Originally Posted by MovieMaster
(Post 17867479)
We have all heard the old saying that:
“You make your own Luck.”
Is Luck merely some weird happenstance that is totally out of your control? And if not, how do you make your own Luck?
Here are 3 Basic Rules.
Work Hard
When Luck does fall into your lap, the worst thing in the world is to not be ready to take advantage of it.
If we work hard at what we do, we will be more fully prepared to take advantage of Luck—but let’s change that word to, Opportunity. Opportunity doesn’t come knocking at our door all that often, but it does show up often enough.
Be ready for it.
There is an old saying, “It’s better to be Lucky than it is to be Good.” To a point, I would have to agree with that. But—Those who are Good seem to have better Luck, and they seem to be Lucky more often.
Opportunity is most comfortable with those who have prepared themselves for it. For those who have worked hard, know their stuff inside and out, and have an their ear to the ground with thier eyes watching the horizon—Opportunity is often the Key Turning Point that can make or break a career.
Work Bold
To be the Best, you must have the courage to seize Opportunities when they present themselves.
It’s useless to spend years preparing for that Big Moment if you wet your pants once it arrives.
In studying the great military leaders throughout history, the one thing that stands paramount as a universal personality trait is they were all Fearless in Battle.
Any battle is scary. You could Win everything, or you could Lose everything. Many people, when confronted with Opportunity are so afraid of screwing it up, that they end up screwing it up.
The simple Fear of Losing can be the very thing that causes you to Lose.
But don’t make the mistake of misinterpreting Fearless for Foolish. It has often been said that the definition of Bravery is to be deathly afraid of doing something, but doing it anyway.
A certain amount of Fear is healthy, because it can prevent you from being Reckless. But you can never allow Fear to paralyze you into inaction if you expect to win the battle.
As sales trainer Top Hopkins loves to remind us, “Do what you fear most and you will conquer your fear.”
Work Smart
It can be tempting to jump on Opportunity when you are not prepared. Sometimes this can work out anyway, but it just as often leads to disaster.
It takes a lot of Guts to consciously walk away from Opportunity, and it takes a lot of Smarts to know when to do so.
From my years of daytrading I learned the vital lesson of carefully picking my battles. Not every setup should be pounced upon.
Regardless of how prepared you may be, there are occasions when you are still not prepared enough. At least not enough for some particular Opportunity. Many Opportunities have a Pitfall you may or may not be able to work around.
It’s important to carefully weigh the Risk. Keep in mind, there is always Risk to any really good Opportunity. But understanding the Risk/Reward Ratio is what separates those who win consistently from those who seem to be at the mercy of circumstance.
There are grand examples from history of a leader staking absolutely everything on one roll of the dice.
Sort of.
The leader who Risks it all in one Decisive Battle comes out the winner only if he has an Edge that puts the advantage on his side, even if it’s only a slight one.
Without that Edge, even if the Rewards far outweigh the Risk, the leader may perish.
So I will leave you with this sage advice from the professional Gambler:
You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em
Know when to fold ‘em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
.
The Gambler, by Don Schlitz
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