Randomness is not always Random.
Here's why you should be a lot more intentional in your actions...
Luck is a word humans have a romantic relationship with. We all want to be lucky. We describe successful people as having some element of luck through the course of their journey. As a result, we sometimes make moves that seem unplanned and random, in the hopes that these moves will be carried on the wings of luck and give us the life we always dream of.
But it is not always so. And I’ll tell you why, with the help of a story (or two lol).
“The Block”.
It is the NBA Finals. The year is 2016. The Warriors, riding on the back of the Splash Bros – Steph Curry and Klay Thompson – entered the Playoffs having just set the record for the most wins in an NBA season; an incredible 73-9 regular season finish. The Cleveland Cavaliers on the other hand, energized with the return of LeBron James, are looking to win their first championship in the past 52 years.
After blazing through their respective matchups in the playoffs, the Warriors and the Cavs eventually go head to head in the Finals. It was a matchup for the history books. The indomitable Warriors quickly took a convincing 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Cavs, undeterred, slugged their way to tie the series.
It is game 7, winner takes all. Both teams have left it all on the court, a clash of wills. But only one team could be the champion. As the game ran down to the final minutes, the score was tied 89-89. Cavs’ Kyrie misses a layup. But that miss resulted in what would be the most pivotal play of the game and would become one of the greatest sequences in all of NBA Basketball.
Warriors’ Iguodala grabs the rebound and the Warriors quickly try to execute a fastbreak offense. In the words of the commentator:
“Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
Yes, LeBron James who’d been down the court, tracked the play, timed it properly, and delivered a nasty block that was crucial in the Cavs’ eventual victory. Some 2 minutes later, the game was over and the Cavs were NBA champs for the first time in franchise history.
Here’s a clip of the incredible block:
Why am I telling this story?
I remember watching the Finals and I remember little me being awed by The Block, and how such a random, instinctive move eventually became the decider of the NBA title. Or so I thought…
I recently stumbled on a clip where LeBron discusses the Block. And as I watched the video, it hit me that this was nothing close to a random block. It was a routine that’s been practiced maybe 100’s of times, if not more. Watch LeBron talk about it here:
And then I began to question a lot of things I thought were random and realized there was an element of order to it.
Lessons from nature.
We tend to look at things that occur naturally as somewhat random, when in fact they are not.
A flower, for example, is pleasing to the eye. But we might not take any other note of it other than its beauty. However, hidden beneath its beauty lies a pattern in the flower arrangement. Some people discovered it, and soon discovered that this pattern was splattered across nature’s canvas – the human body, animals, shells, you name it. This pattern is the Fibonacci sequence, and people utilized its beauty in building structures that’ve stood the test of time, magnificent in its beauty.
So when you look at some buildings and are wowed by its beauty, it's not random. Some pattern is at play here.
Kid Dynamite.
In the mid and late 80’s, Iron Mike Tyson was a revered name in the boxing world. The mere mention of his name brought shivers down the spine of his opponents. No one could match his ferocity, his domineering persona, and most importantly, his discipline. One match stands out in my head when I think of Iron Mike.
It was the 27th of June, 1988. His opponent was Michael Spinks, an undefeated heavyweight champion; a fine boxer through and through. Many expected the match to be a thriller that would go the rounds; however, it lasted a mere 91 seconds. From the opening bell, Tyson came out guns a blazing, no regard for his opponent’s punches. In no time, Spinks was down on one knee. He beat the count, but it was pointless.
As he stood, Tyson threw a left hook which he dodged. But while dodging that, Spinks’ head got caught in a sharp right hook which flattened him and ended the match.
Many commentators and observers have described Tyson as “good as any heavyweight could be” on that night.
Celebrating just in his corner was his coach who, together with the team had executed sequences such as this countless number of times. It wasn’t a lucky punch that dropped Spinks. The punch was packed with hours of training, exercises, sweat, and grit.
The greatest civilization in modern history.
Some people say China is the greatest civilization ever. Some say Egypt. Some, Rome. In modern times however, we have to give it to America. But how did they attain this status?
Ever since some 56 men sat in a room and signed the Declaration of Independence, to the “We the people of the United States…” opening of the Constitution, every decision was intentional, well-planned, and geared to one goal: to make America great.
The wars they fought, the industrial revolution they embarked on, the Scientific Revolution, you name it; were done only to further American supremacy. And supreme did they become.
200+ years down the line, we have the greatest civilization in modern history. This article best summarizes it all.
A closing note.
The urge to randomize things makes us not reach the heights we were destined to hit. Look at people who achieved great things. No matter how random they seemed to act, they were never random.
This writing, is not random. It’s me making steps to become better at distilling my thoughts, and a better content writer. Nothing happens randomly. Never forget that.
Have a great week.