The story of how both inventions* came to be is detailed in a profile of Adler at Priceonomics. Adler shared his five rules of the trade, which he said he has passed along to the aspiring inventors at a local junior high:

1. Learn all you can about the science behind your invention.

2. Scrupulously study the existing state of your idea by looking at current products and patents.

3. Be willing to try things, even if you aren’t too confident they’ll work. Sometimes you’ll get lucky.

4. Try to be objective about the value of your invention. People get carried away with the thrill of inventing, and waste good money pursuing something that doesn’t work any better than what’s already out there.

5. You don’t need a patent in order to sell an invention. A patent is not a business license; it’s a permission to be the sole maker of product (even this is limited to 20 years).

Those insights were hard-earned, Adler told Priceonomics, as was his success. In the late 70s, Adler designed a flying disk called the Skyro, which he sold to Parker Brothers.

* http://pandawhale.com/post/41619/the-invention-of-the-aeropress

Luck is about trying things. I like that.

My favorite lucky/try things quote:

"You gotta try your luck at least once a day, because you could be going around lucky all day and not even know it."

Jimmy Dean in Esquire magazine interview  http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/ESQ1001-OCT_WIL

Without trying, luck is just an unused raw material?!

...or a fully refined jewel that you just didn't consider picking up in the moment.

Perhaps luck is more a diamond in the rough -- and that's why you didn't consider picking it up!