You're so lucky

© July 2003 Tony Lawrence

Sometimes I hear that from people who know that I take four and five day weekends all summer, plus a few weeks of real vacation.

Never mind that I almost always am actually working every day of the week (weekends too) year round, and that all taking a long weekend or even a whole week means is that I'm away from my office and won't be visiting clients on site. I'm working just the same, but never mind that, because it is nice to be able to pick and choose when I work, and when we're away up here in the mountains I do take a lot of breaks and it is a lot more pleasant than working back home.

But it isn't "luck". It's hard work, and years of it, that brought me to the point where I can pick my working times and place. Yes, luck can play a role, but it's generally true that most of us make our own luck.

I'm not saying that bad luck can't ruin all your hard work. Nor am I saying that there are not people who got whatever they have purely through luck. But the saying "luck favors prepared people" is very, very true.

So, sure, I'm "lucky", or at least the bad luck I've had hasn't been bad enough to put me down for the count - at least not yet.

So to those who say "I wish I were you" or similar things, I say you can be. With just a little luck, and lots of hard work, you can get to wherever it is you want to be. You can't sit around waiting for something to fall in your lap; you need to plan, and scheme, and work toward your goal, whatever it is. You have to accept set backs as learning opportunities, shrug your shoulders and keep on trudging. Maybe you won't get there: I've had some things that came very close to putting me out of business. I struggled through them, and kept going, but it might not have turned out that way. But one thing is for sure: if I hadn't worked hard, if I hadn't kept pressing toward that goal, it never could have happened.

Make your own luck. Make it with hard work.

Got something to add? Send me email.

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