I think "Publish Often" is also an important part of OP's success. Had they not practiced making custom icons since 2013, they probably would not have been ready to capitalize on the one time they got buzz.
I've hired people on fiverr and tapped development teams I've worked with before to deliver quickly.
"Had I not have already vetted that development team I wouldn't have been ready to capitalize so quickly. Had I not practiced making static websites. Had I not practiced tying SSL to domain names so that people take me seriously."
I'm not diminishing OP's skill, I am diminishing the message and pointing out which parts are repeatable. This is prosperity preaching (being rewarded for prior sacrifices because of those prior sacrifices) and wasting everyone's energy if they actually believe that and approach life this way. Unsubscribe to that logic and you still have execute quickly + make sure people know about it.
You're hitting the nail on the head but people can't bring themselves to accept you're right.
Yes the OP lovingly crafted his skills over a period of several years, but let's face it, his skills are commodities and you too could have achieved his success if you took a shortcut to hire someone to produce an icon pack quickly and professionally and then partnered with an influencer to sell the productized version of it.
Probably 94% of the success here is due to the influencer's exposure. The moral of the story is become good friends with influencers in relevant industries and be ready to act quickly on new business ideas, and keep access to cash to invest in whatever is needed.
That's not the only point. You are confusing necessary and sufficient conditions. Being able to do the thing that needs to be done at the right time is a a necessary condition for this success. It's definitely not sufficient condition as you rightly point out. You note that you use fiverr and development teams you've worked with before to deliver quickly. Without that you have nothing to deliver or it is beat in the market by the time you figure out how to make it. An influencer isn't going to magically create products for you.
Exactly. And without having made things, shared and built an audience, he would have been broadcasting into a void. Then there "influencer" would have never been part of the equation.
Is there some "luck" in that? Of course. But that bit of luck does not happen in a vacuum.