I recently had a conversation at work with my boss and a few other co-workers about the subject of Luck. And no not the Indianapolis Colts Quarterback. This conversation was on the subject of whether or not we believe that luck is real. It was a very interesting conversation as different people had different views on the topic. Personally, I think we create our own luck. This conversation made me think about some of my past circumstances and the affect they have had on me. Situations from our past teach us valuable life lessons and shape who you are later in your life.
I had played baseball when I was younger but because of my passion for other sports like basketball, golf and soccer I had decided not to play baseball that past few seasons. When I was in the 6th grade I decided I was going to try out for the local travel baseball team. Many of my friends were dedicated baseball players and had been playing on the "A" team for several years. Up to that point I had not experienced the failure of not making an "A" team or getting cut so I had no fear of trying out even though I hadn't picked up a baseball bat or glove in almost three years. To make a long story short the tryout didn't go well at all. I dropped several routine fly balls, struck out during batting practice, and couldn't field a ground ball for the life of me. It was embarrassing. To make matters worse they announced the cuts in front of everyone so all my friends knew I didn't make the team. As you can probably imagine, when my dad came to pick me up I was very upset and told him how unlucky I was. However, he helped teach me a valuable life lesson that day about how hard work and practice can help create your own luck. He told me to remember how bad it felt to get cut and to continue to work hard at the other sports I was passionate about so that I never had to experience that feeling again.
This lesson also helped carry over into college and my career in business because I always have that fear of failure in the back of my head now. I knew what that felt like and didn't want to experience that again so I always worked a little harder to ensure I always gave myself the best chance at good luck.
