"Luck is when preparation and opportunity meet." That's a quote from Pierre Trudeau. He was a long-time Prime Minister of Canada. If you don't know him, his personal motto was "Reason before passion". It is the rare individual who will admit that reason and logic should rule the roost.
Getting back to his quote, I think he is right for the most part. Sure, you will have the odd time when someone will win a lottery or a raffle that will make them a millionaire. And given the odds of winning those things, you would think that luck is something else entirely. But for the most part, the luckiest people you know are those who are in some way prepared to take advantage of opportunities that they are actively looking for. Here's a good example, In 2014, I was in a tough situation. My business was stalled and I was beginning to look for a job, or a new line of business. The problem was that I needed to work from home since my wife had died a year earlier and I had two young girls that I was raising on my own. I was also home schooling my daughters. With that in mind, I had a group of my closest friends come over to the house to go fishing. Although we are all busy and have families, we try to get together every once in a while to fish. Although I invited all of them over to fish, we had a lot of time to talk as well. While talking, I found out that a company I used to work for was looking for analysts to work from home. I immediately told my friend I would send him a resume to put in for me. To make a long story short, I was back working at my old firm within two weeks, from home in New Hampshire. Was it luck? Yes, to some extent it was. I was prepared to find a new job and I recognized the opportunity that was presented to me. I acted immediately once I heard about the opportunity. I still knew about twenty people at my old firm and they all vouched for my work ethic. In this instance, my "luck" was the point where preparation and opportunity met. I have another friend now who is looking for a similar opportunity. I spoke with him just before Christmas. I told him about where I was working and what I was doing and he seemed interested. An analyst had just been fired at my firm and there was an opening. Instead of putting in a resume right away to see if he could get the position, he decided to wait. He wanted to see if he could lose some weight first. "Maybe in the spring" he said. I have no doubt that if my friend puts in a resume, he will have a good chance of getting a position.. if a spot is available. That is the risk. When I told him about it, there was a spot available. When he is ready to put a resume in, there may not be. In other words, my friend saw an opportunity, but was not prepared to act on it. Very few people knew that we had lost an analyst that week. Because he used to work at the company, and still knew people there, he likely would have been a shoe in for a position. If he does put in a resume in the future, he will still have those connections, but what he might not have is an open position to fill. Preparation and opportunity. They are crucial for creating your own luck.
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