What does it really mean to be Lucky?
I used to think it was random. Some people are just inherently lucky, I thought.
It was a surprisingly superstitious assumption––certain people must have the right mix of midichlorians, good voodoo, B vitamins or something to give them that lucky boost.
What else could it be?
I thought of my brother Dave, who seems to get lucky with everything from game shows (he was a winner on The Price Is Right) to gambling (he was a winner in the World Series of Poker in Vegas).
"That's just Dave being lucky," I thought.
Then I had my own bit of "luck" recently. I was chosen from dozens (probably hundreds) of comics to perform in a major comedy show.
If another comic wanted to attribute my opportunity to luck, they could do so. But there was nothing lucky about writing the jokes, testing them at open mics, and driving two hours to the show to put my name in the bucket.
That's when I realized: Luck isn't what happens when preparation meets opportunity––it's the natural side effect of taking more risks than the average person. That's it.
People call Dave lucky for getting all these opportunities, without recognizing that he signed up for the chance to be on The Price Is Right, and he flew to Vegas and paid the buy-in to participate in the World Series of Poker.
I wanted to attribute his success to luck because it helped me rationalize my own lack of risk-taking.
What risks would make you more "lucky"?
