Diligence is the mother of good fortune.
Very few people are lucky in the purest sense of the word. It is possible, but extremely rare, that infrequent lottery ticket buyers hit it big. Most of the time we create our own “luck.”
I know people who win big at sweepstakes and to the outside observer they seem to be the luckiest people in the world. What we don’t see are the many hours spent culling websites and persistently filling out entry forms.
“Luck” is what we are forced to rely on when we don’t do our homework. Showing up to practice and hone our craft gives opportunities we wouldn’t get otherwise.
In leadership I’ve sometimes been guilty of impatience and hoped luck would bail me out. When hiring new employees, I could have done more to check out their background or spent more time with them to insure a proper fit with the organization. Instead, I congratulated myself on “filling the position so quickly.” Big mistake.
I’ve been on the other side too. I’ve accepted employment in which I knew I was not the right fit but hoped my uneasiness would work itself out in the form of luck. Instead, I got an example of what not to do for this blog post.
At the start of a new “work” week, I’m asking myself, “Where do I need to get busy working and quit trying to take shortcuts?”
When we are diligent, it’s amazing how lucky we can be.
Igniting Hope 4 Leaders 