How much does luck have to do with success?

LilacTree · ‎03-25-2012

Being in the right place at the right time, that’s luck . . . However, what one does after that varies. I took advantage of my right place, right time and was successful. Did you?

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

To answer the question that is in your subject line (as opposed to your first post), I will say that luck has far more weight than successful people would like to admit.

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

@suzyQ3 wrote:
To answer the question that is in your subject line (as opposed to your first post), I will say that luck has far more weight than successful people would like to admit.

So very true!

bathina · ‎03-14-2010

99.9% luck. Where you are born and who you are born to make all the difference in the world. Literally. And we have no control over those two factors.

esmerelda · ‎03-10-2010

@bathina you have to be kidding. No doubt you’ve heard of families that were successful in business and their child wanted nothing to do with the business they built and would gladly hand off to them if they were interested. They’re just happy to live off the money generated by the business as long as it lasts.

There’s a well-known saying. I can’t remember who said it at the moment, but it goes like this… I find that the harder, I work the luckier I am. It may not be universally true; but I think regardless of where you were born if you don’t exert some effort, you will not have success.

*********************
Keepin' it real.

Barbara-QVC · ‎10-12-2015

Moved:

This post has been removed by QVC because it is going off topic.

QVCkitty1 · ‎05-23-2015

This makes me think of the saying, " he was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple." It's not always the case, but as another poster said , more often then they would admit.

" You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts."
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

phoenixbrd · ‎03-27-2010

My answer would be different if I answer this on an esoteric level rather than a superficial level. On the face of it, I agree with @haddon9 and @suzyQ3 . There are plenty of people that are frequently more prepared and more talented than one that "happens" to be in the right spot at the right time. So luck can be critical. But there are other factors besides luck: motivation, drive, social skills, health, education, perspective, connections, etc. that can facilitate success.

LilacTree · ‎03-25-2012

@esmerelda

I agree. I had to fight like hell to get where I ended up in the workplace . . . 40 years!! That didn’t make me very popular some of the time . . . But I am now 81 and still supporting myself!

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986