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When I was just an interviewer at a market research company and I got promoted to supervisor, I heard my co-workers whisper, “She’s so lucky!”
And throughout the next 6 years when I was promoted 5 more times I heard the same thing.
When the office I worked in closed down and I was offered a higher paying job with benefits and fabulous hours only 3 days later (without even putting in a resume) lots of people told me I was so lucky.
When I quit my job to work for myself full time people in real life and online line repeated that thought: “You’re so lucky”!
And when I was in university and aced all my essay exams fellow students thought that luck had something to do with that.
I AM NOT LUCKY!
I get upset when people call me lucky because to insinuate that luck has anything to do with the successes I’ve had is to ignore the fact that I’ve worked so hard to achieve those things.
According to Dictionary.com luck is:
–noun
1. the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person’s life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I’ll probably get pneumonia.
2. good fortune; advantage or success, considered as the result of chance: He had no luck finding work.
3. a combination of circumstances, events, etc., operating by chance to bring good or ill to a person: She’s had nothing but bad luck all year.
4. some object on which good fortune is supposed to depend: This rabbit’s foot is my luck.
Do you notice some of the key words there? Chance, a force, circumstances.
Luck is what happens when you get a job because you know someone, even though you don’t have the skills to do the job yet. Luck is what happens when you put no work into an essay exam and still ace it. Luck is what happens when they pull your name out of a hat to decide who gets the promotion.
I did not use luck to achieve my successes.
- I had a good work ethic.
- I made it clear that I had goals and wanted to reach them.
- I spent time thinking about how to reach them.
- I studied.
- I made it a point to learn how to write an essay exam properly.
- I networked.
- I displayed skills, knowledge, and thinking abilities.
My abilities are what helped me reach the successes I have had.
Yes, I do sit on the computer playing Farmville and laughing at LOL cats some nights. But a lot of my “non-working” time online is spent learning things. It is spent asking questions, finding sites that can help me, making connections with people that I can learn from. I’m not “working” but I’m working at being more prepared to work.
Luck is something that is out there in the universe – I do believe that.
But calling someone lucky when their successes are a direct result of their hard work is just rude.
So, please, don’t call me lucky!
Article by Danielle
I'm a social media junkie and professional freelance writer living in small town Manitoba, Canada. I drink a lot of coffee and love my computer (named Garcia after Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds - the ultimate girl geek!), my kids, my husband, and my cats. In 10 years I hope to be that crazy lady travelling across Canada and the States with her three cats and her loving hubby. :) If you're interested in my professional services please visit my professional writer's site to find out more about my services or check out some testimonials from some of my clients.
has written 254 awesome articles for us at The Social Freelance Writer
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: decksar
April 6, 2011 at 5:48 pm
This is interesting. I’ve worked with the “vulnerable” for about 8 years now. Mainly, they have been involved with some sort of substance abuse. Sometimes, things have gone badly for them and I used to wonder “That is just so unlucky”. I now understand that luck (or the lack of it) is created. It is down to an attitude of mind that generates an outward (I’d say spiritual) energy that is either positive or negative. Poles attract. Negative body language attracts negative experiences in the main and the reverse I believe is true also. There is just too much evidence to prove this.
Marty recently published this rocking post..Life is too short
I used to look at it as luck. I used to be a factory worker who’d sit at an assembly line or a machine that spit out parts for 8 – 10 hours a day. When I got my first office job it was over nights at a drug and alcohol treatment center, that’s where I got to learn computer software that I know so well now. I really didn’t have anything to do, so I tried to figure out how the thing worked, and lo and behold I was pretty good at that.
I have gotten several jobs because someone knew me or someone referred me, but those referrals weren’t just because they were a friend or a former co-worker, they were because I actually am very good at what I do (sometimes I start to really believe that myself, but not too often – self worth issues, I’m working on it).
Today I was looking at jobs in the San Antonio area on company websites and thinking that I could “probably” do some of them, “maybe” do some of the others and really started to get down on myself. Then a friend pointed out that I should maybe believe in myself more and aim higher, as I had told her about a menial job that I could probably do with my eyes closed. I need to put the belief that others continue to have in me in my own head and start selling myself that way.
sorry, i’m babbling. good post Danielle
Jamez recently published this rocking post..Name of the Past
Twitter: MichelleShaeffr
April 6, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Love this post, Danielle! So many times people look around and think someone else is “lucky” because they aren’t aware of how much time and effort that person has put into getting where they are. People tell me I’m lucky I have an online business I can work from home. I always want to reply that I’m not lucky. I spent more hours than I can count teaching myself what I know and many sleepless nights working to get to where I’m at.
Michelle Shaeffer recently published this rocking post..10 Best Social Media Tips
I love this post! Luck is out there but almost always, people have to work hard to achieve their goals.
Karen recently published this rocking post..Bankrådgiveren- Huskeliste til dig der søger forbrugslån
Twitter: EffortlessEbook
April 7, 2011 at 4:28 am
Hi,
This post grabbed my attention, really. Everything you said about “your luck” is true.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, a Roman philosopher, said “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” People usually don’t notice the preparation part. That’s what happened in your case.
I believe that luck exists.
Preparation + Opportunity= Luck
But I hate when people say “you are lucky”. I think I’ll be fine if they say “you are so lucky you prepared earlier”
Take care,
Mouh
: o)
Mouh recently published this rocking post..How to Spin Article Manually With This Time Saving Free Tool
Twitter: shurleyhall
April 7, 2011 at 8:42 am
Great post, Danielle! Hard work is such a crucial part of successful freelancing that it’s wrong to dismiss it as ‘luck’.
Sharon Hurley Hall recently published this rocking post..Are You Prepared To Lose All Of Your Writing Work
Yes, I completely understand you got where you are today through hard work and tenacity. And I would never discount that. You are successful and it was not an easy endevour by any means.
However, you have been lucky to have the intellect, energy and abilities to succeed in your work, studies and writing.
I had to work hard at university too but took my ablities a little for granted. A friend from work mentioned to me “I was so lucky to be smart enough and have the opportunity to pursue a post secondary education. She said she wasn’t smart enough to do so. I have never forgotten this and was grateful that I could attend school. Maybe luck does have something to do with it.
We were blessed with the intellectual ability and drive to work hard. We cannot really know the personal struggles some have that prevent them from accomplishing something they can only dream about.
A little food for thought.
That said….you have done really well. I know you’ve worked very hard. And I admire your abilities and motivation.
Twitter: CoachNotesBlog
April 7, 2011 at 3:45 pm
Hi Danielle,
You won’t mind if I applaud here, do you? =D>
That’s for your hard work, your preparation, and your courage to tell folk, “don’t call me lucky”!
Here’s to your continued success.
Vernessa Taylor recently published this rocking post..No Hardhats Allowed – Online Project Management For The Rest of Us
Twitter: glynisj
April 7, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Andrea made an excellent point. I wish she had a way to reach her. You can be doing everything that you possibly can to make something happen the way you want it and yet it all falls apart.
Yes, Danielle, you did work hard but if those opportunities had not been there for you to grab, how far would you have gotten? The luck is in the timing of those opportunities being available to you.
Twitter: DanielleMcGaw
April 7, 2011 at 6:14 pm
First I want to thank everyone for commenting. I realize that this is a bit of a touchy subject.
Second, I want to reinforce that I do believe that there are types of bad luck and good luck in the world. But sometimes the unluckiest people are also the most successful. They are determined to overcome the bad luck and they do.
Now, yes, there is definitely just crappy luck. It is crappy luck when your child dies before you do because of some freak accident. It is crappy luck that some people are born with crippling mental diseases and their siblings get nothing. It is crappy luck when someone is shot in a robbery. It is good luck when you win the lottery or meet a manager of a business you want to work with in a random location. It is good luck when you decide to take a personal day from work on the same day that there is a fire in the building.
But I do not think my successes had to do so much with luck. If those opportunities had not been there I would have found other opportunities. If you tell yourself that you are “not smart enough” then you likely won’t have good “luck” in school. I think anyone who has the desire to do well can do so if they are determined to do it. I don’t consider myself naturally smart but I did recognize that I had some talent when it comes to writing and I developed it. If I had depended on my natural writing skills I would not have done as well with essay exams.
I think you have done an amazing job with your blog in such a short period of time. I definitely see how hard you work and believe that when you put your best work out there, you attract success in your life.
At the same time, I don’t 100% discount luck as a part of success. Maybe the word “luck” has some negative connotation to it. Maybe timing is better.
Brandi recently published this rocking post..An Easy Way to Increase Your Chances of Getting Published
Twitter: DanielleMcGaw
April 8, 2011 at 9:44 am
Thanks Brandi,
Like I said, I believe in luck. I just don’t think that luck applies to my success. Sure, you could say I was lucky to have those opportunities but it isn’t like I was sitting there waiting for them to pop up. I was out there looking for those opportunities. The thing is that the world is filled with opportunities – but most of us are so busy with life that we fail to notice opportunities when they come up or we are afraid to take them.
When people say that someone is lucky sometimes it is from jealousy. A lot of people do not understand that it takes hard work to acheive your goals. People sit back and wait for jobs or opportunities to fall into their laps. Us freelancers make our own luck by doing hard work and reaching our goals.
Twitter: DanielleMcGaw
April 8, 2011 at 9:47 am
That is another good point Vincent. Sometimes we don’t see the “luck” that is standing right in front of us. And other times it is around but we don’t recognize it because we aren’t looking past our immediate surroundings. Luck is often sitting right outside our comfort zones and we just have to step outside of those comfort zones to find the “luck” that is waiting for us.
Hi Danielle,
Sorry I didn’t mean to say your success was due to luck. I definitely believe you worked hard and deserve any success you have. I meant some people like those with 5 min of fame run into luck and timing and maybe hard work to get where they are. I just meant to say luck is sometimes part of the equation. Not all. I definitely dislike it when people tell me that I’m lucky when I worked hard too. Sorry!
Brandi recently published this rocking post..An Easy Way to Increase Your Chances of Getting Published
Twitter: DanielleMcGaw
April 8, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Not to worry Brandi. I do think that people have different definitions of luck and that’s ok.
Good luck requires a lot of hard work, doesn’t it?
I had to ponder my response to this because it brought up so much for me.
I remember when my daughter was little, she befriended a neighbor girl. The little girl was a sweetheart, but her brothers were terrors. I became acquainted with the mother, and we would sometimes take the kids on outings together.
Our parenting philosophies were in direct opposition. She did not believe in discipline, and I believed discipline should be consistent. Not harsh, but consistent.
When I refused to hide the breakables in my house because I wanted my daughter to learn to not touch things that did not belong to her, she said I was too strict.
When I would not allow my daughter to run the Mall unattended with her kids, she called me clingy.
When I insisted on meeting the parents of my daughter’s friends before allowing her to go over to their house, she said I was neurotic.
When her two boys ended up in jail, as my daughter was leaving for college, she said I was lucky to have such a child.
I know she meant it as a compliment, but I felt so insulted. Luck had nothing to do with it. Like you, it took a lot of hard work and consistent effort.
Luck happens. Success is created.
Vicki recently published this rocking post..Another Paypal Fraud Alert
Twitter: DanielleMcGaw
April 11, 2011 at 7:34 pm
thanks for sharing this Vicki – another great example of where luck has little to do with it!
What a beautiful story Vicki! You are definitely a wonderful mother and I would say your daughter is lucky to have you. But I guess it isn’t luck, it sounds like love. =)
*Loving this conversation about luck Danielle!
Brandi recently published this rocking post..The Dangers of Looking Back
Twitter: DanielleMcGaw
April 11, 2011 at 7:34 pm
It has turned out to be quite interesting hasn’t it Brandi?
Thanks, Brandi. That was sweet of you.
Vicki recently published this rocking post..Another Paypal Fraud Alert
Very much so! I’m thinking of taking off on your idea and spinning it. Thank so much for writing this post and for the conversation on an interesting topic Danielle!
Brandi recently published this rocking post..How to Deal With Online Miscommunication
I personally found this post inspiring. You explained “Luck” and hardwork in a really good way.
Cheolsu recently published this rocking post..Facebook ASCII
One definitely doesn’t achieve success without hard work, determination, and persistence. And I think these qualities can only be acquired if you put in passion for what you do. If you have passion for what you’re doing, then you gradually possess a positive attitude. Ultimately, good things happen all the time to people with positive mental attitude. And I think a lot of people confuse that with luck. You are not lucky. I think you just have a good perspective on things and in life. And that’s why you’re successful.
Twitter: DanielleMcGaw
August 1, 2011 at 4:23 pm
thanks Mark – glad you see what I’m trying to say!
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