The Work of Success

Someone said to me recently that their father always told them that “the harder you work the luckier you get.” And that really is true. We often think that successful people are lucky – they’ve been in the right place at the right time. They’ve had the right “breaks.” They’ve known the right people. But we usually fail to understand that most of the “breaks” came as a result of hard and persistent work. The people they know are known because they have put themselves out there and networked and been friendly and said and did things that made them memorable and gained them respect.
Behind every accomplishment, there is a legitimate, sustained effort. Behind every one of those lucky people are countless hours of perfecting their craft or skill. It may appear to others that they are overnight successes but, for the most part, they are people with a soul-deep desire to succeed.
The biggest impediment to success is the envy that one has in his or her own spirit. It is so consuming that energy is sapped away so that the work success takes can’t get done.
Work hard every day in whatever you do. Get beyond an envious spirit and make your own luck. It’s out there for the taking and waiting for you. And, should it happen that you never get rich or famous or powerful, you will find that, ultimately, the satisfaction you have in working toward a goal IS success. You have made your own luck.