We are told that all we need to do is work hard and believe in ourselves and we will be successful. There are two problems I have with this…

The first problem is our definition of success. The greater the distance between where you are now and what is your definition of success, is a measure of how unhappy you are. Set achievable goals and then work hard. Be realistic with your ability, but never underestimate what you can achieve. The old saying “aim for the gutter and work up” is a strong metaphor for happiness.

The second problem I have is that “Success” too often ignores “Luck” as a factor. The old saying “The harder I worked the luckier I got” has a certain ring of truth, but hard work will only get you so far. Ask any highly successful person and they will tell you they worked extremely hard, but they will also acknowledge those moments of synchronicity or “luck” that changed the course of their lives. A chance meeting, a lucky break, an aligning of the stars…these are the things that take people to another level of success.

However what is most critical to understand is that everyone has moments of luck in their lives, the difference is those who work hard tend to have two things going for them –

1. They create more opportunities for luck to enter their lives and

2. Having done the hard work they are in a position to capitalise on that luck

The vast majority of people however won’t even see those moments of luck as they are too busy seeing the negative in every situation.