I’m a Great Believer in Luck. The Harder I Work, the More Luck I Have – Thomas Jefferson

I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.

—Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

I’m a Great Believer in Luck. The Harder I Work, the More Luck I Have

This statement might seam contradictory to anyone who sees the world in binary. Luck exists, and you can not deny the role of luck in the success of many. Also you can not deny the role of lack of luck in the failure of many more. Call it product-market fit if you wish, but bottom point, luck is important and in some cases even the most important factor in success.

Hard work can open doors, can bring opportunities, but it is not even in the same league as luck. Also hard work would lead to success mostly when you are your own boss. It is rare to be become successful for working hard in a company, unless you are one of the early employees and the company have exponential growth and thus have to promote the employees fast to keep up with growth.

The quote simply means that by working hard you can create your own luck. How? Glad you asked!

Working hard, you have a higher chance to succeed simply because if you are studying, training or working harder on your project you will see result of this hard work. The result will come in the form of scholarship, being picked for a good sport team, or creating a good business reputation and connections.

This subject have been discussed in multiple posts:

The harder you work, the luckier you get
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity – Seneca
Anyone who’s successful has to start by saying they were lucky – Eric Schmidt
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. – Thomas Edison
The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. – Vidal Sassoon
I never dreamed about success. I worked for it. – Estée Lauder
I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity. – Oprah Winfrey