Success.

I haven't been blogging regularly recently,
so here's a long post.
(:


Success:


To be successful in life is often the main objective of living for many people, but what exactly is success? To me, success is when you have wealth, good education, and have a good position in your career or status in the society. Many claim that there are no secrets to success: the only way to success is to work hard. However, some argue that luck- good fortune and advantage of success that happen by chance, plays a part to one’s success.

Success is the result of mainly hard work because you can control the amount of hard work and effort you put in but you cannot control luck.

Luck, at the right place and at the right time is very important. Let’s talk about luck at its most basic level. Often we hear people talking about luck, both good and bad. An idea on good luck will be when one is at the right place and right time, he or she can escape death because he or she is just one step away from the fallen killer litter. On the other hand, someone unlucky can be killed in the same situation.

At a more specific level, those who think that luck is the factor to success will compare between people who are born in a rich or poor family. For example, if one is born in a wealthy family, he or she is without a doubt rich, and he or she can get money to go through good education, and get a good position in the family company. These points fulfill the definition of success. However, I feel that hard work is important too because if one do not work hard to maintain the position, he or she cannot stay successful for long.

Luck is uncontrollable, unpredictable and it cannot last for long. Juvenal once said, “A lucky man is rarer than a white crow”. Luck is uncontrollable because you cannot choose to be born in a wealthy family. Luck is unpredictable and it cannot last for long because for instance, it is unlikely and not that easy for one to be so lucky to strike lottery. One can be really lucky to strike lottery, but it is impossible to gauge when it will happen. Even if one strikes lottery, the money cannot last if he or she does not spend it wisely. I can sense many what ifs approaching me. “What if the prize money is 6 million and is enough to last a lifetime?” “What if the one who strikes lottery spend the money wisely and is enough to last a lifetime?” Firstly, I will congratulate the one who wins the winning lottery ticket of 6 million dollars, only if it really happens. Think about it! What are the chances of that happening? Almost none! Secondly, even if one manages to save and scrimp to make the winnings from the lottery to last his lifetime, what will happen to the next generation? His son or daughter cannot possibly use the money to last their lifetime as well.

I have another example that shows that luck cannot bring good fortune or success that will last. My friend, Amelia, was a fresh graduate from university. She managed to get through the job interview at a company to be a manager with a very high salary a couple of months ago. She was elated at that time and everyone in my family kept insisting that she was lucky. Amelia did not work hard enough to keep up with her job tasks and guess what? She got sacked after a month. This example shows how luck cannot last a lifetime if you do not use hard work to maintain your success.

David Bly said, “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” The consequence of believing that success is due to luck and not hard work will only make you waste your time in vain waiting for luck to happen because luck is unpredictable. Furthermore, if you believe that luck causes success or failure, you will tend to blame if on bad luck if you fail and you will then hesitate to work on it.

I believe that success is due to hard work. Like what Thomas Alva Edison said, “There is no substitute for hard work.” Usually hardworking people are the ones who will succeed. I experienced this in my secondary school days, where majority of the best students are the most hardworking ones.

Take Michael Jordan, one of the most recognized athletes in the world for example. Is Michael Jordan’s success due to luck? Not quite. Michael Jordan trained very hard to get to where he is today. He had the talent for basketball, but he put in a lot of hard work as well. Michael Jordan said, “Obstacles don’t have to stop you, if you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” He is trying to tell people not to give up easily because as long as you work hard and try hard enough, you will succeed eventually. “Hard work without talent is a shame, but talent without hard work is a tragedy.” Robert Half said. Michael Jordan has the talent for basketball, but if he did not put in hard work to train, it is really a tragedy because he will not be who he is now.

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.” Oprah Winfrey said. The following example will tell on how luck is used appropriately with hard work to cause success. Bill Gates was neither the smartest nor the most hardworking student in his school, but he is now one of the richest men in the world. Is his success due to luck? It was not purely luck that led Bill Gates to his success. Bill Gates had a hard time working and building up his career, and there was only a small element of luck playing a part. Bill Gates was lucky to find an abandoned software program and as he was able to see it as an opportunity, he took the software program and edited it, changing it to Microsoft. Microsoft was the software that led him to his success. If Bill Gates did not put in hard work to change the software program, or put in hard work to maintain his success, he would not be what he is now.

Today, we are living a comfortable life due to the hard work of others. The Wright brothers invented the airplane and made travelling overseas to far countries possible. Thomas Alva Edison created light bulbs to remove darkness. Did they invent things due to luck? No. They tried many times before it led to the success of their inventions. It is hard work that caused their success.

In conclusion, I feel that success is the result of mainly hard work. Luck is just a bonus that comes and goes randomly, thus one has to know how to use luck as an opportunity to aid them in their success.



What say you?