But here's the thing, we are all continuous actors in our own lives. Successful founders have a healthy vision of what they can control and what they can't, and they try to maneuver their companies into a position to succeed based on the state of the world as they see it at the time. What looks like luck from 30,000 feet was actually the result of a concerted effort day-in and day-out, usually over the course of years, to put themselves in a position to succeed. The fact that there success isn't reproducible, or that they weren't in control of everything does not mean that they succeeded because luck. That's a lullaby that wantrepreneurs tell themselves to protect their egos, but it's poisonous to ones ability to build something successful.