How to Take the Elusive Out of Success (Part 2)

I want to continue where I left off previously and point out some lessons I've learned about achieving success. Recently, I pointed out risk and visibility. Now, I want to highlight luck and commitment. I served a short stint in the military years ago and served as an aide to a Major-General. In our headquarters we had a Brigadier that was always cheerful, affable, and approachable. I liked his demeanor and leadership style and gathered up enough courage one day to ask him how he had achieved so much success. He said four letters. I was a bit confused by that response and said, "Do you mean four letters of recommendation?" "Oh no", he replied, "L-U-C-K".

I've never met anyone that honest before. Frequently, when successful people are asked about what circumstances contributed to their fame or fortune, they respond that motivation and hard work were the keys. While hard work and motivation are requisites to success, one should also recognize that a certain amount of luck is involved in most achievements. Being in the right place at the right time is an ingredient that cannot be overlooked. I think you can invite luck to your success endeavors. Previously, I wrote about the junior executive that sought visibility and achieved remarkable success. Let me provide a few additional details. In his preparation for a critical presentation, he came across an old company file that had been written years ago by the grumpy senior executive that was to be the recipient of his presentation. He read the file and during the course of his presentation he responded to a question with a quote from that old file. The grumpy senior was obviously impressed and the successful presentation resulted in an offer for a much better company position. I think it was luck that had an important part in that success story - of course preparation had been the precursor to that event - but luck cannot be entirely discounted.