Luck = Hard Work

As I was leaving my office for vacation, a client told me how "lucky" I am to be able to get away for a week. And, of course, I agreed with him.

But then I paused to explain to him that my being able to go on vacation is also the culmination of over 21 years of sobriety and hard work – not just because I'm "lucky."

Some think that others’ good fortune is the result of something outside themselves, such as luck. My experience is that the harder I work – the more I persevere - the luckier I get.

Once I got clean and sober I found that my so-called luck improved. People noticed what I was doing with my life. As people learned that I was able to keep my word they offered me more business opportunities.

People who wouldn't look at me when I was using began loaning money and extending credit. After a period of sobriety others believed I’d succeed.

And it wasn’t necessarily an altruistic thing on their part. They wanted to align themselves with a winner, someone who could help them make money. And that happened for them. But it happened only because I've been able to maintain sobriety for 21 years.

I believe 90% of success is because we show up each day. Maybe we aren’t always on the top of our game. But we persevere no matter what.

And the result is what our client views as "luck."