The new smart financial move is walking away

[davelj]

[quote=AN]Luck doesn’t mean much if you’re unprepared to take advantage of it or you’re too scared to take advantage of it. Example would be Bill Gates. He took a risk, quit an Ivy League education to start up his company in what’s basically a garage. Yes, there are many people who tried to start up a computer company just like him and did not make it. He is lucky in that sense, but he’s also willing to take the risk and succeed. I’m sure there are many people who passed up on such opportunity because the risk is too high for them and they CHOSE to take the more secure path.[/quote]

This is true, but… I’m sure that there were folks just as smart and hard-working as Bill Gates chasing a similar goal who either failed miserably or ended up with a tiny fraction of his success. Why? The Fates didn’t smile upon them to the same degree they did Bill Gates. Holding up successful people to make a generalization about the traits that led them to such success (a la “The Millionaire Next Door”) suffers from the Fallacy of Composition. That is, the habits of these Uber People should not be emulated unless one can determine how many more people followed a similar strategy but failed to hit it big.

Let’s look at the top of the top percentile of folks who we would define as “very intelligent” and “hard-working” here in the US. And let’s say that amounts to 500,000 folks, just to use a number. That’s about the top 0.015% of the US population. While most of these folks are probably fairly successful, I bet you’ll find a HUGE bell curve of success (defined in economic terms) within this group. And many folks who are not very successful at all. The MAIN difference (although not the only difference) between them: Luck.

I don’t know (and no one knows) the degree of luck involved in one’s life (relative to intelligence/hard work), but I think it’s pretty large. Much larger than most humans are capable of acknowledging.

[sdrealtor]

Luck is defintely a HUGE part of it but saying all people are the same is a loser attitude and a cop out. All people are not the same. I know there are people smarter than me, better looking then me, more personable than me who are capable of things I am not. With that said, life is what you make out of it. You can’t hit that lucky home run if you never swing. Some people are content to be spectators and some are not. Some people swing and some people pretend they are playing the game but never take the bat off their shoulders. Some people are capable of hitting that home run when they swing and some people are only capable of generating a cool breeze when they swing. It still takes luck but luck only happens when preparation meets opportunity.

[sdrealtor]

Luck is defintely a HUGE part of it but saying all people are the same is a loser attitude and a cop out. All people are not the same. I know there are people smarter than me, better looking then me, more personable than me who are capable of things I am not. With that said, life is what you make out of it. You can’t hit that lucky home run if you never swing. Some people are content to be spectators and some are not. Some people swing and some people pretend they are playing the game but never take the bat off their shoulders. Some people are capable of hitting that home run when they swing and some people are only capable of generating a cool breeze when they swing. It still takes luck but luck only happens when preparation meets opportunity.

[sdrealtor]

Luck is defintely a HUGE part of it but saying all people are the same is a loser attitude and a cop out. All people are not the same. I know there are people smarter than me, better looking then me, more personable than me who are capable of things I am not. With that said, life is what you make out of it. You can’t hit that lucky home run if you never swing. Some people are content to be spectators and some are not. Some people swing and some people pretend they are playing the game but never take the bat off their shoulders. Some people are capable of hitting that home run when they swing and some people are only capable of generating a cool breeze when they swing. It still takes luck but luck only happens when preparation meets opportunity.

[sdrealtor]

Luck is defintely a HUGE part of it but saying all people are the same is a loser attitude and a cop out. All people are not the same. I know there are people smarter than me, better looking then me, more personable than me who are capable of things I am not. With that said, life is what you make out of it. You can’t hit that lucky home run if you never swing. Some people are content to be spectators and some are not. Some people swing and some people pretend they are playing the game but never take the bat off their shoulders. Some people are capable of hitting that home run when they swing and some people are only capable of generating a cool breeze when they swing. It still takes luck but luck only happens when preparation meets opportunity.

[sdrealtor]

Luck is defintely a HUGE part of it but saying all people are the same is a loser attitude and a cop out. All people are not the same. I know there are people smarter than me, better looking then me, more personable than me who are capable of things I am not. With that said, life is what you make out of it. You can’t hit that lucky home run if you never swing. Some people are content to be spectators and some are not. Some people swing and some people pretend they are playing the game but never take the bat off their shoulders. Some people are capable of hitting that home run when they swing and some people are only capable of generating a cool breeze when they swing. It still takes luck but luck only happens when preparation meets opportunity.

[SD Realtor]

The degree of luck that involves our lives is a factor we all have. However we also have the ability within us to enhance that degree through our own personality, effort, ability, etc. To not say well, this decision I made which was basically stupid, was the result of external factors to me is simply not acceptable. There were plenty of people who were much better off, and much worse off, who simply did not buy a home. Period. So to claim to be a victim of external forces, or easy opportunity, or the entire industry pushed you into it, or whatever you want to choose, simply does not wash. It was a choice, nothing more, and nothing less. For some it worked out, for some it did not. The relativity of luck in your life shouldn’t be an enabler for poor decisions.

[SD Realtor]

The degree of luck that involves our lives is a factor we all have. However we also have the ability within us to enhance that degree through our own personality, effort, ability, etc. To not say well, this decision I made which was basically stupid, was the result of external factors to me is simply not acceptable. There were plenty of people who were much better off, and much worse off, who simply did not buy a home. Period. So to claim to be a victim of external forces, or easy opportunity, or the entire industry pushed you into it, or whatever you want to choose, simply does not wash. It was a choice, nothing more, and nothing less. For some it worked out, for some it did not. The relativity of luck in your life shouldn’t be an enabler for poor decisions.

[SD Realtor]

The degree of luck that involves our lives is a factor we all have. However we also have the ability within us to enhance that degree through our own personality, effort, ability, etc. To not say well, this decision I made which was basically stupid, was the result of external factors to me is simply not acceptable. There were plenty of people who were much better off, and much worse off, who simply did not buy a home. Period. So to claim to be a victim of external forces, or easy opportunity, or the entire industry pushed you into it, or whatever you want to choose, simply does not wash. It was a choice, nothing more, and nothing less. For some it worked out, for some it did not. The relativity of luck in your life shouldn’t be an enabler for poor decisions.

[SD Realtor]

The degree of luck that involves our lives is a factor we all have. However we also have the ability within us to enhance that degree through our own personality, effort, ability, etc. To not say well, this decision I made which was basically stupid, was the result of external factors to me is simply not acceptable. There were plenty of people who were much better off, and much worse off, who simply did not buy a home. Period. So to claim to be a victim of external forces, or easy opportunity, or the entire industry pushed you into it, or whatever you want to choose, simply does not wash. It was a choice, nothing more, and nothing less. For some it worked out, for some it did not. The relativity of luck in your life shouldn’t be an enabler for poor decisions.

[SD Realtor]

The degree of luck that involves our lives is a factor we all have. However we also have the ability within us to enhance that degree through our own personality, effort, ability, etc. To not say well, this decision I made which was basically stupid, was the result of external factors to me is simply not acceptable. There were plenty of people who were much better off, and much worse off, who simply did not buy a home. Period. So to claim to be a victim of external forces, or easy opportunity, or the entire industry pushed you into it, or whatever you want to choose, simply does not wash. It was a choice, nothing more, and nothing less. For some it worked out, for some it did not. The relativity of luck in your life shouldn’t be an enabler for poor decisions.

[an]

davelj, I think you miss understood my point. I’m not disregarding luck/fate. That’s also a big factor. But luck alone won’t get you anywhere unless you’re willing (choose) to take advantage of it. It’s also not black and white, luck vs no luck, prepared vs unprepared. It’s a big combination both luck/fate and the choice to take advantage of that luck (you can’t win if you don’t play).

[an]

davelj, I think you miss understood my point. I’m not disregarding luck/fate. That’s also a big factor. But luck alone won’t get you anywhere unless you’re willing (choose) to take advantage of it. It’s also not black and white, luck vs no luck, prepared vs unprepared. It’s a big combination both luck/fate and the choice to take advantage of that luck (you can’t win if you don’t play).

[an]

davelj, I think you miss understood my point. I’m not disregarding luck/fate. That’s also a big factor. But luck alone won’t get you anywhere unless you’re willing (choose) to take advantage of it. It’s also not black and white, luck vs no luck, prepared vs unprepared. It’s a big combination both luck/fate and the choice to take advantage of that luck (you can’t win if you don’t play).

[an]

davelj, I think you miss understood my point. I’m not disregarding luck/fate. That’s also a big factor. But luck alone won’t get you anywhere unless you’re willing (choose) to take advantage of it. It’s also not black and white, luck vs no luck, prepared vs unprepared. It’s a big combination both luck/fate and the choice to take advantage of that luck (you can’t win if you don’t play).

[Author]

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