I woke up excited today because I had shared my new app on Reddit, and I was eager to check if it had taken off.
I have been waking up excited on many days over the last few months for similar reasons. I'd have taken a long shot the previous day - launched a new product, shared a blog or social media post, sent an email to an influential person, applied for an exciting job, etc. Long shots (or moon shots) have small odds of turning into something really big, exciting, and life-changing.
Extraordinary successes are almost always a result of taking long shots and asymmetric bets. Sam Altman in his blog on How to be Successful, writes "I always choose a next project that, if successful, will make the rest of my career look like a footnote."
Most people, most of the time, are on a very linear path, with no possibility of a big win or exponential take-off. They don't buy any lottery tickets and they don't win any big prizes.
When you keep buying lottery tickets, you increase the chances of winning a golden ticket. And life becomes more exciting too.
Notes:
1. You don't have to give up your stability or take substantial risks. Most of the examples I have above are low-risk, but high upside side-bets.
2. Lottery ticket may not be the most apt term as it implies pure luck and no skill. In reality, you get better at both identifying and executing long-shots, so your probability of winning increases.
3. You can apply this within a company or product roadmaps as well, where you invest in a few moon shot bets.