You’ve heard the formula: Luck = Opportunity + Preparation.
Whoever came up with that was onto something. But most people focus on the wrong half.
They wait for the opportunity. The perfect job posting. The right connection.
Here’s the thing: you can’t control when opportunity shows up.
You can’t control when a company decides to hire. You can’t control when a recruiter stumbles across your profile.
You can’t control when your manager suddenly needs someone who knows AI.
That part is out of your hands.
But preparation? That’s 100% yours.
And here’s what most people get wrong — they think preparation means “be ready when something happens.” Passive. Waiting.
No. Preparation is what attracts the opportunity.
- When you build a project and push it to GitHub, you’re putting something out there that someone can find.
- When you post about what you’re learning on LinkedIn, you’re making yourself visible to people you’ve never met.
- When you learn a new skill and tell your manager about it, you’re creating the conversation that leads to a promotion.
I’m watching this play out right now.
Our first cohort of the AI Engineering Sprint has just finished their digital twin projects — live, deployed, interactive. They’re sharing them on LinkedIn.
People are clicking, interacting, commenting.
That’s not just a certificate on a resume. That’s preparation you can see, test, even experience.
The people who seem “lucky” aren’t always lucky.
More often than not, they just prepared so visibly that opportunities started finding them.
You can’t control the opportunity side of the equation. So stop stressing about it.
Control what you can: show up, build, share, repeat.
The opportunities will come. Make sure you’re ready.
As promised, value in under a minute.
Prepare visibly,
Kirill
PS: Luck = Opportunity + Preparation. Print it out. Then use every highlighter you have on Preparation. Make luck yours.