A long time ago, my family and I had gone out to one of those terrible Chinese take out restaurants, because we really wanted Chinese food but didn't want to spend a ton of money for it. As I was a little kid, I ate some of the actual food we ordered, but I mostly focused on the fortune cookies that always come with the take out. I'd always crack them open, eat the cookie, and then read my fortune. To this day, only one cheesy fortune cookie quote has ever stuck with me.
Winners make their own luck.
For years, I had that saying stuck on the walls, written in my notebooks, scrawled on my arms. Nothing had ever motivated me more than the idea that I could make my own luck instead of hoping for the best. To this day, I credit that quote for getting me to work hard enough to get myself to the international Future Problem Solving competition in 2011. And still, I find that that tacky quote motivating me to get done what I need to.
The whole essence of the quote is that you can make things go your own way; you don't have to wait around for something to happen because you can make it happen yourself. And that's how you become a winner. You do it yourself. You put in the work yourself. No one hands anything to you. You grab it yourself.
I think it's really important that people keep this mind set. A lot of people seem to be getting lazier and refusing to work for what they want. But winners make their own luck. It won't be a true victory, and you won't really be a winner, unless you do it yourself. The people who have worked for what they have are always going to be more satisfied than the people who just get things handed to them. Hard workers deserve the rewards they've gotten.
If you're ever feeling discouraged and like you're down on your luck, maybe you ought to go out and change your luck yourself. Winners make their own luck. You can change your situation if you try hard enough, because there's always going to be a solution to your problem if you want to find one. Find your inspiration and get a win for yourself, you deserve it.
And you can make yourself a winner in anything you want. If you're happy, you've won, no matter what the prize is (if there's even one at all). Being happy in itself is a prize. Even if your dreams seem ridiculous, you can still do it if you try. Never give up on yourself, because you can be successful at anything if you're working hard enough at it. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. Ever heard the story of the tortoise and the hare?
Do what you want to do, and be what you want to be, and win for yourself.
Winners make their own luck.
