This column was originally published on May 4, 2012.
You often hear people remark that it is better to be lucky than to be good. Whenever I hit upon a stroke of good luck, I have been known to repeat the saying myself. Of course, as my children will tell you, me saying it does not always make it so. It was while playing golf for the first time this year that I found myself wondering which I would rather be.
The question arose when I shanked a shot to the left of the green. The ball hit a hard unidentified object and bounced onto the green a short distance from the hole. It was both the best and ugliest shot I hit all day. After absorbing what had happened, I laughed out loud and repeated the aforementioned saying. Then, I wondered whether what had happened was really luck.
Luck is one of those things that we all know when we see it, but it is a little hard to describe. Is luck the work of a benevolent power that smiles at us whenever it gets the urge? Or is luck nothing but a ball bouncing around on a roulette wheel landing wherever it may? The one thing we can say about luck for sure is that it is not dependable, and you never know when it is coming back or when it is going to end.
Being good is quite another thing. Some people are born with qualities that make them naturally good. Many things in life require hard work to be good, no matter what qualities you were born with. Generally speaking, once you are good at something, you generally stay that way with proper maintenance. Being good is really an asset. You could think of it as money in the bank.
The best way to make your own luck is to be the best you can be. I firmly believe that the better you are at something, the luckier you can be. Being good doesn’t guarantee that good luck will always be with you. What it does guarantee is that, if luck turns away from you, you are in the best shape you can be to face whatever problems come your way.
I would have to say I have been pretty lucky in my lifetime. Not as lucky as some, but certainly more lucky than others. I also believe that you have to make your own luck. I think that the harder you work, the luckier you can be.
Ultimately, I do not believe that it is better to be lucky than good. Just the opposite. I recommend being the best you can be and then be willing to be lucky. That way, you get the benefit of being good, and the bonus of luck when your number comes up. That seems like the smart play to me.
I am not very good at golf, but I am very willing to be lucky. For me, it really makes the game more fun. Of course, I don’t take golf all that seriously. Maybe there is a lesson in that also; I don’t know. The thing about living in the CHEAP SEATS is that there is always a lesson to be learned; you just have to be paying attention.
Bill James is a Criminal Defense Attorney and co-founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway, and Fayetteville, Arkansas. He can be contacted at Bill@JamesFirm.com.