Luck Favors the Prepared by Marc LeVine

“Luck favors the prepared mind.” - Louis Pasteur

We talk a lot about the various soft skills most companies value.?We haven’t discussed a single soft skill that they DO NOT favor.?Maybe we should because all must know.

For some, LUCK is a soft skill. ?After all, some people have become very successful due to it. But no one can tell you WHY or HOW luck's mystical forces made their dreams come true or created new ones - out of the blue - for them.

Unfortunately, you cannot train yourself to have good luck.?Where exactly is “the right place” (to be in) and when exactly is “the right time (to be there)?”?We can analyze streams of data and create all the predictive models we want to, but we can never schedule luck or outthink or outguess fate. For example, scientists and engineers have often tried using sophisticated mathematical formulas to handpick winning lottery numbers. They failed - every time - to create luck for themselves.

One place where the power of luck is especially evident is the film industry where actors and actresses are offered, accept, and turn down starring roles that have the potential to make or break their careers.?

Movies scripts are very subjective and do not appeal to every actor in the same ways.?What film one might choose to star in, or reject is a very personal decision. ?Role choices can have unknown and unpredictable major career impact.

Can you Imagine Star Wars character Hans Solo being played by anyone other than Harrison Ford??The role had been offered to Burt Reynolds. And before Reynolds, it was offered to The Godfather’s Al Pacino. They felt these parts were not right for them. ?We may tend to agree without knowing what their portrayals of Solo would have looked like. After all, comedic actor, Michael Keaton made a helluva serious “Batman” to the pleasant surprise of many.

Harrison Ford got very lucky getting the Solo part! Prior to Star Wars, he had a small role in American Graffiti. And prior to that he was a minor TV series actor and full-time woodworker. Star Wars made him a major Hollywood leading man and remains one to this day. Arguably, Burt Reynolds had a successful career but not to the same level as Ford’s.?The role of Hans Solo might have changed that – for better or worse.

Scientists from the University of Catania created a study where they ran a simulator of 1000 virtual people to see if success was driven by luck or skill.?We could go into the scientific data surrounding their results, but the bottom-line is that they concluded that many successful people happen to be very lucky. Something good happened to each of them in the perfect time and place that launched them on an incredible trajectory.?Was that it – being in the right place at the right time?

A big part of it was luck. ?However, they still needed to have an incredible amount of drive, ambition, and skill. No matter what obstacles they may have faced they kept trying and didn’t give up. ?

Luck can be the coin flip that decides ultimate outcomes as it teams up with fate to create final destinies. ?But Luck can never be predicted, controlled, or guided to give anyone an absolute advantage. Therefore, we often say, “hope and luck are not a strategy for success.”

The individual who banks on hope and luck to clear the path ahead of them for success is a dreamer building castles in the air and living in them.?Life offers us no guarantees but our odds for success improve the harder we work and do all the right things to get where we want to go.?It is hard work and it is necessary to do so we need not rely on luck alone to put food on the table and money in the bank.?Are you an automation engineer looking for a job? Visit: www.thermosystems.com/careers

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The Author

Listen to Marc's latest interview on The AutomationBlog Podcast with Shawn Tierney.

Marc LeVine?is a graduate of Syracuse (NY) University with a degree in Industrial Psychology, Marc is currently Talent Acquisitions and Learning and Development Lead at Thermo Systems. He is the recipient of the Excellence in Talent Acquisitions Award from HR Awards in 2021. His prior employment includes senior Human Resources and Staffing Industry management roles with Edgewood Properties in Piscataway, NJ, Brickforce Staffing in Edison, NJ, InfoPro Inc. in Woodbridge NJ and Plainsboro, NJ and Harvard Industries in Farmingdale, NJ, a former Fortune 500 company. He also served as Director of Human Resources for New Jersey Press, the parent company of the Asbury Park Press, Home News and Tribune and WKXW-NJ101.5. Earlier in his career, Marc served as Director of Career Services and Placement at Union Technical Institute in Eatontown and Neptune, NJ. In addition, Marc owned and operated Integrity Consulting Associates, a New Jersey based Human Resources and Social Media Marketing firm for 11 years. Marc also served as Council President in his hometown of Freehold Borough, NJ