Six months ago, Jadin O’Brien never imagined she would be competing in women’s bobsledding at the Olympics in Milan last week.
Why?
Because she was a soccer player.
So when, out of the blue, she got a seemingly random direct message over Instagram from veteran olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor saying she wanted O’Brien to be her partner, O’Brien was sure it was a scam and ignored it.
Fortunately for them both, Meyers Taylor tried again, and this time O’Brien’s curiosity won out, and the rest, as they say, is Olympic history.
There’s a problem with the oft-cited notion that “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”
The problem is that the formula is only half complete.
The Formula to Make Your Own Luck
The complete formula is:
→ “Luck” = Preparation + Opportunity + Awareness + Courage
Let’s break this down.
Preparation: O’Brien had spent most of her life focusing on the game of soccer, developing the strength, speed, agility, and many other skills that also happen to be necessary to be a pusher in bobsledding. In other words, she had transferable skills.
Opportunity: Meyers Taylor saw the value in O’Brien’s skill set and offered her the chance to see what was possible together.
Awareness: O’Brien was paying attention. After the initial skepticism wore off, she didn’t keep dismissing the outreach, a-la “why would someone like that be interested in me?” Skepticism turned to curiosity, which changes everything.
Courage: a.k.a. Guts, moxie, chutzpah, call it what you will, but despite all the likely doubt-ridden questions that went through her mind (“Who me? She can’t really want me, can she? There’s no way I could never be Olympics-ready in six months, could I?”) O’Brien said YES.
Six months later, they were at the Olympics.
They didn’t win as a duo (they tied for seventh) but they still made history on multiple levels.
In addition, Elana Meyers Taylor defied the odds yet again, and set another record herself – as the oldest winter Olympian to win a gold medal for a solo event at the age of 41: The Monobob (which sounds like a bad haircut, but is the solo bobsled race.)
Not to mention, this is her first Olympic gold, but she achieved it in her FIFTH Olympic games, her first being in 2010, and every 4 years since. Talk about the power of perseverance!
(It reminds me of comedian Eddie Cantor’s famous line, “It took me 20 years to become an overnight success.”)
I can only imagine all the internal fears and doubts running through Meyers Taylor’s mind, preparing to compete against athletes literally half her age.
No More Excuses: stop saying “Nothing like that ever happens to me”
Now ask yourself: How many of these “lucky breaks” have occurred in your life?
Perhaps a better and more important question is: How many have you let slip through your fingers, because you
- Didn’t recognize them
- Dismissed them as unrealistic or “crazy”
- Were too afraid to take the shot?
Looking back, there were some massive pivot points in my own life that others might have called “lucky,” and that I could just as easily have let slide by out of closed-mindedness or fear. To name just a few:
- In college, on an Amtrak returning from the Army-Navy football game (dressed in sweats), I overheard two men talking about working in international affairs. I introduced myself, and ultimately landed an internship with USAID a few weeks later.
- At a wedding reception, a serendipitous conversation led to my first consulting contract (I didn’t even know what “consulting” was, in the corporate sense), which, in retrospect, was the catalyst that began my transition from university professor to executive coach (which I’d also never heard of).
- Looking out my kitchen window twelve years ago, living downtown, I happened to recognize Charles Stiles, host of my then-favorite Food Network show “Mystery Diners,” sitting in the cafe across the street. Figuring I had nothing to lose, and having no agenda whatsoever, I walked over and introduced myself, which led to coffee, which has led to a ten-year friendship including having him as a guest on my “Speaking to Influence” podcast, and being invited to speak at his annual MSPA Conference, along with other exciting upcoming collaborations.
Now let’s look at how those three “lucky” moments were built on the four parts of the formula.
Preparation: In all three cases, I had already built something useful (knowledge, communication skill, credibility, or genuine interest) that made me able to show up like I belonged when the moment appeared.
Opportunity: Each “break” arrived through an unexpected, ordinary channel—a train conversation, a wedding chat, a random glance out a window—rather than through a formal application process.
Awareness: Every time, I noticed the opening in real time and treated it as a live possibility, not just background noise or a throwaway moment.
Courage: And in each situation, I took a small but decisive social risk—approaching, introducing myself, asking the question, or saying yes—before I could talk myself out of it.
And that brings us to leadership.
Because if you want to lead, you need to see “luck” for what it really is: a repeatable leadership formula, built on communication and decisive action.
Here’s what leaders do differently:
- They notice when opportunity arrives through unexpected channels—a DM, a chance conversation, an overheard comment, a literal glance out the window.
- They stay open to other people’s ideas and invitations, even when those ideas are totally different from what they’re used to or expecting.
- They understand leadership is not a spectator sport: It requires both initiative and responsiveness; the combo is a signal that you’re ready for greater responsibility.
- They practice influence with or without formal authority because there are far more opportunities in life to influence people and decisions they do not directly manage.
- They know that conversation is the first step for every opportunity, because relationships move at the speed of trust, and trust moves at the speed of dialogue.
So here’s the question: What opportunity is trying to reach you right now—and what story are you telling yourself to ignore it?
If you want to lead, you don’t need a grand plan for every pivot point.
You need to recognize that your life experience has prepared you for far more than your daily task list, pay attention to the conversations and happenings in your environment, and find the courage (dig deep if you must) for just long enough to say, “Hi,” “Tell me more,” or “Would you be open to…?”
And if those conversations are the part that trips you up—reach out.
Because “luck” isn’t magic. It’s an action and a choice.
Now it’s time to make your own.
