Sheer Luck

When things are going well, you forget all about luck.

You forget the role it has inevitably played in your good fortune. You ascribe your success to your efforts and your efforts alone. The fact that you prospered is sheer, Newtonian, cause and effect. It is evidence, clear as day, that you have worked bloody hard. Whatever you have reaped, you have sown it yourself. Well done, you. You deserve it. Clearly.

But then… I have a question. If what you say is true, and if luck played no role whatsoever in your climb to the top, then… what about all the people around the world who aren’t as successful as you?

They must not have worked as hard, right? They must be a bit lazy, right? They must not have wanted it as much, right? They must not have deserved it, right?

Luck matters. Don’t pretend it doesn’t. And most of all, don’t take personal credit for what sheer luck has bestowed you with.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.