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The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

100 Words On: Why Luck Is So Overrated

By Len Penzo

We tend to give “luck” far too much credit for people’s good fortune. Likewise, we often blame our own personal misfortunes on bad luck. While it’s true that luck is often due to pure chance, more often than not it’s the result of something we actually can control: our mindset. That’s why it’s no coincidence that the “luckiest” people tend to be optimists who are, by nature, more willing to embrace opportunities as they arise, or turn lemons into lemonade.

The bottom line: It’s much smarter to make your own luck than keep your fingers crossed and wait for it.

Photo Credit: cygnus921

14 Comments March 16, 2017

Comments

  1. 1

    Julie says

    I’ve always believed in making your own luck. The secret is hard work and dedication and a strong commitment to what you do. With respect to opportunities, I think lucky people are very good at seeing opportunities where others don’t.

    Reply
  2. 2

    retirebyforty says

    You are right on! An optimist will also recognize when something “lucky” happens and cherish those occasions. While a pessimist probably will just ignore little lucks and don’t see themselves as lucky…

    Reply
  3. 3

    krantcents says

    Luck is elusive! It is amazing how lucky I become by working hard toward a goal.

    Reply
  4. 4

    Doable Finance says

    There are many who cannot deny luck has played a big part in their lives.

    Reply
    • 5

      Karen says

      Well… that’s the lucky gene pool. You can be a screw up, a criminal, and you will be protected if you’re a Kennedy, a Bush, a Clinton, a Mellon, Windsor, a Rockefeller. Aside from that, the harder I work, the luckier I get!

      Reply
  5. 6

    Nanci Murdock says

    Yes, too much focus on luck – and it’s dark shadow, “not my fault”. I am a huge fan of personal responsibility. It’s amazing when you set goals, work towards them, and show up, how much “luck” you can experience.

    Reply
  6. 7

    deb says

    It is really amazing how much just being dressed and ready to roll when opportunity knocks is called LUCK.

    Some are ready because they planned for it and some are still up with yesterday’s hangover. Guess which group calls it GOOD luck?

    Reply
  7. 8

    Lisa says

    Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

    Reply
  8. 9

    RD Blakeslee says

    A friend visited us at our country place in Warrenton, VA, after we had moved from Arlington, VA (I was a patent examiner, working in D.C), after the Cuban missile crisis. It was a lovely, sylvan homestead, cultivated for years before we acquired it, by a gentleman’s haberdasher in town – a kindred spirit – a self reliant man.

    The friend was impressed with our situation and said “Somebody upstairs must be taking care of you”. I said, “Nope. Somebody downstairs, namely, me”.

    P.S. this was the mid-point of our family’s odyssey from the factories of Detroit to the mountains of West Virginia.

    Reply
  9. 10

    JD says

    Anyone here remember in The Tightwad Gazette, the description of two families, each of whom had $100 leftover at the end of the year? One family used it to invest in items to make money (like a sewing machine) and worked hard to save, as well as bring in more cash, while the other family blew their extra money on stuff, consistently. After a few years, the frugal family was bringing in and saving a lot more money that the spendthrift family. The spendthrift family said the other folks had “all the luck.” Luck, sure, that was it!

    Reply
  10. 11

    James says

    Of course. Those who have the can-do attitude can make miracles and can set directions for their lives.

    Reply

Trackbacks

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    September 14, 2017 at 4:16 am

    […] quit cold as he stared up the East slope of the Blue Ridge mountains. It has been said that one makes his own luck, good or bad. Grandfather says he wouldn’t know about that, but he was lucky; he always […]

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    […] there; so it only makes sense to pursue mergers and acquisitions that are in their best interests. With a little luck, and the proper guidance, they’ll certainly increase their odds of hitting the […]

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