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Comment by majani | Hacker News Reader

I believe that success does largely depend on capitalizing on lucky breaks. However, I also believe that each and every one of us gets lucky breaks. What matters is can you spot lucky breaks,and when you do spot them, how do you react? I think it's very possible to train yourself to have the awareness to be able to analyze situations, recognize lucky breaks frequently and just run with them. In a word, you could call this approach "opportunism."

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There is a psychologist professor that studied exactly what you are describing and wrote a book on the results.

https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/books/the-luck-factor/

I agree with you, but understand too that the ability to capitalize on lucky breaks is not something we're all equally positioned to do. This is where poverty starts to feel a lot like a trap. If it's all you can do to keep your head above water until payday, you're less likely to be able to skip work for the afternoon, or put in the extra time somewhere else to catch that lucky break... whatever that break is, it's going to be more available if you're not coming at it from a survival mentality.

> However, I also believe that each and every one of us gets lucky breaks.

Everyone? How about people who have no talents whatsoever - they are at best average (or a bit above average) at everything that could be useful? Most people are like that.

Not all lucky breaks involve talent. For example being born into a well off family. Further to the point, you'd not imagine the number of rich kids who piss away that particular lucky break

>However, I also believe that each and every one of us gets lucky breaks.

Why do you assume this?

Everyone experience change. Not all change is bad, some change is good. This would be sufficient for "everyone experience lucky breaks" to be true.

Sometimes a change can be terrible and good. Whole family dead, house gone? Terrible. Being free to move to a new area, perhaps find new opportunity - could be (in a different sense) good.

Only a crazy person would want such a disaster, but sometimes surviving something like that if one is able to shamble on through life - will in hindsight be the point were life changed, in some ways, for the better.

I don't doubt for a second that everybody gets lucky breaks.

There is an issue of magnitude of those breaks, though

Even being born is a lucky break

“Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity"

But only if you know in advance what to prepare for.

> I also believe that each and every one of us gets lucky breaks

Good personal philosophy but clearly false in a meaningful way.

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