New Books Network Tina Seelig on Making Your Own Luck and Other Critical Life and Entrepreneurship Skills
Stanford educator and renowned creativity expert Tina Seelig joins Richard Lucas on the New Books Network’s Entrepreneurship & Leadership channel to discuss her new book What I Wish I Knew About Luck (coming April 2026).
As the host found himself agreeing with everything Tina said, he asked for examples of people who disagreed with her. First, they discussed the value of respectful disagreement, and the fact that Richard’s father, the late Oxford philosopher JR Lucas routinely took the opportunity to disagree with his son, no matter what point of view was being put forward. Tina shared that her father, aged 99, still thinks that good things just happened to him over the course of his life, whereas she outlines all the actions he took to create that good luck. Tina dismantles the myth that luck is purely random. She distinguishes fortune (things that happen to you) from luck (something you can actively cultivate), and explains why clichés such as “the harder I work, the luckier I get” or “fortune favors the prepared mind” are true but incomplete. What is the “hard work” required to create luck? What exactly is a “prepared mind”?
Key highlights:
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Why entrepreneurship and creativity are teachable skills that everyone can improve, just like sports, music, art, math, or science.
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The value of keeping a “failure résumé” and viewing failure as a trampoline rather than a lava pit.
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Real stories of ethical dilemmas early and late in her career. Full details in the book and podcast.
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Why showing genuine appreciation (especially thank-you notes) is one of the highest-ROI habits for creating luck. A thank you note she wrote was read out at a funeral 20 years later.
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How to build trust, have difficult conversations, and surround yourself with the right “crew”
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The foundational role of self-awareness, values, resilience, risk-taking, and patience in manufacturing your own luck
Tina also shares the inspiring origin of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program (co-founded by John Hennessy, former Stanford President, and Phil Knight, founder of Nike) and reflects on teaching leadership to some of the world’s most promising graduate students across all disciplines at Stanford University.
Show Notes & Sources
Pre-order “What I Wish I Knew About Luck” by Tina Seelig
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Tina’s earlier books: “What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20”, “inGenius”, “Creativity Rules”
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Tina Seelig’s famous TED Talk and the legendary “$5 entrepreneurship challenge”
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Books mentioned: “The No Asshole Rule” – Robert Sutton; “The Course of Love” – Alain de Botton; “Radical Candor” – Kim Scott
Essential listening for anyone who wants to stop waiting for luck and start building it.
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