Hello there, this is the 12th essay that I've written for you right here on Steemit and I believe you will really like this one. I will talk to you about how to become a person that attracts luck in spades, although fair warning - you may not read what you expect. Enjoy!
I have a very weird relationship with luck. On the one hand, I like it a lot as a servant or as a helper to my goals. On the other hand, I really detest people who use luck as an excuse. Excuses are the impediment of intelligent action, or any kind of action for that matter.
The concept of luck can be used as a scapegoat in many different ways. When we see someone else getting their due, people often attribute it to luck. When our rivals surpass us, we assume luck was on their side and not ours. Or if we don't believe in our projects (and ourselves) we can do nothing and if someone asks, we'll just tell them that we're not lucky so it probably wouldn't work anyway.
Pure, uncut, unadulterated bullshit.
Engaging in the kind of behaviors I'm mentioning is dangerous for two reasons. First of all, if we believe that luck is the be-all end-all of success, we're not going to approach success correctly. Lack of planning and action will be masqueraded with excuses and lamentations. But there's another even more toxic consequence. If we attribute to luck what should be attributed to skill, expertise and intelligent action, we're basically rejecting so-called "lucky" events from our lives.
We cannot aspire to obtain what we resent. Behind every "he/she just got lucky" sentence that comes out of someone's mouth there's a hint of resentment. "Why did that lucky break happen to that person and not me?" is one of the many private conversations that follow this line of thinking. As we cover ourselves in envy and blurt out what we think of the "luck" that the person getting attention has, we push ourselves away from ever being in their position.
I'm not saying that you should compare your achievements to anybody else's. On the contrary, I think this is one of the few instances when self-obsession actually acts as leverage. Being fixated on yourself and what you do as you become better at it as opposed to your competition is a very smart thing to do.
At the same time, you will inevitably hear about other people's good fortune. That's good. You should be happy for them. Genuinely happy and if you have any lamentations regarding the situation, they should be about why they didn't get even a bigger break.
Anybody who has ever gotten "lucky" knows this simple truth: you cannot have, much more less retain what you despise. Seeing success, wealth and generally positive events with the assumption of luck playing a part is misleading at best and self-prohibiting at worst.
Luck also implies immediacy, which is very rarely actually present in positive event like the ones I talk about. Let's say you do get a big strike of luck and you win the lottery. You probably think that you'd be set for life, right?
But are you?
If you hit it big and have a mindset that's based on luck in order to achieve success or financial wealth, you are very unlikely to stay successful or wealthy. Why? Because you wouldn't know how to handle it! You don't have a solid foundation that can sustain your newly-found fortune, which prevents you from using and managing it properly.
In fact, these kinds of toxic mindsets revolving around luck are so prevalent that, on average, lottery winners will be back to their previous financial status or even go broke within 5 years of having won. This would potentially make those people look dumb, but I'd contend that it's not stupidity that gets in their way. It's lack of preparation.
Making your own luck is entirely possible. Even if external events might be seemingly hindering for your progress, any and all of them can be used in your favor in one way or another.
The more you go out there and try to realize your wealth vision and the more you take on intelligent risks, the luckier you'll get. It's simple mathematics, you will have better odds of being successful the more you engage on action. The more experience you gain, the less you have to depend on lucky breaks.
The reason I don't like luck as a component of success is because it is not reliable. You can never count on getting lucky in your particular endeavor, because you can't be sure that it will happen. You can only rely on your own efforts. The good news is that, as you get more and more experience within your field, the bigger a picture you'll be able to see, which minimizes the need for luck.
Surprising events are a part of life and nature, you have to accept that. But it does not mean you get a free pass to not do anything towards your goals. It only means that you have to prepare yourself in such a capacity that a surprising event doesn't affect your core objective in a negative way.
Now, I'm not talking about being afraid of success. A concept which I believe to be real, but not relevant to the topic of luck. Planning should not serve an expression of fear, only as an expression of intelligence. Arm yourself with knowledge and resources to take on whatever comes your way. Good things that you don't expect will happen, as well as bad things. Be prepared for both.
Something interesting will happen as your mindset changes to that of a wealthy person. You will begin to notice how luck as a concept begins to become foreign slowly and steadily. Being wealthy requires accountability and accountability dissipates luck out of the equation.
No longer will you accept luck or a lack thereof as an excuse for sloth. If your goals require patience, be patient with them. If they require swift action, be prepare to do your planning and go to war. Luck, after all, lacks morality and if you are prepared for it or, even better, actively acting upon it, you have little choice but to be successful.
TL;DR:
- Envy and gratitude cannot exist in the same space. Bless what you want to see in your own life, whatever that might be.
- When you see other people getting "lucky" do a little bit of research and consider what it took for them to get there.
- Be accountable and take luck out of your success equation.
Thank you SO MUCH for reading this all the way through. I'd be thrilled if you could help me out by following me and/or if you could spare 2 minutes to share what your thoughts on my piece are... I'll love you forever!
Previous Essays On Money:
- The Essence of Abundance: https://steemit.com/life/@bnt/bnt-report-1-the-essence-of-abundance
- Frugality Is Overrated: https://steemit.com/life/@bnt/bnt-on-money-2-frugality-is-overrated
- Experimenting Your Way To Riches: https://steemit.com/money/@bnt/bnt-on-money-3-experimenting-your-way-to-riches
- Greed Is Moronic: https://steemit.com/money/@bnt/bnt-on-money-4-greed-is-moronic
- Poverty Is A Mental Disease: https://steemit.com/money/@bnt/bnt-on-money-5-poverty-is-a-mental-disease
- Become An Adept Adapter: https://steemit.com/money/@bnt/bnt-on-money-6-become-an-adept-adapter
- Who Are You Gonna Work For?: https://steemit.com/money/@bnt/bnt-on-money-7-who-are-you-gonna-work-for
- A Father Provides: https://steemit.com/fathersday/@bnt/bnt-on-money-8-a-father-provides-father-s-day-special
- Opportunity Comes A-Knockin' (Pt. I): https://steemit.com/money/@bnt/bnt-on-money-9-opportunity-comes-a-knockin-pt-i
- Opportunity Comes A-Knockin' (Pt. II): https://steemit.com/money/@bnt/bnt-on-money-9-opportunity-comes-a-knockin-pt-ii-first-post-after-hf19
- Getting Your Time Back:
https://steemit.com/money/@bnt/getting-your-time-back-or-or-bnt-on-money-11