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Some people think billionaires are just lucky. Others believe they work harder than everyone else. Mark Cuban? He says it’s both.
Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur and investor best known for owning the Dallas Mavericks and starring on Shark Tank, built his fortune during the internet boom. But he’s quick to admit that luck played a role.
"Life is half random," Cuban says.
However, what truly made the difference was what he did with the other half—the part he could control.
His story is a lesson for entrepreneurs, dreamers, and anyone trying to build something great. You can’t control the market, but you can control how prepared you are when opportunities come your way.
Photo: Getty Images
The Internet Boom: Right Place, Right Time—But Also Right Skills
Mark Cuban didn’t grow up wealthy. He didn’t have the kind of background that guaranteed success. What he did have was an entrepreneurial mindset from an early age.
As a kid, he sold garbage bags door-to-door to make extra money. In college, he gave disco lessons to pay his bills. After graduation, he hustled his way into the tech world, learning everything he could about computers, software, and networking.
Then, in the mid-90s, something huge happened: the internet exploded.
Cuban and his friend Todd Wagner spotted an opportunity—streaming audio over the web.
They started AudioNet, which later became Broadcast.com, the first major streaming company.
In 1999, Yahoo bought Broadcast.com for a staggering $5.7 billion in stock.
That’s the part Cuban calls luck. He was at the right place at the right time, during the peak of the dot-com boom. But the other part of the story—the years he spent learning, experimenting, and positioning himself—wasn’t luck at all.
"Being able to do all the work and learn how all the technology worked, that was work." – Mark Cuban
The Half You Can Control: Effort, Preparation, and Relentless Learning
Most people wait for opportunities to come knocking. Cuban, on the other hand, spent his life preparing for them.
Even before he launched AudioNet, he was obsessed with learning. When he got his first job at a software company, he taught himself programming by reading manuals at night. When he saw gaps in the market, he figured out how to fill them.
This mindset—control what you can, prepare for what you can’t—is something he shares with many other successful entrepreneurs.
Think about Jeff Bezos. He couldn’t predict that e-commerce would take over the world, but he did everything he could to prepare himself. Before launching Amazon, he spent years studying markets, learning about logistics, and building his knowledge base.
Or take Oprah Winfrey. She couldn’t control where she was born or the challenges she faced. But she controlled how hard she worked, how much she learned, and how she took advantage of every opportunity.
Cuban’s lesson is simple: You can’t control everything, but if you master the half you can, it will make all the difference.
"It’s what you do with the half you can control that really sets the tone for your entire life." – Mark Cuban
Luck Favors the Prepared
Some people will hear Cuban’s story and think, He got lucky. And yes, luck played a role. But Cuban didn’t just wake up one day with a billion dollars in his bank account.
He put himself in the right place to capitalize on an opportunity.
If he hadn’t learned about networking, he wouldn’t have been able to start AudioNet.
If he hadn’t taken risks, he wouldn’t have been able to scale his company so quickly.
If he hadn’t sold when he did, he could have lost everything when the dot-com bubble burst.
Cuban believes luck is real—but it only helps the people who are ready for it.
Look at Steve Jobs. When he started Apple, he didn’t invent the personal computer. He just saw the opportunity before others did. But he was ready—he knew enough about technology, design, and business to take advantage of it.
Or take Elon Musk. He didn’t create electric cars or rockets. But he learned everything about them until he became the person best suited to build them.
The lesson? Opportunities will come, but only those who are prepared will recognize them and act on them.
How You Can Apply This Mindset
Cuban’s story isn’t just about becoming a billionaire. It’s about how to approach life and business in a way that maximizes your chances of success.
Here’s how you can apply his mindset:
1. Learn Relentlessly
If you’re in business, don’t just do your job—study your industry. Learn the skills that will set you apart. Cuban became a tech entrepreneur because he learned how software and networks worked, even when he wasn’t in the industry yet.
2. Take Risks
Cuban didn’t play it safe. He left a secure job to start his own company. He invested in a streaming service before most people even knew what streaming was. Every major success story involves taking a leap before everything is certain.
3. Be Ready for Opportunities
If you want to be successful, you have to position yourself for luck. Work hard, build your knowledge, and when an opportunity arises, act quickly.
Final Thoughts: Build Your Own Luck
Mark Cuban’s story is proof that success isn’t just about hard work, and it’s not just about luck—it’s a combination of both.
You can’t control when the market will boom. You can’t predict when the perfect opportunity will come. But you can control how ready you are when it does.
So, don’t sit around waiting for luck to find you. Start preparing today. Learn the skills, take the risks, put yourself in the game. Because when luck finally shows up, you want to be ready to grab it.
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