How many times have you thought, “Boy, he is so lucky?” Truth is, luck is never really the reason; it’s the offspring. A mentor of mine, a brilliant physician, said this about luck: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity… and I make my own luck by always preparing.”
In the best of times, opportunities seem to rise like the spring wheat, but in hard times, opportunities are revealed only to those who are constantly preparing. This means constantly building relationships, connecting the dots, working on personal and professional improvement, seeking ways to connect others – making sure that every day starts with some new aspect of “sharpening the saw,” as Stephen Covey called it. And sometimes these preparations, these changes, are small, but they build upon one another.
Daryl Hardy wrote a book some years ago called “The Compound Effect.” This was a brief book that spoke to the compounding effect (positive and negative) of small decisions we make each and every day. He reflected on how small decisions have a compounding effect that produce astonishing changes in your life, your career, your relationships, and your happiness. Isn’t that how we make our own ”luck?” Or as baseball great, Roger Maris, said, “You hit home runs not by chance, but preparation.”
