Marc Andreessen, at blog.pmarca.com recapped the book, Chase Chance and Creativity, originally written in 1978 by James Austin.

Andreessen is an entrepreneur and businessman. His post is about luck/chance and how important it is in business. We think that luck, coincidences, and synchronicity are all parts of the same phenomenon.

Austin described four types of chance in his book:

Chance I is completely impersonal; you can’t influence it.

Chance II favors those who have a persistent curiosity about many things coupled with an energetic willingness to experiment and explore.

Chance III favors those who have a sufficient background of sound knowledge plus special abilities in observing, remembering, recalling, and quickly forming significant new associations.

Chance IV favors those with distinctive, if not eccentric hobbies, personal lifestyles, and motor behaviors.

This description of “luck” or “chance” is the same phenomenon Deepak Chopra talks about in The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, only Deepak calls it “coincidence.” Deepak’s premise is that everyday coincidences are meaningful and if we notice them, they’ll provide us with insight to ourselves and our spiritual journeys.

Deepak takes a more metaphysical route to describing this phenomenon, but both Andreessen and Deepak are talking about the same thing. Andreessen’s post is a great way to introduce skeptics to coincidences and synchronicity because he is not part of the “new age” community.
We also liked Andreessen’s advice on how to cultivate “luck.” He recommends being energetic, curious and an individual. It’s important to get out into the world, try new things and learn. Luck will find you.