Yes, I am Lucky

Michael Oluwafemi Taiwo, PhD

Many people deride the role luck has played in their success. They even deny having any! Some are embarrassed by the idea that they are lucky and others are annoyed if an attempt is ever made to show how luck has factored into their achievement. The leadership literature has not made matters any easier. Leadership gurus flood the market with clichés like ‘Luck is when preparation meets opportunity’, or ‘I have found out that the harder I work the luckier I become’, or ‘Luck is the residue of design.’ It is against this tide of conventional wisdom that I wish to swim. And this article is the first I will write in a three-part series to take a shot at this misguided popular opinion. I am going to argue here, and in the two articles coming after this one, that all successful endeavors have luck to thank. No one – whether an individual, a team or a nation – would be successful without luck and if you disagree with this statement then I have you right where I want you: the other side.

Some religious folks have strongly objected to the use of the word “luck”. They believe it is a sacrilegious attempt at giving credit to an unknown. They prefer to use “favor,” “blessed,” “God’s mercies,” or any other term that ascribes their success to an “Other.” This “Other” is usually a know-all, be-all Deity. His omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent powers order the universe and assign men their fates. I have no problem with that. In fact, with respect to my argument, we are on the same page. Why? Because we both agree that whatever goodies we have were not all purchased by our sweat but by something outside of ourselves that we have absolutely no control over. After all, can you control God? So to my religious friends, I will say you should please humor me and let me carry on with the word “luck” knowing full well that we are both saying the same thing. Don’t let us get caught up with the semantics. Isn’t it Shakespeare that said “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name will smell as sweet?”

How true?

I look at my own life and gladly acknowledge the role luck has played. I got into the University a year ahead of my high school friends not because I was smarter or more far-sighted but simply because of Serendipity. My elder sister was about to write JAMB (the entrance exam into Nigeria’s colleges and universities) and when she got to where she would purchase the exam application forms realized she had enough money for two forms and thought “What the heck? I can buy one for my kid brother too. There’s no harm in letting him try early.” I seized that opportunity and worked my butt off to score just enough to be offered an admission into my dream department at my dream school. You could say I got into college when I did because I “worked my butt off” but what if my sister didn’t have enough money for two forms? What if she had but didn’t think of me when buying hers? I never said hard work wasn’t part of the success equation; my point is that luck is very much a part too.

I also think of how I got my current job. I had applied for the same job online with no luck and I got the classic “Sorry, after looking at your resume, we regret to inform you that you have not been considered for the job” response. A few months later, at a Geoscientists’ conference, I ran into a recruiter from the same company that rejected my online application; she took one look at my resume and said “I have a job for you!” Nothing had changed in those intervening months: I was still the same me, doing the same research, having the same GPA and working at the same rate. The only difference now was that I happened to be at the right place at the right time talking to the right person. I was lucky to be at the conference. I am not a Geoscientist but I have friends who thought it okay to invite me. I was lucky to meet a recruiter who knew exactly what the company was looking for and quickly saw a fit. (I have since found out not all recruiters are that competent.) I got a Chemical Engineering job at a Geoscientist conference. Yes, I am lucky.

Look, my point is that in trying to extol the virtues of hardwork, resilience and planning we have swung too far to the other side. We have become extremists in expressing those views and we have almost made luck a vice. Whereas, in the daily grind of life, we over and again find that it ain’t just so! You need to be at least a little lucky to survive in this world and you definitely need a large dose of it to thrive, to have your place among the very best. It is about time you came off your high horse and humbly accept: yes, I was lucky.

P.S.
In my next article, I will write on “The many faces of Luck” and in the last article of this Luck series I will go a bit more philosophical and touch on “Our Struggle with Luck.” I am really excited to share these with you and can’t wait to hear your thoughts!