“If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.”
That’s paraphrasing a lyric from a song, titled “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me,” made popular on the TV show “Hee Haw.”
We’ve often thought of those who have made it in their lives as “lucky.” By extension, we’ve regarded those who are struggling as “unlucky.”
We certainly have things happen to us that we can’t control. Some are good. Some are bad. We always hope that we can cherish the good in our lives, and overcome the bad.
But as TV star and successful businesswoman Oprah Winfrey has said, “Luck is a matter or preparation meeting opportunity.”
Most successful people view themselves as lucky. Yet their luck did not come by accident. It came from the wisdom of seeing an opportunity, and the work it took to make it happen.
Some of us shy away from opportunity. We think we don’t have it in us to pursue it. Or, to put it bluntly, we don’t have the AMBITION it takes to make it happen.
Those who believe luck is an accident also believe it will never come to them. Actually, most people have enough good in their lives to consider themselves lucky, but they don’t see it. Even if an opportunity were placed in front of them, they wouldn’t see it. They don’t want it badly enough to see it.
But let’s break down Winfrey’s statement: how does one “prepare” for luck? Preparation starts with a dream. Dreams start when “realism” is suspended. We all like to consider ourselves realists, but realism gets in the way of dreams.
After one establishes a dream, one needs the desire to make it happen. Such dreamers have just enough realism to know that their dreams may not come overnight. They also know that they will need to work to make it happen.
In short, a dream, plus the desire to make it happen, is preparation for luck.
Then comes opportunity. The preparation for luck allows a person to KNOW an opportunity when he sees it. He is constantly looking for the opportunity, and the power of his dream will allow him to eventually find it.
How does he find opportunity? He looks for it. He meets people. He finds out how they became successful. He determines whether the vehicle other people have used would work for him. If so, he goes for it.
Since he knows he will have to work, he is just looking for the vehicle for his efforts. There are many such vehicles out there. To check out one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. It may or may not be the vehicle you are looking for, but if you have the dream and the desire, it just might work for you.
When you’ve prepared to meet opportunity, know that success may not come quickly, or without setbacks. You’ll meet some pitfalls on your journey to success. You might even have to see less of your friends who sing, in one form or another, “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me.”
So if your dream is big enough, and your drive is strong enough, you have sufficiently prepared to be lucky. You will know enough, despite how little or much education you’ve had, to look for a good opportunity, and to recognize it when you find it.
Best of luck to you!
Peter