we still had to go to work, so you muster up enough energy to go to work, but outside of that, you feel like a zombie. You don't want to do anything. I think everybody can relate to that level of sickness. If you've never experienced that before, hallelujah. Count your blessings, 'cause that is not much fun.
 
 But right after we got back, we both got sick, had to go to work, and then my work schedule changed right away. So I worked nonstop for what felt like forever, all just while trying to recover. That's just life. Life tends to throw us these curveballs, and that's exactly what this felt like, and I could feel it: all of that momentum, all of that excitement we experienced during Podfest and on that drive home from Podfest, it was slipping away. I felt it literally just oozing off of me.
 
 A month and a half later, I finally started feeling better. The sickness, thank goodness, was finally fading. My work schedule was settling down and becoming a little bit more consistent, and I could feel that drive kind of building back up inside of me. It was like the puzzle pieces in my life were starting to click back into place, and so my mind and my body—my energy levels—had more space to start looking at other things I wanted to invest in, aka this podcast.
 
 And I was ready. I was feeling that. And on the day that I planned to record, I woke up, and I was sick again. Y'all, back-to-back sickness—we all know how much that sucks and just totally deflates your sails. Well, that's where I was at. In that moment, I 1000% felt it. I felt the wind come out of my sails. It was that sinking feeling—that doom-and-gloom mindset—that was starting to overtake me, you know? With the thought of, "Well, there goes my luck. Just when I was ready to start, here comes life and smacks me down again."
 
 I had to ask myself, though, the more I thought about it, "How badly do I actually want this? How badly do I actually want to make this podcast and make it succeed and do whatever I can in my power to turn it into something?"
 
 Because it's really easy to be excited when everything is going well. It's easy to stay motivated when life is smooth. But this? This felt like a test. This felt like a test of my commitment and how much effort I was willing to put into something, even when life isn't smooth. And if I really wanted this—if I really wanted to create this podcast and build it into something meaningful—then I could not let this second round of sickness stop me.
 
 Because if I gave up now—I know this from my own past experiences, and I'm sure a lot of you guys can relate—if I gave up now, I would just find another excuse later on. And how easy is it to just pile up excuses, one on top of another, on top of another? Those are the easiest things to come up with. And when I really stopped to think about it, that's how "bad luck" wins.
 
 I had to make a choice—and I did. I wasn't going to let this sickness, this second round of sickness, take this opportunity from me. Even if it meant working slower. Even if it meant doing less today than I wanted to. I was going to take small steps. I didn't care if they were smaller than I planned; I was still going to take a step.
 
 And it's taken me several weeks longer than I ever anticipated to get this episode out, but I never stopped putting in the effort. It might've been slow, but there was still effort there that I chose to put in, even when life wasn't going smooth—especially, honestly, when life wasn't going smooth.

 All of this—this whole experience—reminded me of something really important: there's the kind of luck we can't control, and there's the kind of luck we can.
 
 Finding that $500, y'all, that was pure chance. I had no way of predicting that would happen. I didn't even remember having this savings account. But if I had just been sitting around waiting for a lucky break before making that commitment to try to go to Podfest, I never would've applied for those tickets. I wouldn't have gotten them if I hadn't applied. I never would've made that trip, and in turn, I never would've been looking for extra money to make that trip happen. That money would've just continued to sit in a forgotten account instead of becoming the exact thing we needed to follow through on a vision we had already committed to.
 
 That's where people, in my opinion, misunderstand luck. I believe people tend to think it's all about being in the right place at the right time—and in some ways, it can be—but what we don't often realize is you don't just stumble into opportunities. You have to position yourself for them. You have to create the conditions where luck has a chance to find you.
 
 Because if we had written off Podfest as impossible, that $500 wouldn't have mattered. However, because we had already made the decision to go—because we had taken that action before the lucky break showed up—that moment of luck actually meant something to me. There was a purpose. And y'all, I think that's the key. Truthfully, luck and preparation go hand in hand. We don't control the random lucky breaks that happen in life. I can't deny that those exist. But what we do control is whether we're ready for them when they show up.
 
 If I had given up on my podcast just because I got sick—if I had let the setbacks and frustrations of my work schedule, being sick, and just day-to-day life convince me it wasn't the right time—then even if another lucky break came along, I wouldn't have been in a position to take advantage of it.
 
 At the end of the day, the kind of luck we create for ourselves, I believe, is what determines whether those unexpected lucky breaks actually lead to something or if they just pass us by. Because when you're putting in the effort and when you're showing up, life's lucky breaks start to align with your goals.
 
 And y'all, that's where I've kind of landed. That's the kind of luck I believe in. That's the kind of luck my life and the actions I've taken and those lucky breaks that I've received have proven.
 
 So I want to put this out there as a little reminder or a motivational nugget—something for y'all to ponder in your minds and think about, as I continue to remind myself of these things every single day.
 
 You don't need the whole staircase. You just need a step—the next step—the one you can reach today. Life—we all know this—if you've ever experienced loss or the death of a loved one, a friend, a pet, you know that life isn't generous with time. It's not generous with energy or clarity, even. But if you can give yourself five focused minutes, a little scribbled idea here or there—put it on a napkin; you don't have to have a specific notebook or sticky note—but if you can scribble down an idea or mark down one tiny task completed, I want us to remember that even those small things, that's momentum. That's enough.
 
 If you're not feeling your best—a hundred percent—today, that little step is enough. Showing up for your dream, even when life is messy—or especially when life is messy—that's not just about discipline. That's value—showing that your vision matters. What you're building matters. Every time you show up, even when you're tired, sick, or uncertain of exactly what you're doing, you're reminding yourself, "I'm worth this. I'm worth my dreams." You are worth your dreams.
 
 And y'all, random luck is great, but it can't do much for somebody who's standing still. I believe this wholeheartedly. We have to lay the groundwork. We have to keep our own wheels turning—staying focused, staying open, and staying moving toward those dreams, those visions. Like I said, even if it's a small step, that's still movement. And that way, when the unexpected break finally comes, you're already facing the right direction for it to push you forward.
 
 So do we believe in luck, or do we create it? Honestly, I think it's a little bit of both. I personally believe wholeheartedly that if we wait for luck to find us, we might be waiting forever. But if we start taking action, we make our own luck happen.
 
 Y'all, have you ever had a moment that felt like pure luck, but looking back, you realize you created it? Please share your story with me. I'd love to hear it. I believe that's how we grow as a community and as a society. Through storytelling, through sharing what we've gone through, we build community and connection. In a world that's pushing us toward disconnection, I wanna see us all come together. So if you feel led, share your story with me. I'd love to hear it.
 
 You can share it with me on Instagram at WanderOffCourse or send me an email to wanderoffcourse@gmail.com.
 
 Y'all, if this episode made you think differently about luck in any way, please subscribe, leave a review, and most importantly, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.
 
 Alright y'all, that's all I have for you today. Thanks for wandering off course with me. As you step back into your world, please remember that kindness is never wasted, love is always worth sharing, and whether you believe it or not, you're doing better than you think. So go out there, be a light, and have yourself a truly blessed day. Until next time—stay open, keep growing, and never, ever stop wandering.