Podcast Summary: Tina Seelig on Making Your Own Luck and Other Critical Life and Entrepreneurship Skills

Podcast: New Books Network — Entrepreneurship and Leadership Channel
Host: New Books
Guest: Dr. Tina Seelig, Stanford Professor, Author, and Knight Hennessy Scholars Program Director
Date: December 9, 2025

Overview

This episode features an engaging conversation with Dr. Tina Seelig, renowned Stanford Professor, entrepreneurship educator, and author. The main theme centers on unlocking and cultivating luck—dissecting the difference between luck and fortune—and developing vital skills for success in life and entrepreneurship. The discussion provides practical strategies drawn from Seelig’s forthcoming book, "What I Wish I Knew About Luck", and her decades of teaching experience.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introducing Tina Seelig and Her Mission (01:42)

• Tina introduces herself as passionate about “helping people bring their ideas to life” and highlights her role at the Knight Hennessy Scholars program at Stanford.
• She shares her journey teaching creative problem solving for 25 years, emphasizing the importance of equipping others to manifest impactful ideas.

2. Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught? (04:43)

• Seelig argues that entrepreneurship, like any other skill—math, science, music—can be taught and improved with practice.
  • "There are a set of skills that everyone can learn and everyone can get better." (04:43)
• Entrepreneurship education is also a vehicle for life skills (communication, negotiation, teamwork).

3. The Importance of Self-Awareness in Entrepreneurship (06:12)

• The host notes diverse entrepreneur personalities. Tina links success to introspection and knowing oneself.
• She speaks about the new "Leading Yourself" course co-taught with Liz Wiseman, focused on self-reflection and personal skills development.

4. Stanford's Knight Hennessy Scholars Program (07:46)

• Tina explains the mission and structure of the program, detailing its support for graduate students across all disciplines:
  • Community, funding (up to three years), and a parallel leadership program.
• Application process is highly competitive (09:34), but she encourages trying despite difficulties.

5. Dissecting Luck vs. Fortune (10:29)

• Tina distinguishes fortune (circumstances out of one’s control, e.g., where you’re born) from luck (situations you can cultivate).
  • "Fortune… are the things that happen to you… and then luck… is something you can cultivate in your life." (10:29)
• Her book focuses on tools to enhance one's agency in creating luck.

6. The Myth of 'Making Your Own Luck'—A Closer Look (11:30)

• Popular expressions like “fortune favors the prepared mind” and “the harder I work, the luckier I get” are critiqued for lack of actionable insight.
• The book breaks down what “prepared mind” and “hard work” actually entail for actionable strategies.

7. Taking Risks and Resilience (13:35)

• Lucky people tend to step out of comfort zones, ask for what they want, and manage fear of rejection.
• Discusses mental models of failure: some see failure as devastating, others as a trampoline. Cultivating resilience and reframing failure is key (13:35).

8. The Failure Résumé (15:51)

• Tina describes her practice of keeping a “failure résumé”—listing failures, lessons learned, and next steps.
  • "By keeping a failure resume, you are much more equipped to move on…" (15:51)
• Formalizing failures helps avoid rumination and encourages ongoing growth.

Memorable Example:
She recounts a recent mistake—attending a meeting unprepared and learning to better research people before meetings (17:58).

9. Values and Luck (20:21)

• Luck isn't value-neutral. Acting in alignment with your values, especially under pressure, is central to lasting success.
  • "I had not aligned my actions with my values because I hadn't even taken a minute to think about it." (20:21)
• Shares a formative story of accidentally misrepresenting herself early in her career, and later, an instance of handling plagiarism with empathy and thoughtfulness (20:21–24:05).

10. Gratitude and Appreciation (25:11)

• Gratitude is shown to be a powerful element in cultivating luck and opportunity.
  • "One of the most important things you can do in life is show appreciation…" (25:11)
• Tells a moving story of how a thank you note from college was treasured by her professor for decades and read aloud at his funeral (27:14).

11. Radical Candor and Building Trust (30:55, 31:22)

• Seelig emphasizes radical candor—caring enough to be honest—as a lesson in her classes (28:55).
• Direct, forgiving, and constructive feedback builds trust, which is foundational to luck.
• She introduces a conflict-resolution matrix (personal/professional vs. values/behavior) as a tool for navigating difficult conversations (31:22).

12. Building Your "Crew"—People and Diversity (35:21)

• Surrounding yourself with people possessing diverse perspectives and values fosters opportunity.
  • "If there are two people with the same opinion in the room, one too many people." —Attribution to Bob Sutton (35:21)
• The importance of openness, curiosity, and avoiding those with toxic values (jerks); advocating for the “No Asshole Rule.”

13. Healthy Disagreement and Perspective (38:18)

• Tina discusses familial debates about luck and different perspectives—even within families. Her father, despite her research, continues to see luck as random, highlighting the ongoing, nuanced conversation around this topic.

14. Closing Reflections (41:05–42:13)

• Seelig encourages seeing the world as opportunity-rich and approaching problems with fresh eyes.
  • The arc of her books: from challenging assumptions (What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20) to creative problem solving, now to cultivating luck.
• Final emphasis on mindset: “Two people can have the same experience… one comes out with a huge opportunity because they're looking at it with the entrepreneurial mindset.” (41:21)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Teachability of Entrepreneurship:
  "[Entrepreneurial] skills… everyone can learn and everyone can get better." (04:43)

• On Luck and Agency:
  "Luck… is something that you actually control or have some control over." (10:29)

• On Failure:
  "Keeping a failure résumé, you are much more equipped to move on…" (15:51)

• On Values in Action:
  "I had not aligned my actions with my values because I hadn't even taken a minute to think about it." (20:21)

• On the Power of Gratitude:
  "You cannot underestimate the power of showing appreciation." (27:14)

• On Radical Candor:
  "I'm going to be radically candid with you because I care about you so much." (29:11)

• On Crew Diversity:
  "If there are two people with the same opinion in the room, one too many people." (35:21, quoting Bob Sutton)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Tina's personal introduction and mission: 01:42–03:19
• Can entrepreneurship be taught?: 04:43–06:12
• Self-awareness and personal leadership: 06:12–07:18
• About Knight Hennessy Scholars: 07:46–09:52
• Defining luck vs. fortune: 10:29–11:30
• Deconstructing 'making your own luck': 11:30–13:01
• Failure models and resilience: 13:35–15:51
• Failure résumé practice: 15:51–17:27
• Recent mistake example: 17:58–19:07
• Values, patience, and tough ethical moments: 20:21–24:05
• Gratitude and thank you notes: 25:11–27:14
• Radical candor and trust: 28:55–33:40
• Building your crew (team diversity): 35:21–37:35
• Disagreement and luck perspectives: 38:18–39:06
• Final reflections and book series context: 41:05–42:13

Conclusion

Tina Seelig elegantly demystifies luck, showing how it intersects with resilience, gratitude, values, trust, and building the right relationships. Her practical frameworks and real-life examples offer actionable steps for anyone seeking more agency and serendipity in their entrepreneurial journey or personal life.

Final encouragement:
Seelig's forthcoming book "What I Wish I Knew About Luck" promises deeper insights for readers eager to cultivate luck, not wait for it to arrive.