There is a scene in the 1987 movie “Wall Street” where Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, is riding in his limo with Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen. Looking out the window of the limousine, Gekko points to two men standing side by side waiting for the light to change.
A man wears a suit and carries a briefcase. The other is a street person pushing a shopping cart. Gekko says to Bud Fox, “Will you tell me the difference between this guy and that guy is luck?”
The answer to Gekko’s question is a resounding “Yes”. It’s all a matter of luck.
Take Steve Jobs. Jobs’ luck in being born in what became Silicon Valley and not, say, Toledo, Ohio, led directly to the creation of Apple. His neighbors worked for Hewlett Packard. His classmate was Wozniak. He was surrounded by a culture of experimentation. Because of these connections, he was able to call David Packard and speak with him personally. Talk about luck!
How about something related to our daily experience? Did you eat in a restaurant in the last month? You are lucky to be alive. After all, the person who prepared the food didn’t decide on the day you ate there to put a little arsenic in the lettuce.
Have you flown in an airplane in the last year? Good for you who were lucky enough to choose a flight piloted by a pilot who valued his life as much as he valued yours and mechanics who made sure your plane was safe.
Are you alive? Do you think it’s a silly question? Well, congratulations on being lucky enough to have had parents (or whoever raised you) who raised you long enough to make sure you got to this point.
My father’s parents emigrated from Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Because I’m American and not Russian with all the advantages that implies, I’m richer than 95% (99%?) of the world and I’m only in the middle of the middle class here.
Think about it: every day, including today, our survival is based on luck. We walk down the street and don’t get mugged or shot at or hit by a car when we cross to the other side (not everyone will be so lucky). Our children go to school and come home safe and sound (not everyone will be so lucky). We plugged in the microwave and didn’t get electrocuted (not everyone will be so lucky). Today we did not contract an incurable disease (not everyone will be so lucky).
Gordon Gekko, the man who claims to be superior to that person on the street, is lucky, although he probably attributes it to his “greed is good” spirit. Gekko tells Bud Fox, “See that building? I bought that building ten years ago. My first real estate deal. Sold it two years later, made $800,000 profit.”
Do you think it was more than luck that made Gekko’s building appreciated? how much did your house cost depreciate during the foreclosure crisis? Gekko’s lucky timing was responsible for his win.
I am writing this because I hear people claim that they are “self-made” and many of these people, I am sure, worked hard to achieve their achievements. But to take just one of thousands of possible examples, unless they’ve never eaten in a restaurant, “self-made” people owe their lives to the chef who didn’t poison them.
In fact, we are so lucky that we take our luck for granted when we should be thankful.
I wish you all the luck in the world. May today be your lucky day.