by Anthony Megna

Created on: April 10, 2009   Last Updated: October 18, 2011

Why is luck random?  Why are some people luckier than others?  Can you create your own good luck?

It was Einstein who said that God does not play dice......

I've asked these questions all my life, and there doesn't seem to be any solid answers. There are plenty of theories though, and keeping myself occupied thinking about luck seems to be a never-ending task. Is it luck that allows one to get ahead in their job, or is it hard work? Is it luck that some people always seem to win more than others, or is it that they take more chances and have more tickets in the drum? If luck is random, than how come some people have hit the lottery two or even three times for big money? The reason I say boils down to the fact that luck is random. Luck has no respect for the laws of averages whatsoever. If you flip a coin ten times in a row, there is nothing to say that heads can't come up all ten times. The coin has no memory. The odds are fifty\fifty that heads will come up just as it is for tails. Random means random. It's unlikely that heads will come up every toss, but it's possible, just not probable.

First, is luck really random? I think it has to be, otherwise one would be able to control their luck. If you go into a casino, and believe you can control your own luck, then the casinos would go out of business. You see, if you could control your own luck, then you could make pass after pass at the craps table. You could only play those slots about to hit the jackpot, and you could go into the sports book with confidence about who is going to win the Superbowl. But the humble human can't control his or her luck. That's a fact, jack.

Why are some people luckier than others? Because it appears that way to you or me, that's why. Remember the woman who won a Megabucks jackpot in Las Vegas at the slots for over forty million dollars? Well, she was ecstatic as anyone would be. What a windfall, what a prize. A few months later she got into a severe car accident and is paralyzed for life. Horrible. That's bad luck. You see, there is bad luck as well as good luck. Maybe she used up all of her good luck on that one pull of the handle? Just a theory....

Can you create your own luck? This question I believe can be answered with a definitive YES! If you put yourself in situations where there are more opportunities to profit and succeed, than you have a better chance to get "lucky". But it is not really luck at all, it's mathematics. The more irons in the fire, the better off your chances. The more fishing lines in the water, the better off your chances of landing the big one. If you're not in it, how can you win it? Persistence is the key here, as well as having as many chances to succeed as is humanly possible. Some people may call it luck, but I will just go ahead and call it hard work! Of course, it helps to be a little lucky........

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