Are You Lucky?

Or does it seem like others around you have more luck and are more successful than you?
Your neighbor just got a new job – he was ‘lucky’.
Your peer just got a promotion – she was ‘lucky’.
Are they 'just lucky’?  

Brian Tracy says that perhaps what you are calling ‘luck’, is really just preparation, setting goals and making the commitment to achieve those goals.  Many times what we see is the result.  We are unaware of the effort that went into getting that result.  We may not have seen the late night hours, the night school, the evenings reading instead watching TV, etc.  We don't always see the sacrifices that people make in order to be successful or ‘lucky’. 

Yes, there are some people who are ‘lucky’ and get things they may not deserve.  But I believe these cases are a minority in the overall big picture.  Most people must earn what they get by creating their own luck.

Most people who are successful have a plan.  They have set goals for their career, their health and their wealth.

Do you have a plan?  I once read that ‘if you do not have plan for your life, you will end up in someone else’s plan’.  Then you will be calling them ‘lucky’.  

How do you prepare for success?  Did you ‘finish’ school?  Have you already learned everything you need to know?  W. Edwards Deming says that ‘learning is not compulsory…. neither is survival’.  How long has it been since you upgraded your skills by attending training classes or reading books & magazines on your field?  If you are ‘lucky’ enough to work for a company that provides training, be sure you take every opportunity to learn new skills and polish your old skills.  If your company does not provide these opportunities, or does not provide the training you need/want for your career, you must get this training on your own, and ‘on your own time’.  Now that calls for commitment!  

The people you see as 'lucky' are making a commitment.  If you make a commitment, you may be ‘lucky’ too!

- Joe Freeman

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