NEW BOOK · JUNE 1, 2026
A framework for understanding why some people consistently create opportunities and capitalize on them while others wait for luck that never arrives.
Available June 1, 2026
Chase was told repeatedly that he was lucky. He heard it from friends, family, and near-strangers. Over time, that explanation became less convincing.
The Illusion of Luck introduces an analytical framework for evaluating how and why repetitive, compounding successes take place. What the world calls luck is often the visible result of three forces working beneath the surface: Preparedness, Opportunity, and Action.
This is not a self-help book. It is a thinking framework for anyone who has ever looked at someone else's life and thought, They just got lucky, and wants to understand what actually happened.
What the world calls luck is the visible result of three forces working beneath the surface.
The invisible work done before opportunity arrives.
The moment that appears random but is attracted by preparation.
The decisive move that converts preparation into outcomes.
"Luck"
Engineered Outcomes
It was never luck.
Pages of breakdown
Chapters of insight
Core forces behind every outcome
Framework to explain them all
In four decades of leading soldiers and shaping young leaders, I have watched the same pattern Chase names here. Preparation compounds silently until the world mistakes it for fortune.
Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Former Commander, 82nd Airborne Division. Former President, Georgia Military College.
”I've spent my career evaluating what separates the companies and careers that compound from the ones that don't. Chase has it right. The results look like luck only to those who weren't watching the work.
Ray Conley, CEO, Creekstone Energy
Former Partner, Oak Hill Capital. Former Partner, Palo Alto Investors. Former Consultant, McKinsey & Company.
”
Chase Sheffield grew up in rural Georgia and has begun building a career as a business leader, attorney, and consultant — drawing on diverse experience across engineering, startups, finance, and his time in the Army. His path spans Deloitte, the Army Reserve, startup operations, and energy development.
Rural Georgia
Grew up learning the value of work in his father's auto repair shop.
University of Tennessee
Earned a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Commissioned into the Army Reserve.
Ohio State + Army Reserve
Completed a Juris Doctor at Ohio State Moritz while serving as an Army Reserve officer.
Deloitte
Strategy and transactions work at a Big Four firm.
Creekstone + Sheffield Firm
Director of Operations and Legal at an energy startup. Founded Sheffield Firm for capital, legal, and management consulting.
The Illusion of Luck
The framework that started as a question became a book.
Fireside conversations, panels, classroom sessions, keynotes, and workshops on preparation, leadership, and building what others mistake for luck.
Join the list. Get Chapter 1 free, plus updates on speaking, podcasts, and new writing.
Chapter 1 is on its way!
Check your inbox.
Through Sheffield Firm, Chase works with startups and growing companies on management, legal, and capital strategy.
Learn more at sheffieldfirm.com