In Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds, American sports agent and founder of Klutch Sports Group Rich Paul shares the role luck played in him becoming one of the most successful sports agents, considering his background. He writes about his relationship with NBA superstar Lebron James and the lessons he has learned from being a student of life and the streets. Rich writes about his early upbringing, his mother’s drug addiction, lessons learned from his father, and the most important insights that he garnered from the streets.

Rich went from gambling to selling weed, drugs, and selling jerseys. He met Lebron James in 2001 at the airport, fascinated by the jersey Rich was putting on, Lebron asked “What kind of jersey is that?“. Rich was wearing a Warren Moon Houston Oilers throwback Jersey. The rest, they say, is history.

Luck is a complicated thing. We live surrounded by luck, if we know how to recognize it. Bad luck can seem good for a while; good luck might be hard to understand.

Book Title: Lucky Me

One of my all-time favourite Jay-Z songs is a deep cut called “Lucky Me.” Jay is talking about how success brings envy, jealousy, and danger and about how people think his life is perfect, but he’s dealing with more than they could ever know. It’s a powerful, mournful, and somewhat sarcastic song, with a hook that goes: You only know what you see / You don’t understand what it takes to be me.

“My first stroke of luck was being born into a life that forced me to be focused and prepared. Luck was learning how to recognize friendship, loyalty, love, and justice, and how to cultivate those values in life and business. Learning how to confront systems of power and not flinch, to walk on a razor’s edge and never fall. Most importantly, I was lucky to learn from real Gs how to have a purpose and mission that can make a difference in people’s lives, and that maybe, someday, can change the world.”