Your Writing Career: Believing In Luck

Never underestimate the existence of just plain luck. Call it synchronicity or serendipity or coincidence; but the fact is, sometimes you have no idea why something amazing happens to you.

Is there a magic formula for creating a successful life or career? There are all kinds of theories about how and why things happen in our lives and how much each of us has to do with the outcome.

Some people are committed to the concept of goal setting. "You have to know where you want to go," they insist. "Then, you must set long and short-term goals and march resolutely forward until you reach your destination."

In 1960, physician and author Maxwell Maltz likened that idea to a torpedo, speeding toward its target. When the torpedo veers off course, an internal feedback system makes the necessary corrections and points it back to its programmed end point. Thus, we are responsible for knowing where we want to go and getting ourselves there.

There is another school of thought that agrees with part one of that equation but is a little more mystical about part two. That theory is that, if you know what you want and send that message out to the universe, you will receive it. That is the principle behind the best-selling book, The Secret, not unlike "If you build it, they will come," the line made famous in the movie Field of Dreams.

A third idea is that of synchronicity, not to be confused with coincidence. Synchronicity is when events occur that seem to be related but have no discernible cause that connects them. Coincidence is more of an accident or a fluke. The subtle distinction seems to be that there really is a reason behind synchronistic happenings; we just don't know what it is.

These are at three explanations for why some people achieve their dreams, get the perfect jobs or spouses, build great careers, or seem to always be in the right place at the right time. But if you ask these same people what contributed to their success, they are likely to say, "I had a lot of lucky breaks." Very few will take credit for setting a goal and working hard to attain it or admit it was just a series coincidental occurrences. Instead, they will credit luck.

I believe in luck. It's not that I don't give credence to the other possibilities; it is that they don't adequately explain everything that has come my way over the years. I have had a long and relatively successful career, with its share of ups and downs. But on the whole, I would have to say life has been pretty good to me.

True, I have set goals and met them, one at a time. I didn't start out saying I want to have a long career as a writer, or my goal is to be a published author. I started with one small, scary but attainable goal: I want o have one article published. Though I was pretty excited when it happened, I didn't waste any time setting another one and then another and another. Eventually, they added up to a four-decade career.

I also subscribe to the idea of knowing what I want and "sending it out to the universe"--with a caveat. While the universe is getting ready to deliver, I am busy marshalling my own resources to help the process along. I think that's another way of saying, "God helps those who help themselves."

I prefer the word synchronicity to coincidence. I've never been a believer is happenstance. The oddest things do happen, they are connected, and I don't pretend to know how.

But then there are those events for which there is no explanation that I can imagine, unless I throw in the fate factor. Was it "meant to be" that the right person showed up in my life at exactly the right moment and said the words that set the wheels of my life spinning in a new direction? I don't know if it was kismet, but I do know that every time it happened--and it happened many times--I felt like a person who had a magic four-leaf clover clutched in my fist.

There is no doubt about it; it had to be luck.

By: Bobbi Linkemer

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

This article is based on chapter eight of Words to Live By, a book of words of encouragement, guidance, and wisdom born of veteran writer Bobbi Linkemer's experience. Bobbi has been a magazine editor and journalist, corporate communicator, book-writing coach, and most important, a mentor to writers who want to take their writing careers to a new level.