Are we Lucky? I Prefer Blessed.
Confession time... I ripped this idea straight from the much bigger, (and better), blog Financial Samurai. If you haven't read any of Sam's articles go ahead and head on over to his website now...
Now that I've lost all of my readers to Sam's site lets continue. In the latest article, Financial Samurai writes about three times he was lucky.
1. The first time Sam believes he was lucky is when he met his wife. I think that many of us with wonderful spouses can relate, where would we be without a chance encounter? Do I believe that "luck" has kept our marriage together and thriving for the past (5,6, or 7) years?
NO! Part of it is my wife's extremely forgiving nature...I mean I can't even remember our exact wedding date without looking. Hard work, tears, fights, and unselfish behavior make our marriage unique and strong. So maybe luck brought us together but it sure didn't keep us there. We did that with hard work and sacrifice.
#2. The second time Sam was lucky is when he got a job. I am going to have to disagree with this. There is no way that Sam was lucky. He wasn't sitting at home, popping Cheetos, and pilfering a village in world of warcraft when a job fell into his lap. He beat the streets, networked, and nailed over 55 interviews. I had a similar occurrence before I landed my job after college. I sent in over 80 job applications and had many interviews before I received my first job offer. Is there some trace elements of luck in this story? Possibly. Lets examine the final situation in which Sam felt lucky.
#3. Sam feels that he lucked out when Financial Samurai hit 1 million organic views per month. I couldn't disagree more on this final point. Sam has been blogging for years now, keeping his nose to the grind, and publishing 4x- 6x a week. These articles aren't garbage or fluff either. Not like the stuff you'll find lurking around this site;) He built a massive online portfolio full of valuable information. When a huge opportunity came (being featured on yahoo) his site was ready. He wasn't lucky that those visitors who flocked to his site were enamored with the articles therein. He spent an insurmountable amount of hours on Financial Samurai so that when a plethora of people flocked to his front page he wouldn't be a one click wonder.
My point is that Sam isn't lucky (other than being born in the U.S.A. and having stable loving parents). All of these "breaks" occurred because he had prepared himself for the opportunity. He developed a great work ethic and never takes himself too seriously (which probably is what made him attractive to his wife). He worked in college and polished his interview skills (55+) so that when a great job presented itself he schnagged it. And I think my above review of #3 speaks for itself.
Where I'm from we call that blessed. It happens when faith and preparation meet opportunity. That's why I believe I'm blessed. Some call it luck but to me that cheapens it. Luck is the flip of a coin. Screw that. I haven't got time to flip coins anyway.
OSC out!
Now that I've lost all of my readers to Sam's site lets continue. In the latest article, Financial Samurai writes about three times he was lucky.
1. The first time Sam believes he was lucky is when he met his wife. I think that many of us with wonderful spouses can relate, where would we be without a chance encounter? Do I believe that "luck" has kept our marriage together and thriving for the past (5,6, or 7) years?
NO! Part of it is my wife's extremely forgiving nature...I mean I can't even remember our exact wedding date without looking. Hard work, tears, fights, and unselfish behavior make our marriage unique and strong. So maybe luck brought us together but it sure didn't keep us there. We did that with hard work and sacrifice.
#2. The second time Sam was lucky is when he got a job. I am going to have to disagree with this. There is no way that Sam was lucky. He wasn't sitting at home, popping Cheetos, and pilfering a village in world of warcraft when a job fell into his lap. He beat the streets, networked, and nailed over 55 interviews. I had a similar occurrence before I landed my job after college. I sent in over 80 job applications and had many interviews before I received my first job offer. Is there some trace elements of luck in this story? Possibly. Lets examine the final situation in which Sam felt lucky.
#3. Sam feels that he lucked out when Financial Samurai hit 1 million organic views per month. I couldn't disagree more on this final point. Sam has been blogging for years now, keeping his nose to the grind, and publishing 4x- 6x a week. These articles aren't garbage or fluff either. Not like the stuff you'll find lurking around this site;) He built a massive online portfolio full of valuable information. When a huge opportunity came (being featured on yahoo) his site was ready. He wasn't lucky that those visitors who flocked to his site were enamored with the articles therein. He spent an insurmountable amount of hours on Financial Samurai so that when a plethora of people flocked to his front page he wouldn't be a one click wonder.
My point is that Sam isn't lucky (other than being born in the U.S.A. and having stable loving parents). All of these "breaks" occurred because he had prepared himself for the opportunity. He developed a great work ethic and never takes himself too seriously (which probably is what made him attractive to his wife). He worked in college and polished his interview skills (55+) so that when a great job presented itself he schnagged it. And I think my above review of #3 speaks for itself.
Where I'm from we call that blessed. It happens when faith and preparation meet opportunity. That's why I believe I'm blessed. Some call it luck but to me that cheapens it. Luck is the flip of a coin. Screw that. I haven't got time to flip coins anyway.
OSC out!
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