Luck Surface Area principle, credited to Jason Roberts, states that increments of luck in a certain field of interest can be achieved by doing and telling about it.
The Formula
The recipe may not sound new to many—the concept is ABC for influence and advertising—but what I find interesting is its simplicity (easy to remember and explain) and its applicability to personal branding.
L = D * T
Doing
Doing not only gets stuff done, but builds credibility. It also favors skills development and stamina. Achievements obtained by doing help sustain high levels of motivation.
Telling
Telling clearly exposes our interests to advice, praise, criticism. Not everyone needs to buy in, but genuine interest over gratuitous endorsement has some clear emotional advantages. You likely won’t blame a person for being enthusiastic; they will remain consistent and therefore attract other like‑minded people. Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful ways to win people’s attention.
Expect a return in opportunities. Someone may be interested in your work, you might get in touch with others’ work, new edges may arise on which to work. The business benefits either way.
Roberts uses a wise adjective for telling: effectively. There are many aspects to take into account for communicating effectively; explaining them would require an entire book. For instance, you don’t want to focus on the wrong target—you might lose them entirely.
Connecting the dots
The nice thing about personal development principles is that you can mash them up and make assumptions.
You might be familiar with the 1% rule. It states that only 1% of people on the Internet are creators, 9% are contributors and the rest are lurkers. Applied to the Luck Surface Area principle, these proportions help explain the importance that bloggers, YouTubers and influencers have had in recent years.