I think that Terumo hit it right on the head…many posting on this thread are [u] miles[/u] apart on what the definition of “luck” is…or are so prideful and arrogant as to deny it’s existence…
I’ll give you mine:
“Those circumstances, beyond our control and influence, that by either their absence or presence, contribute to ones eventual success”.
Call them what you may…luck…Blessings from on High…Karma…coincidences…being in the right place at the right time…seizing opportunities…things “falling into place”…capitalizing on others misfortune (or gross stupidity)…
To deny the existence of these “X” factors in ones success, to me, represents the height of human Pride and Arrogance…
I NEVER, EVER SAID (AND NEVER WILL SAY) THAT THESE "X’ FACTORS WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS IN ONES SUCCESS…(and quite frankly, I’m tired of pointing this fact out…)
But they also are NOT non-existance…and in some cases are pivotal in many success stories…
I love this statement by J.K. Rowling, the creator and author of “Harry Potter” (who is now a multi-millionaire):
“I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. It was wonderful enough just to be published.”
She paid her dues many times over… including living in poverty with a young child…
And you’re damn right she worked hard… and was rejected everywhere she submitted her transcipts, except once (What “control” did she have over that one publisher reading and accepting her work?)
But guess what?
Almost everytime you hear J.K. Rowling speak…she counts her (dare I say it?)…“blessings”…
I see it not being luck that JK getting her book deal, but a publisher being able to identify a book with the potential to sell millions of copies.
I think luck has to do with things like the power going out when I havn’t saved my paper, when I accidently wake up after I turn off my alarm and all sorts of things.
Even in my sales job when someone calls me out the apparent blue to buy something. Its not luck. Its because I’ve built proper relationships and done the proper things. There is a distinct reason they called me. Things just don’t happen along.
Finding an unfiled patent application with all diagrams would be luck. Getting your idea first to market through the culmination of many great ideas and proper preparation isn’t.
Now something that must be addresses is whether behaviors you do influence your “luck” as you call it. I don’t know how to fish really. If I catch one I’ll say its luck. But if the guy in the bass championship catches a fish its talent. When you randomly do stuff hoping for a desired result and it happens upon you… Yes thats luck. When you properly prepare and achieve a desired outcome… Its sure as hell not luck.
Another example. Think of when you take take tests (Or anything) and you don’t study, but you get a good grade. It’s luck. But when you do prepare and get a good grade. Is it luck? Hell no… Its my fucking hard work and diligience paying off.
Everyone seems to agree that luck/blessings are NOT the only/most important factors in becoming successful/rich at what one does.
So it has to be something else.
And everybody seems to know what this “something else” is.
Since we probably all come across similar lucks over the course of our lives, and we all have our “recipe” for success… how come we ain’t all billionnaires?
So yeah, if someone very successful in a field (any field) speaks, I will have a tendancy to listen…
Some would be quick to point out that this is what leads kids into buying barrels of whey and all. But these people have to realise that being successful in business has nothing to do with muscle fiber makeup or how much drugs you can afford.
Perhaps you enjoy hearing someone claim they were lucky (when in fact they proved that it was working smart and hard, as in the above example) because you like seeing people act in a humble manner who have succeeded. I must agree with you on this point. I can’t stand to watch the haughty Donald Trump. He is the epitome of what I do not want my children to grow up to be, money or no money. He makes me sick!
Do you know the Trump story? His father left him a 20 million dollar realestate business. Great start in life huh? The only thing is, he made it into a billion dollar realestate business. He was indeed “lucky” to have inherited the 20 million dollar real estate business, but how many inherit that much, more or less and don’t make it to a billion? I have to give him his due. He may be haughty but he has the skills to turn 20-M into 1-Billion!
Luck does in deed happen to us all! I never denied that. Those who are prepared take advantage of that luck. Those who are ill prepared squander it!
I don’t think we are that far from agreement. It just seems that you want to believe that the only way you become a billionaire is through “luck”. I am stating that in order to succeed financially you have to first have the “financial mind-set.”
I feel your pain. After all, it seems everyone wants your money and is ready to stomp on your back to grab 1 cent.
What if I told you YOU can be wealthy just as easily as these people did? Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Me? Become rich? No, Diesel, you’re just trying to comfort me”. Well, it’s true.
See, I’ve devised a fail-proof plan which is GUARANTEED to generate a full income - and more. Case in point, I’ve had reports of individuals who did so well in my little scheme, they generated 79,000 dollars in their first 2 months. Becky and Lucy, a married couple, will be the first to tell you the time investment required in my little scheme is only an hour a day, a couple times a week.
Everything is included in my little package - from how to hack in major corporations to how to integrate a loan contract into the corporation’s database. After depositing your own money into these ‘corporations’, described in my book, you will start receiving annuities in the value of 13% of the total ammount invested. Loock at that number again - it is a whopping 13% APR. Revenues this large ought to be criminal!
You too can generate your own income and be in charge of YOUR LIFE! A simple hack-and-invest procedure will do the trick. It’s being illegal with a twist. We call it forced loaning and they’ll never know the difference!
You mean like that Zeb? I’m still waiting on the day a news reporter will investigate the story of a mauled get-rich-quick individual who was attacked by his own victims.
There is no “get rich quick” scheme that has ever worked as the purchaser expected. It sort of reminds me of the phonies on TV late at night selling some sort of pill to help people lose weight.
This isn’t a mid-life crisis thing is it? BTW, what is that guy’s name who rants and raves about “how even I made millions of dollars by placing tiny little ads in newspapers”? Isn’t he about at the top of the newspaper, software patenting, Real-Estate industry yet?