#021 – The Art of Being Lucky
The Art of Being Lucky. There are rules of luck: it is not all chance with the wise: it can be assisted by care. Some content themselves with placing themselves confidently at the gate of Fortune, waiting till she opens it. Others do better and press forward and profit by their clever boldness, reaching the goddess and winning her favor on the wings of their virtue and valor. But on a true philosophy there is no other umpire than virtue and insight; for there is no luck or ill luck except wisdom and the reverse.
This passage brings a lot to the coaching world. Most of us have been there where we won a big game or championship and there is an element of “luck” to it. We got lucky with the matchups or the draws, we got lucky because an opposing player was unavailable, or any other story we tell ourselves. The truth of the matter is that we put ourselves in a position to benefit from “luck”. While things are often out of our control, we still have a hand in them. Using the example above with draws; you may have received a favorable draw for a tournament, but your work and ethic got you in that position to receive that draw. Even if there was “luck” that a star opposing player was out for the championship match, you still put yourselves in a position to be in the championship game, and even more, you still had to win it. Louis Pasteur said it best “luck favors the prepared”. While there may be a small percentage of a situation that is purely luck, there is a lot more of it that is a result of being prepared and working hard to seize that moment.
This blog series is based on the book “The Art of Worldly Wisdom” by Balthasar Gracián. This book was written for advice on how to achieve personal and professional success. This blog series aims to visit the points of wisdom and put them in the spotlight of the coaching and education lens.
