“You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.”
Cormac McCarthy, No Country For Old Men
“Work hard. If results depend on effort, then you will carry yourself far. If results depend on effort and luck, then you will have done what you can to influence the outcome. And if results depend on luck alone, then the outcome is random, but you will have won the battle with yourself.”
James Clear
“You can never invite the wind, but you must leave the window open.”
Bruce Lee, Striking Thoughts (Page 13)
“Many people worry, and suffer, because they have been involved in so many bad things in their lives. In truth, though, good things often happen in spite of our wishes, and sometimes even in opposition to our wishes, and often after our excitement and suffering over unworthy things.”
Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 49)
“Remember that you are an actor in a play, playing a character according to the will of the playwright—if a short play, then it’s short; if long, long. If he wishes you to play the beggar, play even that role well, just as you would if it were a cripple, a honcho, or an everyday person. For this is your duty, to perform well the character assigned you. That selection belongs to another.”
Epictetus, via The Daily Stoic (Page 333)
“Being pleasant and having a good attitude is a simple way to become luckier. Opportunities come through people, and people are more likely to bring opportunities to people they like. It’s hard to win if your attitude adds friction to every interpersonal experience.”
James Clear, Blog
“Today, we could hope that goodness comes our way—good news, good weather, good luck. Or we could find it ourselves, in ourselves. Goodness isn’t something that’s going to be delivered by mail. You have to dig it up inside your own soul. You find it within your own thoughts, and you make it with your own actions.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 317)
“Anyone can get lucky. There’s no skill in being oblivious, and no one would consider that greatness. On the other hand, the person who perseveres through difficulties, who keeps going when others quit, who makes it to their destination through hard work and honesty? That’s admirable, because their survival was the result of fortitude and resilience, not birthright or circumstance. A person who overcame not just the external obstacles to success but mastered themselves and their emotions along the way? That’s much more impressive. The person who has been dealt a harder hand, understood it, but still triumphed? That’s greatness.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 278)
“Today, you can hope that good fortune and good luck magically come your way. Or you can prepare yourself to get lucky by focusing on doing the right thing at the right time—and, ironically, render luck mostly unnecessary in the process.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 158)
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca | Read Matt’s Blog on this quote ➜
Why is Consistency the Key? Because It Beats Talent, Good Intentions, Luck, and Even Quality.
“Consistency beats talent. Consistency beats good intentions. Consistency beats luck. Consistency even beats quality.”
Unknown
Beyond the Quote (96/365)
When does consistency beats talent?
Well, you have to be consistent enough to bridge the talent gap. The fact that somebody is ‘talented’ in a certain area implies that they have innate aptitudes, abilities, or skills that start them ahead of you. But just because somebody has a head start doesn’t mean that they are always going to win. In fact, this is the basic premise for every underdog story you’ve ever heard.
Read More »Why is Consistency the Key? Because It Beats Talent, Good Intentions, Luck, and Even Quality.“The way to attract good luck is to be reliable in a valuable area. The more you repeatedly deliver value, the more people seek you out for that value. Your reputation is a magnet. Once you become known for something, relevant opportunities come to you with no extra work.” ~ James Clear, Blog
“Genes can’t make you successful if you’re not doing the work. Yes, it’s possible that the ripped trainer at they gym has better genes, but if you haven’t put in the same reps, it’s impossible to say if you have been dealt a better or worse genetic hand. Until you work as hard as those you admire, don’t explain away their success as luck.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits
“To be alive becomes the fundamental luck each ordinary, compromising day manages to bury.” ~ Ellen Gilchrist, Acts of God
“It really seems (at least if you read popular media) that who you know and whether you get ‘picked’ are the two keys to success. Luck. The thing about luck is this: we’re already lucky. We’re insanely lucky that we weren’t born during the Black Plague or in a country with no freedom. We’re lucky that we’ve got access to highly leveraged tools and terrific opportunities. If we set that luck aside, though, something interesting shows up. Delete the outliers – the people who are hit by a bus or win the lottery, the people who luck out in a big way – and we’re left with everyone else. And for everyone else, effort is directly related to success. Not all the time, but as much as you would expect. Smarter, harder-working, better-informed, and better-liked people do better than other people, most of the time.” ~ Seth Godin, Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?
