What About Destiny?

When asked on national TV whether her enormous success was in part due to good luck Oprah answered: "I don't believe in luck; this is my destiny!"

It always amazes me when people talk like that. True, most "self-made" individuals owe their success for the most part thanks to their hard work, commitment, focus and a "never give up" attitude.

Still, no matter how you slice the pie, there is an ingredient in their success recipe that is completely out of their control, yet made it possible for them to become successful. That ingredient is "LUCK"; whether they believe in it or not.

Bill Gates became super successful when the giant IBM corporation hired his minuscule, unknown company called Microsoft, to develop a new operating system. Thanks to an incredibly stupid oversight from IBM's lawyers, IBM never claimed the developed software as their own. Bill got the biggest "lucky" break of his life and thanks to IBM's screw up, Microsoft became a global giant.

Luck! Whether you believe in it or not, is and always will be an intricate part of your success, no matter at what level. The state lotteries are prime examples there of. They don't require skill or education. The winner is just plain "lucky".

Luck is the one factor you have no control over that determines the extend of your destiny. Time and again there are plenty of examples of people who sail through life while others struggle. Yet those struggling most often work harder and with more commitment than those who are luckier.

Case in point: a friend of mine has always lived his life without a care. He motto is: "Life is a giant party!". Yet luck has smiled on him without end. The biggest luck factor in his life thus far is a multi-million dollar lifestyle he received as a "gift" from his mother-in-law.

I, on the other hand, took life seriously. I was ambitious and wanted to make something of myself. Although I have a nice comfortable life now, I am nowhere near to living the "easy" life my friend enjoys. I had to work extremely hard to reach my goals. I failed miserably at several businesses. I had enough setbacks to last several lifetimes.

This is not a statement based on jealousy. This is an observation that proves that destiny is a compilation of several factors, one of which is luck. And the more luck you have the greater your destiny will be.

When Oprah started her talk-show she was an unknown figure. Looking back at her early days she certainly wasn't a bombshell. No one, including Oprah, could have predicted that her show would become such an enormous success and make Oprah one of the richest women in the world.

In fact given the lifespan of new talk-shows in general, the chances for Oprah's show becoming yet another statistic where extremely high. Luck smiled on her big time and stood by her side, whether she believes in it or not.

Without luck in your life you will never succeed. Luck alone is not where success is at. Luck, however, is and always will be an intricate part of your destiny. A life without luck is a life of struggle.

I once heard a very rich man say these words: "To be successful in life you need three things: money, know-how and luck. And of these three things you need luck more than any other!"

In my humble opinion he's absolutely correct in his observation. Luck is the one key ingredient that the more you have of it the better your life will be and the greater you can make your destiny.

Luck! It's the one ace in the cards of life, that gives you more than you can ever phantom.