How to Be in the Right Place at the Right Time

Today, we’ve got a question for you right off the top. Have you ever met someone who walks through life with everything going their way like from the small things like —

• Getting into a party for free?
• Somehow ending up in the VIP section?
• And then the next thing you know, they’re in the DJ booth?

You know that person who on their first day at a new job, ends up walking in with the CEO, making conversation, and then they become a firm favorite? It could also be bigger things. People who always seem to know when to buy and sell. People who just know when to invest and what to invest in, their timing is impeccable, and they managed to do everything just at the right time.

So, how do they do it? Well, Naval Ravikant says that —

Persistence beats timing!

The truth is, we could never know for sure when the time is right. Some people say they have gut feelings, and you know, maybe sometimes our subconscious does pick up on things that our conscious minds don’t pay attention to. Other people say they were in the right place at the right time, but it doesn’t seem like it only happens once for these people. The majority of the time things just go right for them, and we have to ask ourselves — "What are they doing differently?"

Nobody can tell the future, that’s just not how science, reality, or our minds work. They never know for sure if it’s going to work out, but that doesn’t stop them from doing it all the time. Now, what we’re about to share with you is a true story, and although the examples are quite simple, I’m sure we could all relate to them in some way.

So, Emma and Lou, they’ve been friends for just over three years now, so relatively new friends. They met at work and at the time, both of them were going through a breakup. So, they grew close pretty quickly. At one point, they started going out together on the weekends. So, when they went clubbing or they went to a busy restaurant where they forgot to make a reservation, that would often be a long line of people waiting to get in. This is London after all. People love partying.

So, on the first night, they went out. As they approached the line, Emma gets ready to stand at the back and move along slowly for the next 30 minutes or so, but Lou grabs her by the hand, marches past everyone with a smile on her face, and waves and greets the bouncer who lets them in. Emma is shocked. She’s been to this place before. This doesn’t just happen here.

Emma asks Lou —

“How do you know him?”

And Lou responds —

“Oh, I don’t know him. I just thought he would be nice enough to let us in.”

Emma looks at Lou in shock. This was a very exclusive club, pricey, private, and coveted by lots of people who sometimes don’t even manage to get in the door.

“Let’s go to VIP”

— Lou said.

Now, before Emma could respond, Lou walks up to the VIP section, greets a group of men and women who are there, and asks if it would be okay if the two girls joined them. They said “yes” and they welcomed them in and offer them some drinks. For the rest of the night, they move freely from the VIP section to the dance floor, chatting and laughing with their new friends, and that’s how their friendship goes.

When they order-in one day and their food arrives far too late and too cold, Lou doesn’t get upset. She simply says — “It would be great if we could get everything for free though”, and they do.

When a project comes up at work that will be a dream for them to work on, but usually goes to someone who has been there longer, Lou puts her hand up and says “I’d like to take that project on. It sounds incredible and I think I would be good at it.” So, the project goes to Lou who knocks it out of the park, takes on another bigger project, and gets promoted.

Now, this story is from a social media thread where Emma said that after being in her friend's shadow for the last few years, she feels like she doesn’t exist anymore. She’s jealous and even though there are perks to being a loose friend, she found her self-esteem suffering. Emma was clear that while Lou was good-looking, they were kind of on the same level, so it couldn’t be just that. When we’re on the outside of someone's luck and we see them waltzing through life with people rolling out red carpets for them, we often miss an important social indicator.

• We’re too focused on the person, we’re not focusing on what they’re doing to get there.
• We don’t see their actions, we look straight past that because we’re so amazed by the result.
• We missed that at every opportunity, Lou put herself out there, she opened herself up to being vulnerable.

In the thread comments, people asked Emma if Lou had ever been rejected. She said that —

“Yes, she’d actually get rejected often, but she wouldn’t let go. She would persist for a little while longer.”

And more often than not, that persistence paid off, and when it didn’t, she just walked away with a smile, still thanking the person, acknowledging that they were just doing their job, and went on her way. Sometimes they would go back the following week and voila, they would remember Lou and she would get what she wanted.

Not immediately, but eventually!

Lou has one secret — she’s persistent! It’s not just that she doesn’t accept "no", it’s that she’s not offended by it at all. She doesn’t take it personally. In fact, she sees it as another challenge. She will take all the chances she can get no matter how unlikely a positive outcome may seem. Even when she’s rejected, she’ll still try again. She’s not embarrassed about asking, she’s not shy about getting rejected, and she certainly doesn’t let it get to her.

Someone else's no doesn’t affect her as a person. So, why should she let it affect and dictate her mood and behavior? You know, for some people, the thought of asking for favors seems presumptuous and entitled and it definitely can be, but you can’t be the person who has good things happen to them while also looking down on the behavior. At some point, you have to choose a side, and you know which side is better — the winning one! If you’re courteous and kind in your persistence, then that entitlement melts away. You know, you don’t deserve this more than anyone else, but what’s the harm in asking for it nicely?

Naval added a little bit more to his quote by saying —

“Execution beats luck!

Carrying out your plan and seeing the task through, even when it’s tough, embarrassing, or awkward will beat luck anytime. Every time you push forward, your likelihood of success rises. Persistence beats timing. Execution beats luck. So, forget next time readers! Go out there and get better luck this time.

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