One of the worst things that can happen to somebody is extreme and unexpected luck.
To be sure, getting “lucky” comes in all forms of sizes, shapes, and forms.
It can be congruent with something you’re trying to do, or it could come completely out of left field.
There’s “good” kinds of luck, and “bad” kinds of luck. And how you respond to the luck can affect your ability to be open to future luck.
Say you’re looking for a job. You have your skills nailed down, you have practiced talking about yourself, so you can do well in interviews, and you happen to be carrying around a bunch of resumes with you wherever you go, just in case.
You happen to be waiting somewhere, maybe at the post office or in an elevator, and you overhear somebody talking about how they or their company wants to hire somebody.
With JUST your qualifications.
“Luckily,” you happen to have everything you need to make an impression right there on the spot. You politely introduce yourself, give a quick sales pitch for your skills, and hand over a resume. Couple weeks later, you’re gainfully employed, using your skills and making some good money.
Were you “lucky,” or were you “prepared”?
Take a look at another situation. You’re unemployed, and you’re not really trying. You kind of glance at the want ads, and some things look good, and some things don’t.
You find a dollar on the ground, and buy a lottery ticket. You scratch if off, and find you’ve won $25,000.
Suddenly, your desire to find a job has just vanished.
Were you lucky? Maybe. In the short term, you’re feeling pretty good. But as you can likely guess, you’d burn through that cash pretty quick, and when you were near broke, not only are you back where you started, but there’s an even bigger gap in your resume.
Which of these characters was more “lucky?” The one who’s definition of “luck” is “preparation meeting opportunity,” or the more “traditional” definition of luck, which is finding a sudden windfall.
Clearly, the luck you have a hand in “creating” is generally the kind of luck that is completely independent of your previous actions, behavior and development.
Funny thing about luck is that the more focused on you are on any one specific goal, (finding a job in the above case) the more “lucky” you’ll get, and the less dependent you’ll be on random forces of nature.
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