Light Hidden by Darkness - Favorite Quotes II

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In my adventure novel entitled Light Hidden by Darkness, the main character named Seamus Winshell was a successful businessman. He had made his way through life by plowing full steam through every obstacle, no matter what it was or whom he destroyed or hurt. He may have been a success at business, but his luck with the personal side of his life was not so good. He did luck out in the book Light Hidden by Darkness by getting a second chance with his life, but would Seamus Winshell take advantage of this or look this gift horse in the mouth? Read Light Hidden by Darkness to find out.

      

“In the queer mess of human destiny the determining factor is luck. For every important place in life there are many men of fairly equal capacities. Among them luck divides who shall accomplish the great work, who shall be crowned with laurel, and who should fall back in obscurity and silence.

                                                   -         William E. Woodward
                                                                       (1874 – 1940)    

Jeb Bush. Where would he be without his Bush pedigree?   

This quote has been with me for some time. I first recognized its validity in my first career in the energy industry. My colleagues and I were all competing to get promoted, but we also knew the reality of the situation that there were fewer and fewer positions available as you went higher up in the organization. All of us competing for these jobs had similar abilities and, as Woodward stated, 'capacities'. We all had our strengths and we also had weaknesses. The winners of most of the promotions usually had the least harmful weaknesses and a good bit of luck. We used to call that luck 'being in the right place at the right time' or if we did not get the promotion ourselves, we referred to the luck of the successful candidate in less flattering sour grape terms.          


I doubt if many people would argue that some people seem to have all of the luck in the world while other people can’t seem to find any luck and when they do find luck, it is usually bad luck. It makes you wonder if there is only a finite amount of good luck out there and that luck exists in a zero sum state. That is, when one person is blessed with a double dose of good luck then someone else gets a double dose of bad luck, Zero sum game? I cannot be sure but that's how it seems to work, at least to me. 

Hillary Clinton. Where would she be without hubby Bill? 

We all have seen individuals who garners the question from us, “how in the world did this person get so rich or famous? How did this person get all the luck?” Some of our feelings towards these people can cross the line to sour grapes and envy, but in some cases it does come down to "how did this person have so much luck?          

With the 2016 U.S. presidential run for the roses heating up, it gives me a lot of fodder to use as examples. We have some of the luckiest people in the world running for the presidential office. Don't get me wrong, most of them have worked their tails off to get where they are today, but some of them have had some help and luck along the way. Most of the current players in the presidential bid war are career politicians, some have earned their own stature through their political life while some had help - they inherited their stature through family, friends, and money. I will not be naming any names since I think most people can figure this out on their own.

One presidential candidate stands out as different – a billionaire businessman – one-third carney barker, one-third marketing genius, and one-third egomaniac. This presidential candidate has thrown a monkey wrench into the stale political establishment that exists in the United States. He has turned the process on its ear. He has also had his share of luck having been born with a silver spoon and getting his first big break from his father.     

Donald Trump. Would he be selling used cars
if it weren't for his father? Who knows?
Luck or ability?

     
For these people, is it more luck or ability? Tell me what you think and then read Light Hidden by Darkness where Seamus Winshell gets a second chance. Read what he does with this second chance, it boggles the mind.