Luck Is The Idol Of The Idle

Luck Only Applies to Lottery Tickets.

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. ~ Thomas Jefferson

Over my life there are two things I've been told a lot. "You're very lucky" and "you're very talented." And the context usually refers to the fact that I earn a living from playing music.

My response tends to be along the lines of "There has certainly been fortuitous circumstance, genetics and environment involved, but the fact is none of those things would've had me on this path if not for piles of guts, risks and hard work."

This is why I identify with Jefferson's quote. I don't mean to say luck had nothing to do with it. But I see no point in being focused on luck. To achieve great things you need to be brave and you need to work hard. And those are things you can control. Luck is some intangible, immeasurable thing that is just a distraction from the point.

Be ready when opportunity comes...Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet. ~ Roy D. Chapin Jr

I think this is a more accurate definition of luck.

A crucial point in my music career was making the choice to go to the head of the Conservatorium of Music at the WA Academy of Performing Arts and say "I want to do the Contemporary Music course". Bear in mind I had next-to-no skills on any instrument that the course included.

I bluffed my way to a bass audition, which I had to borrow a bass for (I'd done quite a few gigs but only on borrowed gear). I got through, more on the back of me singing and playing "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" than on any bass skills. In fact, the bass tutor I auditioned for told me I had the worst technique he'd ever seen. I may come from a very musical family and subsequently spent a lot of time involved with music from a very early age (i.e. I'm perceived as talented), but the only reason I could sing and play Crazy Little Thing Called Love was because I'd worked really hard to be able to do it for a gig.

Prior to that I'd spent many an afternoon after school working out Crowded House songs on my Dad's old classical guitar. I'd work out what the bass was playing then refer to the chord chart I found in the guitar case for possible chords with that as a root note. And then I had to be brave enough not only to take the opportunity to play bass when it was presented to me, but also to then walk into the Conservatorium and ask for an audition on an instrument I'd never been taught to play.

I worked hard to "get lucky" and get into the Conservatorium! And I can tell you that I only had to work harder from then on.

Luck is the idol of the idle. ~ Unknown

Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't. ~ Lucille Ball

Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Being deeply learned and skilled, being well trained and using well spoken words; This is good luck. ~ Buddha

Luck has a peculiar habit of favoring those who don't depend on it. ~ Unknown

So throw away the idea of luck. It only applies when buying a lottery ticket. Empower yourself with the idea of "making luck" through hard work and gutsy decision making. Which almost always involves putting yourself out of your comfort zone.