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No one ever stared it was exclusively luck. Talent, hard work, and initiative all come into play as well. But luck does play a role. There are plenty of talented and hardworking poor people.
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That’s him … talented and hard-working – and poor, for now. But it’s easy to look at some of his success and think he’s “just so lucky.” He won a networking award in college. The kid knows how to cultivate relationships.
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I’m fascinated by the talk around the concept of “luck” in terms of jobs and careers and not say a game of roulette or playing the lottery.
My view? Bruce Lee once said:
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Yup, it is just a matter of time when all those gamers win second place paper award and improve robot navigation.
Luckily for the society, your son stopped following his passion for playing games and did something useful instead.
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@sushiritto wrote…
My view? Bruce Lee once said:
That quote fits my experience with my own kids. They have created their own luck and didn’t wait for it to come to them.
I can say this about the performing arts field my D is in…there are plenty who audition and wait and hope to get the job. My daughter never did that. She created her own opportunities. She also has a mulit-skill set and works in three facets of her field. She is always working. It’s not for everyone. She worked 7 days and 7 nights this past week alone.
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There is no one so unique that only he and no other person could do a job. Every jobholder is indeed replaceable, and at highly sought after companies, there are hundreds if not thousands of qualified and deserving candidates for each job opening. Luck plays a role in who was selected for the position ( which also applies to our many deserving applicants to elite colleges as well. Talented and lucky, both).
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My reply was to ucbalumnus’s comment about being Ok with a kid playing computer games all the time. It would certainly look to others like our son was wasting time for years, and I know I wished he’d get some fresh air once in a while, but I didn’t interfere with what he clearly loved. That he eventually made something of it when others might not could not have been known at the time and was not the point.
He’s never stopped following this passion. He’s still often up til the wee hours gaming and still finding connections between games, game development, and systems solutions. He’s followed this passion into his work as a Cyber officer only, now, it’s war games with higher stakes.
ucbalumnus’ comment was about game playing being somebody’s passion that they should follow. You son didn’t follow his passion, he realized that there is something more interesting and more useful than playing games.
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@roycroftmom Keep in mind that not every job is where you are “selected for the position.”
Some people create their own work. That is true for a lot of what my performing arts daughter has done.
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Right. And she presumably encounters people with enough resources and interest to purchase her work, which depends in part on luck.
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This argument is exactly as bad as people saying that students should drop from college because Bill Gates is so successful.
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I guess I don’t see luck as a huge factor in my D’s success.
Also, people don’t necessarily purchase her work. She doesn’t do speculation work and then hope someone pays for it. People commission her to create work, and they do so based on her talents.
IMO, “luck” is an excuse. Period. And used liberally here on this website.
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@soozievt, your daughter sells her work partially on her talents, and based also on the customers’ resources and interests. Just a guess, but not a big market for her work in Appalachia,or Kiev right now? Nor would there be even in NYC if a severe massive recession came? Yes, she stays open to opportunities around her, but she also is lucky in that she has access to customers with large disposable income willing to spend it on her. Equally talented people elsewhere may not
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Luck is what governs the vast majority of our life. Luck includes the family you are born in, the talents you have (including the ability to work hard).
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Not just this website, it’s a common excuse on the interweb, lol.
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That’s genetics. Not luck. I don’t believe in cosmic nonsense. And I’m not going to argue my opinion.
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My S has had both luck and skill help him figure out his path. In 2nd grade, he realized he had some amazing marketing skills. He was also very good at computers, math and science. He opted to do EE but continued to buy and sell “stuff” in HS, college and when working as a full time EE. Eventually he was making many times more buying and reselling than his career, so he’s decided to make that his full time job for now. He loves the flexibility it affords him and he’s happy.
Luck and skill both are parts of his successes.
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Yes, there are many politicians who believe the poor deserve to be poor. Not really my view, but many of those successful naively believe their success is due exclusively to their personal efforts and not attributable also in part to the structural advantages and luck they may have had.
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