Fortune Favors the Bold: Luck vs. Fortune

I spend some time each in my outdoor office reading, writing, and smoking a cigar and sipping some scotch. As I look on at our wonderful backyard, with the green man figures, owl statues, and a large fountain that makes beautiful water music, I often reflect on how fortunate we are. Lately, I have been contemplating the difference between fortune and luck.

I turned to a few sites to look at the differences between the two concepts. DifferenceBetween.com shows:

“Luck and fortune are two words that often go together and interpreted as the same by most people. This is mainly because the two words can easily be associated with chance. Chance highlights a sense of possibility that can have either a positive impact or even a negative impact. However, it must be stressed that there exists a key difference between luck and fortune. Luck is something that takes place as a result of chance, unlike fortune which affects people’s lives in the form of an external power. This article attempts to clarify the difference between these two words with examples.”

Setting aside the “higher power” for the moment, I suspect fortune operates on three levels.

• First is the circumstances of our birth. What kind of environment are we born into and develop in?
• Second are the talents we were born with. This includes physical abilities, cognitive abilities, and emotional awareness/relationship abilities.
• Third is the psychological strengths and limitations we have. All the talent in the world will not matter if the person cannot harness it and use it.

Luck presents opportunities. They often come with risk and the need to leave security and stretch ourselves to develop the talents fortune provides to take advantage of the opportunity. Courage and boldness are critical to growth.

Consider a moment a child born in a poor, remote African village. That child may have tremendous natural talent, but the circumstances of birth may prevent the child from developing them and using them. Now, if that child leaves the village and Africa to find better circumstances to let their talent thrive, can we blame him or her? The question is, will they seize opportunities or rely on government largess?

Honestly, immigrants seizing opportunities is what made America great. People left difficult environments to seek a place where their talents can thrive. My family is an example. I am a third generation born on my mother’s side. Our Eastern European family had seven first generation born Americans fight in WWII, with one earning a Silver Star.

But here’s where we get into Fortune Favors the Bold and the element of luck. After WWII, my grandparents on both sides moved to Baltimore; one from the coal mines of Pennsylvania and one from the hills of Virginia. They had the courage to seize an opportunity and left their family and security behind to set the conditions for future family growth and prosperity. Because of their daring, my father and an uncle on both sides were the first in the families to go to college. The three served in the military and build successful careers, each seizing opportunities as they came their way.

If luck does not present opportunities, and fortune does not present the skills and the temperament to see the opportunity and employ them, growth and change are unlikely.

Do we have a culture that rewards fortune seeking opportunity or does our culture stifle initiative and take away the drive to grow and succeed?

The next part will look at making luck.

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