One goal of this book is to emphasize the importance of luck.
This is because we often make the mistake of trying to attribute tremendous success solely to an individual's internal qualities.
Of course, those who succeed are special.
The Beatles were special.
Taylor Swift was also special.
If they weren't special, they wouldn't have been so successful.
But how did they become special? How did they acquire these special talents? In no case did their success stem from their individual uniqueness alone.
And countless extraordinary people in business, politics, science, and the arts have failed to achieve great success.
Here I want to open the lid of the black box called luck and see what's inside.
We can create at least some luck.
--- pp.12-13

The Matthew Effect is a phenomenon discovered and studied by sociologist Robert Merton in 1968.
The reason Merton gave it that name was because of the Gospel of Matthew.
Among them, Matthew 25:29 in particular says this:
“For those who have, more will be given, and they will become richer, but those who do not have, what they have will be taken away, and they will become poorer.” In simple terms, this means that the rich will become richer, and the poor will become poorer.
This intuitive idea explains the concept of 'cumulative profit' well.
Cumulative gains mean that an initial advantage or existing advantageous position becomes more powerful over time.
In other words, the more famous you are, the easier it is to become famous.
--- pp.93-94

Many cultural products benefit from network effects.
People assume that they should know about certain cultural products.
If many people like Romantic poetry and the Beatles, we'll be interested in it for one reason above all else.
It's because I don't want to be left out.
We all want to be part of a group that is meaningful to us.
When a book or movie becomes incredibly popular, it's usually because of network effects.
Taylor Swift is a great singer.
I like it too.
But she also achieved tremendous success in part because she wanted to be part of a group that more and more people knew, liked, and loved her.
--- pp.107-108

When it comes to innovation in general, social scientists often speak, in a tone very similar to Jane Franklin's, of "the unnoticed Einsteins who, had they experienced innovation early in life, would have achieved remarkable things."
In particular, they note the importance of demographic factors such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status, as well as role models and network effects that contribute to success.
Many potential innovators in fields like science and business are born into families where they lack the right role models, are oppressed in many ways, or lack access to networking resources.
And in the end, innovation fails.
They don't win the lottery of life, let alone many other minor lotteries.
Would young Cassius Clay have become the world's most famous man if his bicycle hadn't been stolen? And aren't there athletes more skilled than Muhammad Ali who never stood before the public eye?
--- p.288

We want to give the many “Hunts and Saudis” another chance.
The main reason is that they failed due to accidental circumstances”.
We want to give many people another chance for the same reason.
(…) These thoughts also point to possibilities or inspiration.
There are countless Einsteins, Shakespeares, or Miltons who have not received much attention, and they could all be rediscovered.
In fact, they are being discovered every day.
The Mona Lisa and Jane Austen, William Blake, John Keats, Robert Johnson and Connie Converse are still being discovered, just as new discoveries are being made.
And if we continue to pay attention to the presence of those who may be among us right now, there will be fewer who disappear without receiving attention in the first place.

--- pp.290-291