Last weekend, I read “Fooled by Randomness” by Nassim Taleb. This book has made me question everything about me. What if all my past successes weren’t because of my skills, hard work, or decisions—but were they just sheer luck? This book has left me thinking.
The central theme was that randomness and chance dominate the outcome, even if we are proud of our expertise. This is a soul-searching idea: “What if” everything I believed in is not mine to claim? “What if” someone else, with the same effort, never got the opportunities that I happened to get? “
This idea challenges my successes and makes me wonder if my hard work, skills, choices, success, or self-worth are illusions built on a foundation of randomness. And if that’s true, then what is my future dependent on? Can’t I shape my destiny or the desired outcome?
I have no answers, only a deep sense of discomfort. If it’s all luck, what am I really good for?