The Key To Success: Luck

This is going to really goes against the grain for many people but it is becoming more evident that the ultimate key to success is luck. While that are other factors that come into play, a lot of the success we attain is due to circumstances beyond out control.

Certainly, those who are successful work hard and apply their talents. They learn and educate themselves. However, there are a lot of unsuccessful people who do the same thing.

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Warren Buffett is noted as one of the most successful investors of all-time. He is disciplined, a dedicated reader, and very committed to his craft. He is also very lucky, something he is well aware of.

Buffett was born in the United States in the 1930s. He attended schools such as Penn and University of Nebraska along with Columbia business school. Do you think him getting in those schools was a matter of hard work and good grades? Did the fact his father was a United States Congressman have anything to do with it? That was luck example number 1.

Another lucky break is that he was not female like his sisters. In the 1940s, women were not given the same paths as men. They were expected to be homemakers, not business professionals. It would be another 20 years before the American psyche even began to change. Hence, Buffett was fortunate to be a man.

Of course, the Oracle of Omaha took advantage of the situations that were presented to him, not squandering them. However, he is well aware of how luck played a part in his success, something he is very grateful for.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/19/warren-buffett-and-leon-cooperman-agree-luck-is-key-to-success.html

One of the co-founders of Facebook made news a few months back by saying the same thing. I recall his stating that he felt it was nothing but luck that the social media app became so big. Yes their development was there, however, that warranted a few million. For it to be valued by the market into the billions was luck in his view. He does not believe get $500M was the result of hard work or smarts. It was luck that made him ultra-rich.

Amazon is one of the biggest names on the planet right now. That venture was started with by using the life savings of Bezos' parents which amounted to a couple hundred thousand dollars. Do you think a kid from South Central LA would be able to tap into a similar resource?

https://www.fundable.com/learn/startup-stories/amazon

This is not a new idea. There are a ton of articles online detailing the success stories of many people and it is easy to see how fortunate they were. Honestly, if any of these people were born in Vietnam, Laos, or Chile, we probably never hear about them.

Do you know who else is very lucky? Steemians.

I do not think people realize how lucky we are to be here at this point in time. I believe many will end up finding Steem at a later date yet it is those of us here now who can really take advantage of being early adopters.

My story is simple. I went to a meeting for another token where someone mentioned Steem. Later that night, when I got home, I signed up. I was blessed that my account was approved a day later. That got me started on my journey.

By the way, I never saw the couple again who mentioned Steem. So what would have happened if they never mentioned it? What if the approval took a week instead of a day? Would I still have been interested?

Some will call this the universe or synchronicity at work. That is fine. The idea is that it was not my hard work or intelligence that got me to come to Steem. It is true that hard work is what took place once I got here so that factor is not eliminated from the equation.

There is also the fact that all of us are in crypto. We are going to see billions involved in this, yet the early days are right now. There are challenges as we all know but this also brings huge opportunities.

Certainly, I wish I joined Steem 6 months or a year before I did. It is easy to look back and say that. Of course, would I have taken advantage of the situation when the price of STEEM collapsed to 7 cents and the site was a total mess? The answer matters none since I was not here.

Nevertheless, I am grateful that I did find Steem when I did. Personally, I believe everyone can make this statement. A couple years from now, there will be people signing up for accounts who will feel that those who are here now are lucky. To a certain degree, they are correct. The fact someone is here is, at least in part, a matter of luck. However, what the person does once he or she is here is not luck.

Those who are consistently active and persist, tend to get results.

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Some say we make our own luck. I do not know if that is totally true. Did everyone on here make their own luck by being on the Internet. How are you part of the half the world that has internet access? What if you were part of the other 3.5B people who cannot get online? Would you have done something different than those people?

Another thing I realized is that nobody should have to apologize for the good fortune that shines upon them. It seems a common part of society today to attack those who have more. We take the fact that luck played a part in it and want to degrade their accomplishments. Yes, Warren Buffett was lucky to be born male in the 1930s instead of female. True, having a dad who was a Congressman provided him opportunities most of us do not get. However, he did take those situations and use them to his advantage. He did not squander them.

And that is something we see so many do.

So my question to all Steemians is are you going to throw away the good fortune that was cast upon you? Of the 7B people on this planet, everyone but a select few even heard of Steem, let alone have any idea what it is. You are in very select company. That key was handed to you, now what are you going to do with it?

This is the choice we are all confronted with. We are in Steem long before most of the world will become aware of it with the price of the coin below $1. These are not situations that will last forever. Eventually, the masses are going to find out about this hidden gem. We are also going to see the price of STEEM rise at some point (it might go further down first). A couple years from now, I sense that STEEM will look like a steal at 80 cents.

I am very grateful to be a part of this community at this time. Fortune shined upon me, I realize that. Yes there is a lot of hard work that goes into Steem success so we cannot omit that from the equation. This is not an easy path. Nevertheless, my view is the payoff will be there for all who are committed to this blockchain. With so much taking place, we are going to see massive growth over the next few years.

And we can all look back and say "remember when".

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