Does luck have anything to do with success?

Question

It has as much to do as hard work.

As much as determination.

As much as ability to align with successful people.

As much as attitude.

As much as the right opportunity.

As much as knowledge.

As much as perseverance.

As much as all the things that you tend to control and encounter on a daily bases.

Yet luck maybe the secret weapon that has the ability to literally change everything. The ability to take you several levels higher. The ability to go from nothing to Everything.

One thing about luck is you never know when it will hit, how it will show up, or in what form it will appear.

So here’s the best way I have been able to put my hands on how to achieve luck and be the benefactor. You simply have to be around when it hits. You have to keep on battling, keep on being present, and keep on keeping on.

To Good Luck!

Bob Stevens · Answer

NO, its amazing how lucky I get the harder I work,

All the best

Account Closed · Answer

My favorite author is Michael Lewis, who wrote "The Big Short" and "Moneyball" among other great reads.  He described Scott Hatteberg's approach to hitting in "Moneyball" and how Hatteberg showed discipline at the plate, only swinging at pitches he knew he could hit well.

I took this as a metaphor for RE investing.  I know what my "strike zone" is.  I've made enough mistakes going through a learning curve to know which pitches, or deals so to speak, to swing at.

The hard part was learning which deals to NOT swing at.  That discipline applies in MLB hitters and real estate alike.  I think that's a lot of what luck is: Being in the right frame of mind, at the right time when a deal is just too good to pass up.

Marcus R. · Answer

Love it @Dan Thomas and completely agree!  Lucky I didn't get in a car accident on the way to work today or wake up with an incurable terminal illness...

Don't kid yourself, a lot of us have worked very hard but have also been very lucky and blessed along the way.

Dan Thomas · Answer

@James Hamling

Not sure I agree. Luck can be you're circumstance. I was lucky to be born in the USA vs a third world War torn nation. I was lucky to be born healthy and able minded vs the alternative. I was lucky to attend college (I certainly didn't deserve it or work hard for it). I was lucky to have loving parents who taught

me ethics, morals, and the value of Hard work.

Your circumstance (luck) has a huge impact on you're probability of success. Those born into unlucky circumstances can certainly be successful but they must work much harder to overcome. That being said those born into lucky circumstances can, and do, blow it.

Luck certainly has a significant impact on the foundation of success but hardwork is what gets you there.

Shawn Parsh · Answer

I've always found that preparation, hard work, and most importantly taking Action are the keys to luck. Opportunities are all around we just have to be ready to act on them when they present themselves. I've often heard that preparation (education) meeting opportunity equals success, but I disagree. I think it just results in smart people watching things happen. It takes action to be successful.

Zach Schaphorst · Answer

There's always going to be things outside your control that help or hurt your results, that's 'luck' to me. To the point of the OP, a big part of success is studying other successful people, consistenly doing all you can to learn from them and develop the habits that help those people and then often it's having the patience and fortitude to last long enough for your 'lucky break/s' to come. How much of the end result is 'luck' vs 'doing the right things' depends on the eye of the beholder, you can tell the exact same story to two people with different worldviews and have get completely different interpretations of what led to that success.

Eric Goldman · Answer

LUCK. (Labor under correct knowledge). you can make your own luck by doing the right things.

Jeremy Horton · Answer

Thomas Jefferson "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."

I think the point here is that working hard and being consistent CAN increase the likelihood of success. And at the exact same time being "lucky" CAN also increase the likelihood of success.

I mean just off the top: the situation you were born into, the spouse you meet, their family, your family, your health, the connections made available to you etc - there are literally TONS of circumstances that contribute to success that have nothing to do with hard work.

I'm not so naive that I'm going to sit here and act like luck has nothing to do with success

Linda S. · Answer

When we started 2016 investing in a low-income area-- everyone called us "naive" and "crazy" and thought we were idiots.   I just always believed that everyone needs a home, maybe not the fanciest or ritziest area, but a solid, safe, livable, and clean place to call home.

Now that the area is turning around and flippers are there, everyone says we were "lucky" to have jumped in when we did.     IMO it's not luck, it's risk assessment.   It was a very high-risk time when no one else wanted to touch the area.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

You can't just sit around and wait for luck to arrive though, because it never will.....

Like @Bob Stevens said....'the harder I work, the luckier I get'

Does luck have anything to do with success?

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