Monday, November 2, 2009

With a little luck...

I was discussing the notion of "luck" with some friends the other day. There are those who feel the good things that happen to us are a matter of hard work, perseverance, a positive attitude, etc., and those who feel it's simply a matter of good luck. I know Oprah thinks it's the former of these two. I've heard her say so on her TV show. I know I've always been cynical about this topic.

I'd like to believe hard work, setting goals, etc. will lead to dreams coming true, but I've never experienced it myself. While Oprah can claim these things are responsible for her being who she is today, I still say that luck plays a part in it. I hold fast to the belief that many, many people work hard in life, struggling to accomplish their goals and dreams. Let's take the example of a job interview. Let's say there is a good job in a given company, perhaps a copywriter for an advertising agency. There's only one job, but 50 people respond to the ad. Obviously, the decision maker has to weed out some candidates to get to the top 3 or so. Let's say three highly qualified candidates interview for this ONE position. One person will get the job; the other 2 will not. It is my contention that the person who is hired was LUCKY. If all three are equally qualified (for purposes of this discussion), luck has to enter into it.

And some people believe that a higher power is responsible for their good fortune in life. They pray to God for help, for good luck, for better health, etc., because they believe (perhaps) that happiness, good health, and success are beyond their own control. Or at least, they believe that God can help steer them in the right direction. I have no problem with this type of belief. My point is simply that some people use prayer as a way to try to make their goals and dreams become a reality. Let's say the person who got the job in the example above had prayed to God: please let me get this job! I guess he or she would believe that God heard that prayer and granted it.

But what if all three had said the same prayer? Two would be feeling a little let down.

So what do you think? Are some people in this world just luckier than others? Are some people doomed to fail over and over again but they never really know why? Does hard work pay off eventually for everybody? Is there some master plan for all of us in life, but it just takes some of us longer than others to figure out what that is?

What do you think?


5 comments:

  1. Kathy, very interesting questions. In a general sense I think that the harder you work at something the more likely it is that you'll experience some luck but there are no guarantees.

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  2. I think luck, hard work, and a higher power all play a part in our good fortunes. We just have to hope they all work together. :) Love the new layout by the way.

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  3. Paul: Yes, that's right. No guarantees.

    Susan: I guess it is all of those things. Thanks. I wanted to move things around. Changing my blog is like changing my rooms around!

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  4. I believe that what we sow is what we reap in life. Some people are more successful than others not because of being more skilled or talented, but because their merits tend to bring good fortune to them. What we have done in the course of our life in terms of giving or being unselfish would likely yield good returns eventually.

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  5. I don't like to give luck too much credence. Persistence. That's what I think will do the trick. Quality of work too, but that follows persistence.

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