Come 'ere till I gets a clip at ya!
Of course you have. And chances are you thought nothing of it. In fact, you probably felt pretty swell afterwards, sharing the love and spreading the good karma*, right?
Well, I’m here to tell you that there’s no such thing as LUCK. Good, Bad or otherwise.
Luck of the Irish?
My ancestors are Irish and I’m a Newfoundlander to boot, so I know a thing or two about the ‘Luck of the Irish’. But ‘luck’ just never cut it for me. Luck always seemed to be something that is completely random. Something that just happened to you out of the blue.
But I happen to believe we have more control over our fate. Our choices determine what comes our way, not luck.
So I prefer to say “Good Fortune” these days, as a way to wish someone well. Fortune, to me, is something much more substantial, something based on reward and merit for one’s actions. Not some random happenstance based on being at the right cosmic spot at the right cosmic time…
Fortune Favors the Brave
‘Fortune Favors the Brave’ is one of my favorite sayings because it reiterates the idea that fortune will come your way by venturing out, being proactive, challenging the world to both reward you for your merits and conversely, punish you for your misdeeds.
Try it! The next time you want to wish someone well, don’t give them the standard “Good Luck” charm. Force yourself to be more considerate, and to honor the person you’re wishing well. Wish them instead, a heartfelt declaration of “Good Fortune!”
Do you believe in luck or fortune?
(*Interesting side note about karma…most people think you are supposed to seek out good karma right? Well, that’s not completely true. The goal is to have NO karma. You seek good karma only to offset bad karma. Once you have neither good karma or bad karma, you are free to experience Nirvana!)
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Don~
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and commenting. I love this post as I am also Irish (along with french-canadian, scottish, and native american). I guess that I’m just a Heinz 57 ( a little bit of everything).
I agree with your thoughts about “luck.” When I was in college, my psychology professor touched on this subject. He said that “luck” is actually an acronym for:
Labor
Under
Correct
Knowledge
I think about this whenever someone brings up the subject of luck or wishes me “good luck.” I like that you see it as “Good Fortune” rather than luck.
[quote]Fortune, to me, is something much more substantial, something based on reward and merit for one’s actions. Not some random happenstance based on being at the right cosmic spot at the right cosmic time…[/quote]
It’s definitely based on reward or merit for one’s actions. Why sit around and wait for something to happen that may never happen? Wow, that’s really lucky, hunh? We need to make our own luck by laboring under correct knowledge. Otherwise, we’re wasting our precious time.
Good Fortune to you my fellow Irishman.
Erica
Erica´s last blog ..Is Chivalry Dead? Not Necessarily.
I enjoyed this post. For whatever reason, some believe that effort is a myth – and actually build entire businesses and careers with luck as the cornerstone of their strategy. It never occurs to them that luck – or good fortune – is closely married to the amount of effort put into a task.
Look forward to reading more.
Hey Ed!
Thanks for your comment. Not to be too self indulgent but I”ve been digging into this nut about building a business on the back of good fortune over at another blogger outpost I’m on at http://www.bloggerluv.com.
If you have time, you can read what I wrote (in the comments section! – # 16) about blogging like a caveman and what that has to do with blogging for a living.
Cheers!
Hey are we following each on Twitter? I’m @donpower. Send me an @reply with a link from you that I can read and RT.
Cheers!
- Don
The boss at the first job I ever had was an extremely successful businessman. He worked hard to make his business prosper, and he would actually get angry when people would see what he had and say he was lucky. To him, luck wasn’t a factor, it was skill, effort and intelligence (amongst other things I’m sure).
I’ve found I really like the following quote:
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” – Seneca
Hey Kyle!
Thanks for your comment. I truly feel the way your former boss does – it’s about effort/preparation meeting opportunity – excellent quote.
I also love “Fortune Favors the Brave”.
Great to hear from you! Thanks for stopping by!
- Don
Well, thay say many of the passangers from Titanic shared Good Fortune, but had Bad Luck.
So I prefer Good Luck and maybe a little bit of happiness. Fortune will follow:
“May you have all the happiness
and luck that life can hold—
And at the end of all your rainbows
may you find a pot of gold.”
Irish sayings@ Irish sayings´s last blog ..May the blessings of light be upon you