“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

Just a couple sayings touching on the correlation between luck and work, or effort.

—-
Few things worth pursuing in life will ever be attainable without hard work. Usually, lots and lots of hard work, over a good amount of time.
Luck helps in many circumstances, but often times, the “luckiest” people I know, are also the hardest workers in the room. The ones talking less, and doing more.

If you see someone with something you wish you had, whether a house or car or a recent promotion, before you say “must be nice”, ask yourself if you’re as disciplined and regimented as they are. Have you been “playing the game” as long as they have? What did they sacrifice to get that shiny new thing, or that physique, or that promotion?

—-
Not everyone has the same values, goals, or work ethic.

And that’s okay.

But we mustn’t fall into the mindset trap of comparing results of two different sets of processes leading to those results, without looking at the processes just as hard.

If I fail to study entirely for an exam, and my buddy spends hours studying, I flunk it, he gets an A, I’d be hard pressed to say “must be nice”. He worked, I didn’t. Cause, effect. Action (or inaction), result.

Same goes with our bodies. Our bank accounts. Our relationships. Our mental health. And on and on down the line.

We’ll get out of most things EXACTLY relative to what we put into them.

Luck is helpful, hard work is crucial.