Stay Lucky…

You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from

Cormac McCarthy

Several people I have met in my life had a ‘life-plan’. Mapping out how they will achieve that to which they aspire and in doing so, believe they will find happiness. This week’s Reflection is that despite being a ‘planner’, I’ve never had a life plan. I’ve made all the big decisions in my life on gut feel. If it felt right, I’ve done it. I made my career choices that way. And my personal life choices. I plan the non-important stuff. Where to go on holiday and the like. I leave the important things to fate, as I like to call it, and ‘feel’.

I recently chronicled, over 64 days, the key events of each of my 64 years. It reinforced to me how much fate plays a part in my life. Indeed, my very existence came about because of what I feel were significant turns of fate. Then again, are there any insignificant turns of fate, no matter how ‘small’ we may think they are?

A young casualty of war chose to return to his native northeast of England rather than seek a life in Australia. An unhappy young mother wishing farewell to her life in a dark night of the soul. While another young woman chose a path to freedom despite the approbation of society. These events were all many years apart, but if any had taken a different turn, you would not be reading these words.

Of course, what I choose to call fate others might call luck, happenstance, chance. While there will be others of religious belief, who see some form of divine order to it all. The Serenity Prayer does hold wisdom in the lines;

… grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

enjoying one moment at a time …

I mean no disrespect to those of faith but I’m afraid in my belief system, no higher order will grant us such serenity, courage, or wisdom. We must seek that in ourselves.

I don’t decide the cards fate deals me. I just try to play them the best way I know. In my retirement speech, I said that while I had not attained in my working life all that for which I hoped, I had attained all of which I was capable and that I was comfortable with that. I would say the same in my personal life. I may not now achieve that to which I aspired, but I have, and will, achieve that of which I am capable, and again I am comfortable with that.

One of my business ‘Heroes’ was Lord Weinstock, within whose group of companies I worked for over twenty years. He was not everyone’s cup of tea because of his no-nonsense leadership style. I possessed nothing like his business acumen but did have something of the same leadership approach. Asked in an interview what he believed made a successful Managing Director, Lord Weinstock answered, to the surprise of the interviewer, “Luck”.

It may have been that Lord Weinstock was thinking back to the quotation often attributed to Napoleon of, “Give me lucky generals”. In fact, that phrase goes back to Cardinal Mazarin, Chief Minister of France in the early 1600s. He offered that the question to ask of a General is not, “Est-il habile?” Is he skilful? But “Est-il heureux?” Is he lucky?

Many believe it was Gary Player, the golfer, who originated the phrase, “the more I practice, the luckier I get”. In fact, such sayings are much older. Of the original variants, the one I most prefer is, “The more you know, the more luck you have”, because it places emphasis on knowledge.

My hypothesis that fate plays a more significant part in our lives than we might think doesn’t mean I believe we should live our lives just trusting to luck. Drifting this way and that on the ebbs and flows of life. We must learn how to sail through life’s currents, understand how to keep the wind in our sails and become navigators that can avoid life’s rocks and shallows. Luck dictates how strong the currents or wind might be and one must take advantage of that luck, through honed skills, acquired knowledge, positive attitude etc. Also, one can ride out a streak of bad luck in the same way. Showing fortitude, firm resolution, and self-belief. in that way, we might reach our desired destination.

It’s still a work in progress but as I grow older, I find a greater inner calm by embracing the fact that fate plays such a significant part in life. That there is a large element of our lives, we can do nothing to influence. However, after fate strikes, being ready to take advantage, or make the best, of its results. It serves me well, and it might serve others.

Stay lucky!