Success is about luck
Ronnie Apteker made the statement at Internetix that success is about luck.
This bold statement grabbed my attention and intrigued me. On impulse I would tell people that I don’t believe in luck and that I only believe in two things: hard work and a kick-ass attitude. Summed up I am all about strong mind-set.
Ronnie continued by explaining that luck is about meeting the right people at the right time. Practically to me this would involve having vision. Taking that vision and making use of resources, people and events as opportunities to create something grand.
I naturally did some soul searching and reflected on my life. I guess you could say I have been really lucky in my life. I’m young and fairly successful. [Depending what you perceive as success of course]. I have always had a knack of recognizing potential, working with my gut feel and turning those events into something magical and fairly profitable.
The old adage of luck favouring the persistent is thus a really powerful concept. You can create your own luck by being open-minded, receptive, positive and enthusiastic. I am a firm believer that excitement in life is a magnet for good tidings.
Call it good karma, fate or destiny or luck but remember the next time you celebrate a victory or success that luck was but the first step on the journey to success. Luck might have set the scene but hard work got you there.
What do you think? Is success really about luck?
18/07/2008 at 12:28 pm
I suppose it depends on what your outlook is:
Either you view all that happens as a random formula. If you believe that, then u believe in luck.
Or its the karma destiny route where there is no such thing as luck - its who you are, what you put in, and how you think and behave that influences and determines everything - good and bad.
18/07/2008 at 12:33 pm
Brendon - all true, but I am interested in knowing what you believe???
18/07/2008 at 12:54 pm
I believe that you are what you think.
Both can be true for any individual if you argue for them. Only if we believe we are all participants in a random continuum, we will always fell passive and victims of circumstance.
If you are more imaginative and wave goodbye to the bitter scientists trying to seduce our logic with physics, then you can sculpt any beautiful reality for yourself. Any possibilty. Thats what i believe. I dont believe in luck
18/07/2008 at 4:04 pm
Conventional wisdom: what you get out depends on what you put in.
Alternative wisdom: things don’t work like they do in conventional wisdom.
Conventional wisdom is very common, in many traditions, in many places. But it doesn’t always work. In the wisdom tradition of ancient Israel, the book of Job is a prime example of “alternative wisdom”, of how conventional wisdom does not always work, about things being outside of our control, how you can do everything “right”, but things just don’t turn out well for you.
In the end, I believe it comes down to balance. There’s definitely some “luck” involved. It lies in timing, it lies in interaction between a whole bunch of factors. With regards to web projects, those who make it and those who don’t, depend so much on timing, but timing that cannot be predicted. I suppose I could dig up some links talking about this kind of thing, I seem to recall something about Facebook as well. (The right place at the right time, targeting the right audience — students — at a time when social networks were already quite common.)
Hmm, anyway, to sum up: “luck” is a big player, however, with “hard work and a kick-ass attitude”, you definitely get to swing the odds in your favour. Kinda reminds me of the cliché Gary Player quote (double check me on that, I *think* it was him): “The more I practise, the luckier I get.” (In response to some spectator saying a particular shot was very “lucky”.)
22/07/2008 at 12:29 pm
It seems to me that the harder you work, the luckier you become. I tend to agree.
22/07/2008 at 2:02 pm
Blade - A Gary Player quote I believe. I guess it comes down to mindset then. Loved your blog by the way…great for giggles.