#004B Summary Episode - Creating Your Own Luck with Steven Levy - a podcast by Ann Hiatt

It’s been a challenge summarising this incredible episode, but here’s my attempt. If you haven’t listened to the full episode yet, make sure to go back and listen to make sure you don’t miss any of the gold Steven gave us.

In the episode, we covered the full spectrum of Steven’s career, from his university studies all the way through to where he is now, as editor at large at Wired. There’s been some important pivot moment that he definitely created for himself, that might not have been how he had originally saw it. He was thoughtful about all the decisions he’s made.

To simplify the journey, he started college studying literature, then in his grad studies went into more depth in his subject, where he then took a creative writing course as a pivot and coincidentally found a mentor, who helped him arrange a 3 month internship at a local paper, where he did everything from editorial papers to going to the supermarket and tracking prices, trying to learn as much as fast as possible. Unafraid of the unglamorous work.

After graduating, he started working at his local paper in Philadelphia and taught himself how to work for magazines (he makes it sound easy). Through this experience he was able to try a lot of things, meet new people and essentially get noticed.

He created more writing opportunities for himself and got noticed by Rolling Stone and was commissioned to do an article on future hackers, once he arrived in the Silicon Valley and started his research, he found it exciting and felt he was watching the future being made. This lead him to his first book Hackers.

When I asked Steven if he had been able to discern a formula for greatness from his peers, his research and his career journey, he had a similar answer to me; he noticed their fearlessness, their ability to filter out criticism and this strong internal compass. They take a crazy idea and make it possible.

I also asked him about the weaknesses in some of the powerful people he’s work with and written about and he highlighted those who choose to continue living in a bubble. Those who don’t ask for honest feedback or don’t like to hear the truth or get the pushbacks. Those who surround themselves with people who tell them the truth, are the most satisfied in their careers.

If you’d like to hear more, listen now on your favourite podcasting platform or on my website. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to listen to the full interview with Steven Levy, it’s a great conversation full of takeaways you can apply today!

Thanks for listening!

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