Luck Is For The Lottery…
Not Success
As a kid I have very vivid memories of my life in a divorced home where both parents struggled financially.
It sucked, I am not going to sugar coat it.
We flat out struggled and unfortunately, I felt that on a regular basis, even as a child.
I would dread the weekends I would spend at my dads, not because of him or our relationship…but because of where and how we lived.
I was excited to make new friends and hang out with them. But, I remained guarded of any relationship I created.
Why?
Because I was embarrassed of the trailer we lived in.
I dreaded the moment playing with my buddies when they asked to come over and play at my house. My house, the one on wheels with the floor rotting out.
Yeah, it sucked and it sucked bad.
Or the time my sister and I went out to eat at Hardee’s with my father.
Eating out was something we NEVER did, we simply did not have the money to spend in that manner.
I recall like it was yesterday, some 30 years later, standing in line ordering.
My father went first and ordered an adult value meal.
My sister and I, unsure of what we wanted simply told the cashier we would each do the same meal.
My dad, instantly got angry. Huffed around at the total and then changed the order for us. Why?
…because that order was over $10 and that was all he had to eat on that particular night.
We sat at the table in silence.
He was angry, and we were sad and ashamed we had done something wrong.
Looking back I know it was simply one of those moments in time that should have been simple and quaint.
Instead, it sticks in my heart as if it were yesterday.
Something I will never let my children feel.
I want to take a pause and be clear about something important to me here…
I believe my parents did the best the could with what the knew how to do.
We live and learn in this life and certainly looking back, I see things similarly, but also with a very different understanding now.
These comments above are my life, my feelings, my emotions.
They are in no way intended to demean those who gave me life.
Having said all that, I find it interesting, the memories I still have of how dedicated my father was to making sure he bought his “numbers” each and every week.
We had no money for ice cream, but you can bet your backside he would have $20 worth of lottery tickets.
“Maybe this will be our lucky week” I can recall him saying, “we are due.”
That was an interesting twist on the notion of luck: completely in the hand of chance and at the expense of what seemed could have been an investment toward compound interest.
Even as a child I thought this was confusing and off center.
Now as an adult who enjoys financial success, I see very clearly the failure in this lottery mentality.
For me, luck has nothing to do with success or becoming wealthy.
When I reflect on this with clear thoughts, I find that EVERY successful person I know, all ignore what 97% of the population focuses on: “Luck”.
Successful people throw the concept of luck right out the window and I believe strongly that the only real luck that exists, is the “luck” successful people already had planned.
Long before that “luck” appeared, successful people had began laying a plan, started working on that plan, stayed focused on that plan, adapted to changes to that plan, re-evaluated that plan, and NEVER gambled on the concept of luck.
Successful people ignore luck for the following reasons:
You cannot learn it or plan it “Luck” is not something tangible that you can study for or that some experience will help you achieve.
Since you cannot “learn” luck, it does not come with the same type of reward as with working to earn a degree or start a successful business.
Those are experiences that move you forward with satisfaction and fulfillment; “luck” is just something people wait around on that yields an outcome void of achievement.
You cannot trust or control it.
Luck is sexy to people who are looking for a quick fix — it’s that brilliant moment when you finally cash in on something you believe was always right around the corner.
The problem with this is when reality sets it.
Luck is absent of control or predictability.
Luck is in fact, completely random.
Successful people know that their success came from a series of very intentional daily steps that paid off over time.
The “Slight Edge” is a great book that demonstrates how this can work in your life.
Luck is based on the notion that the cosmos will eventually grace you with good fortune and let’s be real, it likely never will!
You are certainly not entitled to it.
Why on earth do some believe they are due good luck and at that, why is bad luck so easily accepted as a counter balance?
Luck is never one sided.
I guarantee that bad luck will find you just as easily as good luck.
It must, if the universe is to stay in balance, right? If we have some sort of bad luck then we are certainly entitled to some sort of good luck.
Blah blah….
The fact is, we can control our behavior when things go wrong, or when things go right but we cannot control WHAT is happening to us.
Or can we?
Successful people sure seem to be due an exponential amount of bad luck, yet good luck appears to show up.
What does this say?
Well, I argue that there is no entitlement to luck whether it be good or bad.
Nothing is in fact “due” to you and that you have a great deal of control over what happens to you.
Is it bad luck that you went for a walk and got rained on or was it poor planning that you when for a walk on a cloudy day with thunder on the horizon and left your umbrella at home.
In the end, living life on luck steals your confidence and belief that you will find your own way on your own path you choose to create.
A more proven strategy for success is to set a plan, work hard, own your choices, and keep moving forward.
Luck has zero to do with that!
The harder you work, the luckier you get! 🙂
How have you made your own luck?
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