A Post a Day in May #29: Who is lucky?

I have pledged to write a new post for this blog every day in May. 

“I was born into freedom,” I said one Sunday morning on the way to a fancy fundraising brunch with some friends. “I was born into a stable family with parents who loved me unconditionally.” 

No one can be more lucky than that. 

Photo by m wrona on Unsplash

All my good fortune and privilege in this life arises from that solid start. It is the springboard from which I have launched fun and work, that catapulted me into friendships and adventures, and that gave me a boost every time I started a new school or a new job. My feet were on solid emotional ground, enabling my heart and head to take on challenges, face risks, and overcome obstacles. 

So when I hear someone described as “so lucky”, I wonder what their start in life was and how secure the springboard is from which they launch themselves into the world. 

Recently, on the Jungle Red Writers blog that I follow, the discussion centred on the connection between luck and opportunity. The author was describing how she found the agent with whom she signed her first book deal — the short version is that within less than 24 hours of sending her manuscript to the agent, the agent had called asking to represent the writer. In the book world, that is near-miraculous. 

But, of course, that “stroke of luck” did not come out of thin air. It arose out of hard work, steady preparation, and steely-eyed determination to write the best possible manuscript and shop it to the right agent. The author’s father had raised her on the mantra Success = Luck + Preparation + Opportunity. The story of her super speedy first book deal could be explained as pure luck, but that would be neither the true story nor the full story. 

For me, one of the blog’s regular commenters added an important additional element to the writer’s mantra, when she said, “We must be ready to see the openings” in front of us. And I agree. 

When opportunity knocks, we must be ready to hear it. Have the wisdom to see that opportunity as an opening not to waste — as the door to walk through, the move to make, the risk to take. 

Photo by Yan Ming on Unsplash

I’ve put it all together and have as my mantra, “Luck happens when preparation and determination meet opportunity. Eyes open to see what is in front of me as an opening not to waste.” 

No matter how it’s phrased, “luck” can happen to each of us if our vision is clear, our goal is known, and our plan is sound. Then, when it all comes together and people say, “Oh, how lucky you are,” you can leave them their delusion, for you know just what it took to make that luck happen. 

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