What is luck?

[Captain Ahab Jr]

I'm the luckiest person I know

Worked hard to make my own luck but the luckiest luck I've had was because of my wife

[Rtrorkt]

well there was that lucky hitch hike pick up in 1969 on I77. VW bus with several unattached ladies, good music and some herb. That was a good day

[911 Rod]

For the most part you make your own luck both good and bad.

[Dixie]

It’s hard to detect good luck. It looks so much like something earned.

[herr_oberst]

Like many people, I've always said I earned my luck; but I'm pragmatic enough to know that works both ways - good and bad.

However, being born tall, white, male and small-town American in the 1950's - that's either the luck of the draw or hard work in all my previous lives, as per Buddhism.

[gregpark]

I agree, one earns ones luck. Notice how envious "unlucky" people are of you? And those people seem to be of the lazy variety. What a coincidence

[LWJ]

^^^BINGO. I have a buddy who is ridiculously "unlucky." He created it.

Dixie's comment about good luck looking like something earned. Bad luck seems to be earned as well.

[Dixie]

Originally Posted by LWJ

^^^BINGO. I have a buddy who is ridiculously "unlucky." He created it.

Dixie's comment about good luck looking like something earned. Bad luck seems to be earned as well.

I think there might be some truth to the above; however I believe luck is how we choose to think about things. As in, there's nothing inherently good, or bad, happening in life. Stuff just happens. For example, maybe the bad luck of not getting a big promotion is actually good luck. If you got the job, perhaps you'd be working all the time causing your marriage to end in divorce.

Now karma is different. That's where people attract the energy they emit. Like if someone is hateful, they attract others that hate, or hate them.

[sc_rufctr]

Some people are incredibly lucky. For instance being born in the right family at the right time.

But often the "incredibly lucky" find a way to stuff it up.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

quick note, I think I have a different definition of luck from many here. I don't subscribe to the you make your own luck philosophy, whether good or bad. Luck, by it's very definition (the one I follow) is independent of your actions. Will try to post more later on with examples. But for me, making your own luck is just planning. Good planning, bad planning... things happen because of what you did.

When you set cosmic tumblers into play, results are not luck.

[oldE]

Friday morning I cut hay. We baled it and got it into the barn Saturday evening. I had been thinking of topping up the fuel tank on the tractor before we baled, but knew there was enough. Next morning I refueled from a jug I had sitting and went about cutting trash around the edge of the field. After about 5 minutes use, the tractor lost power. Seemed to be fuel starvation. The filter was full of crap. Monday morning I got a couple of spare filters. I drained a bunch of fuel out of the tank, changed the filter, cleaned the housing, flushed the lines to the injection pump and started it up. All the time I was thinking, "Lucky I hadn't refueled when we had hay to bale."

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

quick note, I think I have a different definition of luck from many here. I don't subscribe to the you make your own luck philosophy, whether good or bad. Luck, by it's very definition (the one I follow) is independent of your actions. Will try to post more later on with examples. But for me, making your own luck is just planning. Good planning, bad planning... things happen because of what you did. When you set cosmic tumblers into play, results are not luck.

I agree with you Shaun. My prime example...just look at the wives you guys have. That has GOT to be pure luck!

[911 Rod]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I agree with you Shaun. My prime example...just look at the wives you guys have. That has GOT to be pure luck!

Or the wives we have gotten rid of!

[speeder]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Like many people, I've always said I earned my luck; but I'm pragmatic enough to know that works both ways - good and bad.

However, being born tall, white, male and small-town American in the 1950's - that's either the luck of the draw or hard work in all my previous lives, as per Buddhism.

I was waiting for this post. A wise person once said that the only luck that matters is "the luck of birth," being born when/where/who you were born to. I think about this often because it's the only luck that you truly have no say in or part of, (every other type of luck you at least had to make the choice of putting yourself in a certain place at a certain time). Your health, your looks, being born in the U.S. in the later 20th century with modern medicine and education opportunities, etc., etc...

Compare it to all of the people in the world throughout history and the odds of your birth are astronomical, to put it mildly. Sometimes I think that I've had too much luck in life, it's not always a good thing. But that's another conversation.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

But for me, making your own luck is just planning.

I once read somewhere that ‘luck’ will often seem to be present at the confluence of preparation and opportunity.

[Tobra]

I am perhaps the most fortunate person on this side of the grass.

Used to kind of wierd me out, but I got used to it

[oldE]

A follow up on my bad fuel post. Had the mechanic in this morning. He listened to my account of the symptoms and took the cap off the fuel tank and advised me I had put gasoline into my diesel tractor. We drained everything out of the system, put in fresh diesel and it worked! I was afraid I had ruined the injection pump or the engine .
How gasoline got into my diesel jug, I have no idea. Luckily I dodged serious damage.

[rockfan4]

If there's still a post above mine from allan88, it has a spam link. I reported the post.

My credit union has an annual meeting, and at the end of the meeting they will hand out envelopes of cash. There's usually enough that there's a 25% - 50% chance that you're going to go home with an envelope. I've attended these meetings for almost 10 years, and I've never won one, and neither has my wife. I guess I don't have any luck. Or maybe it's rigged.

[Seahawk]

^^^ Got it, thanks. Missed it.

There are concrete behaviors and circumstance that enable luck and actions that inhibit luck's attendance.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Originally Posted by speeder

I was waiting for this post. A wise person once said that the only luck that matters is "the luck of birth," being born when/where/who you were born to. I think about this often because it's the only luck that you truly have no say in or part of, (every other type of luck you at least had to make the choice of putting yourself in a certain place at a certain time). Your health, your looks, being born in the U.S. in the later 20th century with modern medicine and education opportunities, etc., etc...

Compare it to all of the people in the world throughout history and the odds of your birth are astronomical, to put it mildly. Sometimes I think that I've had too much luck in life, it's not always a good thing. But that's another conversation.

Your right on that one.

In the 50's the chance of being born in America world wide was 17 to 1.
Being a tall, white male with blues eyes within that population get the odds even higher.