what is luck
Luck is defined as “The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events” or simply “fortune”. However in the Quote “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity”, the author leads us to believe otherwise. The quote tells us that luck does not happen by “chance fortune” as the definition implies, but comes from being well prepared for the task at hand.
The quote as we are familiar with it was stated by Oprah Winfrey in 2010; however it is not often known that the quote is believed to have originated by first century roman philosopher Seneca. Seneca stated, ‘fortuna est momentum quo occasionem convenit talentum’, which translates to “Luck is where the crossroads of opportunity and preparation meet.” Oprah amended the quote to what we are familiar with today.
I do, to a certain extent, believe this holds some truth. This is evidenced by Oprah’s own success in life. She has prepared and worked extremely hard to grow her business empire. To say all that was a chance happening is a bit far fetched. Preparation requires motivation, activity and carefulness, and success takes work. Things are not simply handed to us in life; we have to work to achieve them. When someone achieves a career goal we often say they were “lucky” to get the position. In reality, that person has worked hard, dedicated more time to there career, and achieved the promotion. It was not a chance opportunity that fell into there lap. To say I was lucky when I achieved my nursing license is comical; in reality I spent countless hours preparing myself to be successful.
I also believe in the traditional meaning of luck, although in a smaller scale. When I’m walking down the street and find a penny heads up that is luck. When I am able to grab a glass before it crashes onto the floor, I consider that luck. When I make it to a meeting seconds before the door closes that is luck, because if I had been prepared I would have arrived early. William Shakespeare told us “It is not in the stars to
The quote as we are familiar with it was stated by Oprah Winfrey in 2010; however it is not often known that the quote is believed to have originated by first century roman philosopher Seneca. Seneca stated, ‘fortuna est momentum quo occasionem convenit talentum’, which translates to “Luck is where the crossroads of opportunity and preparation meet.” Oprah amended the quote to what we are familiar with today.
I do, to a certain extent, believe this holds some truth. This is evidenced by Oprah’s own success in life. She has prepared and worked extremely hard to grow her business empire. To say all that was a chance happening is a bit far fetched. Preparation requires motivation, activity and carefulness, and success takes work. Things are not simply handed to us in life; we have to work to achieve them. When someone achieves a career goal we often say they were “lucky” to get the position. In reality, that person has worked hard, dedicated more time to there career, and achieved the promotion. It was not a chance opportunity that fell into there lap. To say I was lucky when I achieved my nursing license is comical; in reality I spent countless hours preparing myself to be successful.
I also believe in the traditional meaning of luck, although in a smaller scale. When I’m walking down the street and find a penny heads up that is luck. When I am able to grab a glass before it crashes onto the floor, I consider that luck. When I make it to a meeting seconds before the door closes that is luck, because if I had been prepared I would have arrived early. William Shakespeare told us “It is not in the stars to