My second boss with GoodLife Fitness clubs was a women named Julie, a very bright person with a very easy way about her – everyone likes her because she gives off a positive genuine vibe. She understands people, she doesn’t keep them waiting and she is brutally honest in the most caring way. She called me on my crap when she needed to but in a way that made me realize I could do better.
One thing Julie doesn’t have time for are excuses that factor in luck as a reason for ones success. She doesn’t believe in luck. “Frankly,” she said, “when someone blames their lack of success on a short coming of luck they are really saying that they haven’t worked hard enough to be successful.”
She cited an example of a cheap trip she found on line. The price was really low and the vacation was great value. When she mentioned to some of her friends that she finally got the deal she was looking for some of them said that she was lucky. She didn’t think it was luck at all. In fact, she knew exactly how she came to get the trip so cheap.
Once she decided that she wanted to take the trip, she would check 3 or 4 on line retailers for their specials. It took almost no time and she was already logged into the Internet to check email. The first thing she did in the morning and the last thing at night was to check these sites. After just less than a month she finally found what she was looking for and bought the tickets immediately.
All tolled, it probably didn’t take more than about 15 minutes to check 4 sites on 50 separate occasions, but it did require her sustained effort. Her point is that she wasn’t lucky, she was determined. Her view is that there is a huge difference between the two. You can control your determination, you cannot control your luck. Any reference to luck immediately places you in role of victim and removes your control of a situation.