There has been so much written about luck, so I won’t go into defining what it is. However, I’ve always pondered over the thought of what luck REALLY is. Is it just a figment of our imagination? Or a name we give to the co-incidences which occur in our lives?
I believe good luck isn’t something magical, nor is it reserved for the elite few. I truly think luck is of two types, one voluntary and the other involuntary. Now, by involuntary luck I mean getting lucky with stuff we don’t have control of. That includes being born to a millionaire father, stumbling upon hidden treasure and of course winning the lottery. Getting rarely lucky like that is not controlled by you. So chuck it and don’t bother.
What I want to talk about here is - voluntary luck, where you actually choose to get lucky. I bet that sounds exciting to you. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just choose our luck and get whatever we want? Trust me, it is possible. Bringing in massive good luck isn’t rocket science, it’s as simple as - “Concentrating on factors you have control of rather than focusing your energy on what you don’t control.”
As human beings we have a tendency to try to make things easier. Therefore, we naturally seek paths that look short. But the point is, by doing this; we are only making things harder. That’s because every time we try to find a shortcut, we start focusing more on things that aren’t in our control and move away from what is.
Let’s take this example - 2 guys A and B, apply for the same job, A gets it and B doesn’t. What’s more surprising is, it was the first interview for A and a 15th attempt by B. Does that make the candidate who got the job luckier than who didn’t? No not at all. If you look closely, both of these guys did their share of hard work to get a good job. The only difference was, candidate A focused on working internally on himself, his own skills, abilities, knowledge (he worked on what he controlled) and candidate B worked on external factors such as jumping from interview to interview without actually putting in the effort to develop the required abilities (he worked on what he did not control).
We can clearly make out by this, that the only way to get extremely lucky, is to make yourself so worth it, work so hard on yourself, that you leave no other option than getting lucky. Direct your efforts internally, and you’ll see that the external factors, which you don’t control, start to fall in place automatically. After all, it’s worth it to make yourself worthy.
December 17, 2008 at 09:58
“Concentrating on factors you have control of rather than focusing your energy on what you don’t control.â€
heaven knwz,i need dat!! :D…
n i get a strange sorta feelin dat candidate ‘A’ seems a lot like u…. :P
but nyc piece…i mean….really eye-opening on hw ‘well’ v channelise our energies… :)
December 17, 2008 at 10:01
very simply writeen n thus more effective… :)
December 19, 2008 at 12:23
Wow! This according to me is, truly your best blog, thought, idea and advice till now. :)
This answered a lot of those mind-boggling questions about luck, hardwork and desination, that have been wrangling in my mind for quite a long now. Thanks to the difference maker - “the concept of voluntary and involuntary luck.” People often get illogical when they attempt to describe the significance of luck in a person’s life because of the fact that it(luck) is unseen.
Everytime I read your blog, I get the urge to work more to enhance my written skills. And I’m totally spell-bound by this post. :)
December 20, 2008 at 13:57
I readd this likee when u wrote it and didnt get time to comment! can u blv thaat? LOL!
anyway, What you said is soo motivating in itself! So, so true! Lucky will be for things we arent in control of but the ones we are in control of… we can totally conquer it!
and like others say, whenever i read ur blog it brings in what you really wud like us to do! ;)
Honestly, this blog has been like SO SO SO trueee at each of its phase!
thank YOUUU!
December 20, 2008 at 14:40
I am so tired today, so i felt the need of rejuvenating myself. I had no better option than visiting ur site..!!
Ur writing does so.!
The voluntary Luck is really in your hands, u are the one who can make it a good one! So love being ur friend!
and like others say, whenever i read ur blog it brings in what you really wud like us to do! ;)
Honestly, this blog has been like SO SO SO trueee at each of its phase!
thank YOUUU! ( Did some one really say this?) Hahaha!!! :P
December 20, 2008 at 16:12
Hi Zohaib - Great reflection of thoughts.
Suggestion: Please start motivation classes; i will be your first student :P
December 22, 2008 at 17:48
When Azim Premji returned prematurely from his engineering course in Stanford to take over Wipro,due to the family circumstances, he was only 21 years old. Shareholders of Wipro (the edible oil company) advised him to sell his company. They were sure that managing it was beyond this youngster. However, he did not take advice of the senior investors and instead proved them wrong.
Life brings certain situations and turning points, which we call luck. Every single situation is an invitation for us to delve deep in our own spirit, our talent, our known and unknown abilities. But on the surface, we consider it as luck. Wish you and your readers Good luck :)
December 25, 2008 at 13:46
Yeah, i say thank You’s for free! :-P
August 29, 2009 at 07:06
I totally agree….practical!
September 8, 2009 at 15:50
Mashallah, such a wonderful post.:) I love the way you dissect ‘luck’ into voluntary and involuntary fortunes we stumble upon which is associated with our own behavior. I truly believe ‘becoming lucky’ in life is how we count our blessings and appreciate the little things. It takes an open and loving heart to accept that which is unseen to start seeing the beauties of God’s blessings also known as LUCK. I encounter people in my life who emphasize on my luck ever so often and compare. I may be gullible not to confront, but I register each of their moves - think, ponder and pray…
I love moving forward rather than dwelling over things that are baseless — whose got time anyway? ;) OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE!!!