Monday Morning Motivation – Make Your Own Luck

In my experience, there's no such thing as "luck."
— Obi-Wan Kenobi

There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe.
— Robert A. Heinlein

Sometimes, it seems like you just get lucky: a great idea falls in your lap, or the perfect phrase just tumbles right out of your pen. But are these actually lucky moments? Or is there something else going on?

I am a big proponent of the idea that luck favors the prepared – or, as Louis Pasteur phrased it originally, "Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés" ("In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind"). What is writing, if not a field of observation? Even writing fiction is a form of observation; the author writes what she "sees" in her mind, and the task is finding the best way to describe it. But in order to describe what you are seeing accurately, you need to be prepared to observe – and you need to be prepared to make the observations as best as you can.

When it comes to writing, there are a lot of different ways you can making your own luck through preparation. Some of these ways include:

Understanding the rules of grammar and style
Giving your mind plenty of fertile ground from which to sprout ideas
Decluttering your writing space (physical and mental) so distractions don't get in the way
Having the tools of writing – a notebook and pen, a laptop, even an old-school typewriter – on hand

Every person is going to have their own particular needs and preferences when it comes to these and other preparations. What's important is knowing what your needs and preferences are, and then making sure they are in place when a good idea strikes you. Because in the end, the real definition of luck is the ability to capitalize on an opportunity that presents itself to you.

So what are you doing today to make your own luck? Are you prepared for the next idea that strikes, or will you be one of the unlucky ones who will find themselves in a position of watching an opportunity pass by ungrasped?

Quote: From Have Spacesuit, Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein

Monday Morning Motivation – Make Your Own Luck

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