"Believer in Luck" from Sacred and Profane - click for info
A few days ago, I was with a friend of mine at a conference and we were talking about our lives and our careers. Eventually, towards the end of our conversation, I said something about how I felt lucky to be able to do something I love full-time, especially since I realized that not everyone has that luxury.
But the real word I was searching for was ‘grateful,’ not ‘lucky.’
So I quickly corrected myself, and we moved on to some other topic; but as I was sitting there, I realized something.
Often times people, myself included, get luck confused with something entirely different.
Has that ever happened to you?
Is it just easier for us to identify our successes as luck as opposed to the results of hard work and dedication? And if so, why?
Well, I don’t have an answer for why we do this, but I do know one thing. For the large majority of us, the following is true…
Things happen because you make them happen.
You don’t wait for someone else to stroll across your blog and website. You go to them. You work for it. And you deserve the credit, not luck.
And when someone seeks you out ‘on their own’ it may seem entirely random. And sure, you’ll think that luck is on your side when an editor approaches you about being featured in their magazine. But is it really all that random? How much luck is truly involved here?
After all, you are working hard day after day, getting your name out there, and producing something of value. So naturally, you are going to start drawing a crowd, and not just any crowd – a crowd that will tell their friends about you and share your articles and products. And that is how your success starts to spread – through tweets and blog mentions and emails and Facebook shares.
It may seem random at first, but when you stop to think about the bigger picture, it’s actually a lot more intentional and a lot less ‘lucky.’ Don’t you think?
This article is not the end of the conversation. It’s just the beginning. So it is time to share your thoughts…
What is your opinion on luck?
Leave your response in the comments below.
Brittni Mehlhoff is the editor of the 
i think of lucky as something like be on the right place in the right time. Because, we, sometimes, don’t expect know someone who has a large people, business, contact, etc web with us but we would never know if we don’t have a friend in commom (wich doesn’t work in our area). Maybe there’s a chance of lucky, but you must deserve and work on it.
i’m sorry for my english, i’m a brazilian designer, trying to use your ideas to have success in my country
really loved waking up and reading your post this morning. i feel lucky and grateful. but reading this made me breath deep with a thank you to myself.
thank you for the inspiration!
-juliette
I agree with Thomas Jefferson – “luck” is the result of hard work. We create our opportunities through our actions and our intentions. Even though it may be hard to trace our “lucky break” back to a specific thing we did, I believe that each action we take towards a goal goes into our “luck bucket” and when that bucket is filled up, the Universe delivers serendipitous events that align with our intentions.
SO … Work hard. Get lucky.
PS – Loved discovering Juliette Crane’s artwork (from the comment above) … just pinned some of her pieces to my Pinterest boards – beautiful!
I completely agree on this one Brittni, and sometimes it the random things that happen and I wonder why the heck did that come into my life? Distractions happen so much more than ‘luck’ that I’ve realized that when I set out on a certain path its inevitable that I would find myself surrounded by others on the same path (maybe a little further ahead, maybe a little bit behind – but all there).
Maybe the only kind of luck there is is bad luck, the kind when you wake up wondering why? But then again it could just be God’s way of saying ‘you don’t belong here – go back to following your dreams.’
thanks for sharing this one – and I am grateful to have connected with you
I don’t believe in luck but I believe in blessings. And I absolutely agree with the article – working at it encourages returns.
For me, Branch Rickey of Major League Baseball fame sums it all up with his quote: “Luck is the residue of design.”
Luck is something that is completely unexpected and not something you plan for. You are right. A lot of things that have happened to me, is because of the work I put in and made genuine connections.
Its funny how we attribute everything to luck.
I always say: “luck is half preparation and half opportunity.”
If you’re not ready to deliver, you can’t take advantage of opportunities.
If you work hard you’re halfway there. Just keep working and you’ll bring the opportunity to you!
Brittini – Thank you for this great reminder. My husband and I took a year off to travel some years ago. People always commented that we were so lucky – but there was no real luck about it. We worked hard to save the money, and we took the risk of jumping off for a year. It was a very meaningful year and I am grateful we took the time and opportunity to do it!
Your post (and tweet about it) made me write about my feelings on the matter…. http://www.rockandpurl.com/blog/2012/01/24/luck-determination-hard-work/
Thanks for inspiring my blog today!
I love this post so much and agree 100%….I think alot of people think some people are soo lucky but they don’t see all the hard work going on behind the scenes!!
[...] Do you believe in luck? Or do you believe that things happen because you make them happen? [...]