Inspiration

The Secret of Luck

Create it for yourself!

What does being lucky mean to you? If there was a way you could increase your luck, would you want to know about it? It’s not as difficult as you might think.

Learning the secret to becoming lucky is simple. Sure, it takes effort, but when did anything good ever come easy? Get ready to become a very lucky person!

What is luck

Whenever I think about the word “luck,” an old line from a Dirty Harry movie starring Clint Eastwood pops into my head. In it, Harry asks the guy he’s pointing his .44 magnum at to ask himself, “Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?” (see video here) Fortunately, that is not the kind of luck we are discussing!

Unless we stop to think about it, most of us fail to realize how lucky we are. Can you imagine being born at any other time in history? We have more available today than our ancestors could even dream of. So many conveniences and mobility, with virtually unlimited information available at our fingertips! Much of what we take for granted today was inconceivable only a century ago.

Some of us are old enough to remember the original Dick Tracy comics. One of Tracy’s most recognizable icons was the two-way wrist radio. In the ’60s, he upgraded to a two-way wrist TV! Such devices represented serious science fiction back then. Today, we can not only wear a telephone on our wrist; it has far more computational power than the computers that took man to the moon and back! While two-way video in a wristwatch form factor may not be in vogue today, it is entirely possible.

The big question to answer is, how did all of these advances in the world happen? We may be lucky to enjoy them, but realists know where they came from. The only luck involved in what we have today came from those who created their luck. Our current status may seem lucky, but it didn’t happen accidentally.

Opportunity

At the root of what we consider luck is something called opportunity. Had our ancestors not had opportunities to dream and create new things, life would be far more primitive.

What would the world be like without electricity, electric light, indoor plumbing, water, sewer, and the ability to hop in a car, bus, train, or plane and go anywhere? Then there is the abundance and variety of food and the convenience of having almost anything online delivered to our door within a day or two. We take so many things for granted we can hardly imagine life without them.

Did you know that opportunities usually come from difficulties and obstacles?

“An obstacle is often an unrecognized opportunity” Robert South (1634–1716)

The obstacles and difficulties humanity faced in the past presented countless opportunities. As so well stated by a great British statesman:

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill (1874–1965)

Yes, our ancestors had plenty of opportunities, as will we in our future. So what does this have to do with luck, you ask? Plenty.

Every one of those opportunities in the past came from someone others might consider lucky.

Thomas Edison was lucky enough to create a working lightbulb with power plants and wiring to make them work. He was also lucky enough to create the phonograph, motion pictures, and hundreds of other things.

Henry Ford was lucky enough to create the moving assembly line, allowing him to produce large quantities of automobiles inexpensively for the masses.

Alexander Graham Bell was lucky enough to create the first practical telephone.

The Wright brothers were lucky to be the first to create and fly a powered aircraft.

Many others were lucky enough to invent and create much of what we have today. But what did all these people need to do before making what they did from the obstacles and difficulties they faced? They had to prepare!

Preparation

Without some preparation, you would miss opportunities when they show up because you would not see, much less understand them. Being blind to the opportunities, you will miss the “luck” they could bring.

In some ways, western society spoils us. Too many skip preparing because they take so much for granted. In other words, many of us have it too easy.

In Western society, we expect no less than clean water, shelter, and food. These things make the poorest in first-world countries rich compared to almost anyone who lived only a century ago. Yet, some of these basics are still nonexistent in some parts of the world.

How did we get to be so “lucky”? It was certainly not by accident, especially in the past century. This “luck” resulted from the willingness and ability of people to prepare for the opportunities that came into existence. It was their effort, what they had learned and experienced, and how they thought that allowed them to see the possibilities.

Without preparation, opportunities would have passed them by.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas A. Edison (1847–1931)

An illustration of this today is when someone is deemed “lucky.” You can bet they invested in themselves by preparing, often for many years. They spent the necessary time, effort, and attention required. They leveraged their learning ability and likely had a positive outlook and an open mindset. All this resulted in the ability to recognize opportunities the unprepared could not see.

Here is the secret formula for becoming lucky:

Preparation + Opportunity = Luck!

Did you know this formula is 2,000 years old? A well-known ancient philosopher stated:

“Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity.” Seneca (4 BC — 65 AD)

Final thoughts

Some of the greatest opportunities in the world show up during the most challenging times. Yet, in reality, opportunities exist around us all the time. We must only develop the ability to see them through preparation.

It is up to you to prepare for the opportunities you will find in life. Heed this advice from the gentleman who founded Success Magazine in 1897:

“Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.” Orison Swett Marden (1848–1924)

What preparation are you currently doing so you can create a future filled with “luck”?

BillAbbate| LinkedIn |Twitter| Medium| Facebook| AmazonAuthorPage | NewsBreak | Truth

Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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