TOWNSHEND — Every day each of us has a little bit of luck. Some is bad, but most of it is good. Many people believe that luck is random.
But by following a simple, well-known formula, I believe that we can all make our own luck. The formula is this: “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.”
I was delighted to see that quote in the Leland and Gray student handbook, but apparently the company that produces that book needs better fact checkers.
This was not a quote by Denzel Washington, as they claim, but by the Roman philosopher Seneca, who lived almost 2,000 years before Washington arrived on the scene. This is another example of why I say that one source for your information is never enough.
In any case, if one component of luck is preparation and another is opportunity, then one might ask: How do I get prepared when I don't know what the opportunities will be?
Sadly, you may decide that you have to prepare yourself for everything.
That's bad news. It will probably make an interesting life, but you'll also have a meltdown before you ever get to use all that preparation.
The solution is to identify what it is that you can do reasonably well and, more importantly, what you want to spend a great deal of time doing. It's worthwhile taking time to figure this out.
The good news is that most of your experiences are preparation, whether you are aware of the preparation or not.
For instance, when I was in high school, my parents made me take typing. I fought them hard on that notion, but in the end, I let them win and ended up in a basic typing class.
This would have been a very bad move in today's world, since the need for typists and secretaries has declined dramatically. Luckily for me, personal computers came along, and my typing skills make my life easier every single day.
The moral is that maybe your parents do know best, and maybe you should to be willing to gain preparation by learning skills that are not immediately necessary but might be useful in the future.
The second example is what got me my job, which I am truly lucky to have.
The other candidate, who I understand was the preferred candidate, did not have his or her certification up to date. But I was prepared with updated credentials, and here I am 13 years later - with the best job I could possibly have.
Certainly, preparation is easier if you have a clear goal; you can then prepare for that goal by doing such things as keeping your skills up to date or becoming even more skilled.
But we don't always have clear goals, or we attain our goal but then we find that we have made a bad choice.
That's okay. It's like writing a rough draft of a paper; like that draft, goals can be changed. Luckily for you, our society is much more tolerant than it once was of a life made up of multiple goals in the form of jobs and experiences.
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For the second component of luck, opportunity, you will have to keep an open mind.
The adults in my life also factored in. My music teacher and, again, my parents, were sure that I would become a teacher. I was sure that I would not. Dad let me win this one and sent me off to college to study anthropology, then economics.
I won the battle but not the war. I spent several years in jobs that were unappealing for one reason or another.
Was it a waste of time? I thought so then, but now I know I was just getting prepared for the next opportunity, whatever that might have been.
At the very least, I knew what I did not want to do with my life. I looked carefully at what I had been doing. My avocations, second jobs, and hobbies all entailed teaching of some sort. So I decided to get certified - certified to teach, that is.
Even if I didn't use my certification right away, “it would be something to fall back on.” Dad's words, not mine. Opportunity met preparation, and here I am, one of the luckiest people in the world of work.
The moral of that story is to be flexible, be willing to take a risk, keep an open mind, and listen to your parents and teachers.
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Opportunities will present themselves unexpectedly, and apparently at random. If you examine the opportunities that have arisen in your life, you will probably find them a direct result of being alert and observant. They are there to be taken advantage of, so don't ignore them.
At times, existing opportunities that match your preparation might be unavailable to you. In those cases, you might have to make your own opportunities, as business owners do. Making opportunities becomes easier the more you are prepared and the more you know. Knowledge is preparation.
With experience, opportunities will more frequently meet preparation. When that happens, you are more likely to make your own good luck.
The true test of this concept is bad luck.
Whenever I have had significant bad luck, lack of preparation had a lot to do with it. Once I missed out on a job that would have doubled my income because my resume wasn't up to date. My resume is now always up to date, even though I love my job.
Several times, I thought I saw a good opportunity but didn't spend the time to research it. Because I didn't take the time, I ended up doing something that was truly unpleasant.
True bad luck, such as an unexpected illness, might be random; no one plans to have bad luck. But the way bad luck is handled can determine whether it becomes a catastrophe.
Bad luck often requires swift emergency preparation to keep it under control, to prepare in advance for the worst-case scenario.
Such preparations include eating right, rehearsing your speech, being nice to others, saving money, increasing your skills, and using your seat belt. These are not empty pieces of advice; these are forms of preparation that will affect your luck. If you are prepared, bad luck will not defeat you and good luck will find you.
For the graduates of 2011: remember, bad luck isn't forever, but good luck might not be permanent.
During times of good luck, keep preparing for the next opportunity so that your luck will continue. If you experience bad luck, use this experience to learn what to do differently in the future to become better prepared for a similar event.
Congratulations! You have completed the first major step of your preparation: you have graduated from high school. Continue this trend and be alert for opportunities. As your preparation and opportunities meet more and more frequently, your luck will increase exponentially.
Good luck to all and especially to the class of 2011.