I have come across this question many times in my coaching and I have developed a deeper appreciation and philosophy regarding the subject. Like so many topics I cover it is not as simple as the title of the article.

As I was visiting with one of my clients and one of her Rockstar employees earlier this week we were discussing some opportunities in front of us and I asked them what they were projecting and how it related to some of their lucky moves they had made.

We carried on the conversation looking at some of elements and then this employee spoke up with a perfect balance of inquisition, wonder, and indignation and said… “Where exactly do you think that we got lucky?.. I think we worked really hard to make those opportunities happen” sensing how what I said came before I explained my philosophy I backed up but at the same time really appreciated his approach.

My philosophy: I truly believe in luck and I also believe in the multiple forms of luck. At one level, and what I think is the primary level, luck is where preparation meets opportunity. Where you work so hard to put yourself in the right spot to be able to take advantage of an opportunity. You work so hard at so many things all at the same time and then all at once they come together in this beautiful result that ends up being even greater than all of our hard work had predicted.

At the next level I believe in this serendipitous “LUCK”. Sometimes things just happen, good and bad, that do not seem to have reason for happening although if we could see the universe there may be a perfect order. What is important to me is not that these occurrences happen, but how we respond to our good or bad fortune is what really amplifies or mitigates the occurrence and thus defines Success.

Example: With this exact client, the first year we started working together we got her to really focus on doing what drove the most value for herself and the business and the automated, delegated or stopped doing what did not serve her highest values. I KNEW she would do well… she quadrupled her business!!! That was way more than my initial estimates… and I had high expectations of doubling the business!! Was it lucky? Sure! Did we all work our butts off? You bet!

For myself, my journey has been a great deal of hard work and luck. I truly feel that some of my clients came out of nowhere and at the same time I know that I have worked my butt off to improve my craft as well as served and created value out there that makes people finding me logical.

Luck is part hard work, part blessings, part skill, part perspective, part timing, part readiness and preparation.

The next time someone says you are lucky just say thank you. Either they understand all of the hard work that goes into creating luck or they will NEVER get how much work you put into getting where you are and creating your luck no matter how much you explain.

Either way your energy is best spent appreciating and creating more!!

Make it a GREAT… AND MERRY… week!

Brad