Sunday, January 31, 2016

chances are

Chances are - You don't wonder about of the difference between feeling lucky and feeling you have been lucky. I suspect feeling lucky happens more often. (note this post does not cover “getting lucky” that’s a whole different thing) To have felt lucky about some past event requires an experience of a lucky event and recognize the luck involved. The difference in my mind is future thinking vs. understanding the past.


why are horseshoes lucky?

Luck doesn’t let you skip out of having a role in it. You need to notice luck passing your way and then extract the benefits it offers. So there is effort on your part. Be involved in making the most of what comes your way.

A post ago, I mentioned this lottery and was asked in a comment if I would stop blogging if I won. Part of my reply:

“...I suspect if I won big, I would need to shutdown the blog since those smart scammers would have an incentive to connect this blog with this guy having money up the wazoo. And then there would be all these distractions such a new home, cars, trips, haircuts, etc. However, I probably would want to restart my blogging eventually. This whole scenario doesn't concern me much since before this recent lottery it had been, oh maybe 10 years since I played the lottery….”





Benefit of the lottery - A few weeks ago there was a lottery drawing that had rolled up into the BILLIONS. So big that people that can’t even count knew it was a lot of money. I rarely play the lottery and given the chance to take a chance, I prefer going to a casino. However, I played a few chances on it this time. Winning it would have been a life changing event.

I read a few articles during this spectacle of the masses seeking to fatten their wallets with this game of chance. BTW, the day I walked over to buy my ticket there was no line waiting for tickets. The clerk told me his lottery sales were strong and wished me luck.

I should have saved my favorite article so I could offer you a link to it but I didn’t. I don’t recall having thought of the lottery game like this author did. Even to the losers, just the what-if of winning big provides the players a reason to dream about possibilities. You project forward and escape for a brief moment to a different part of the world. That rich and famous corner of the world. Even if you don’t plan on upgrading to a life of luxury, giving large donations to your favorite causes would be rewarding and fun. From now on if I decide to throw down $10 on a lottery game, I’ll also remember it is a dream generating ticket. Dreams don’t always come true so I’m still not going to play often.

Luck of course is not just about money. Once in my career I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Sure not all luck but I believe luck played a part.

I had decided to change jobs, found a new company and turned in my two week notice. Before the first week was up, my manager asked me if I would talk to the new international group. Sure, I had nothing to lose. I was leaving. Turned out I was a match for who they wanted to start up a project in Ireland. Few in the whole company even knew there were any plans for anything in Ireland. After days of negotiation, I took the Ireland offer. It was a great assignment.

Accidents - that can be a mixed bag of luck. Unlucky the accident happened. Lucky you survived the accident. I’ve wondered about the few I’ve been in. Certainly one area that you don’t want to push your luck. (how exactly does one push luck?)

Now I’m certain some will disagree but I believe there is luck involved in your own birth. Time, place, parents, etc, might be mostly luck.

Even if luck in not waiting around the next bend, you should keep your eyes open because it could be a fast moving train instead.


Chances are they don't play this song at any lottery store.


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