A number of years ago, when Weyerhaeuser had their offices along I-5 close to Federal Way, I was hired to video tape a presentation followed by Q & A afterward of a visiting Japanese client. Logs were shipped from Weyerhaeuser to Japan and a vice president was in charge of the sales of those logs. I still remember the Japanese Vice President in his starched white shirt and his impeccable black suit. He was friendly. He asked questions and answered questions from around the large conference table.
I only recall one question, but it has stayed with me for many years. The VP was asked how executives in his firm moved up in their responsibility tier and advancement. He had a black retractable ball point pen. As he thought, he would click his pen. He told us that he and another VP were in charge of particular logs and how they were sold. He explained that the logs he was in charge of were doing fine, but his fellow VP had logs of wood that had become extremely popular and part of a new style and therefore the value of the logs went up. The other VP would be rising up the ladder while this VP stayed where he was. “So, the VP said, for stepping up in position . . . (clicking his ball point pen) . . . Must be lucky man.”
I can still see and hear the VP.
This is something we see every day. To buy at the right time. To sell at the right time. To be at the right place at the right time . . . “Must be lucky man.” You can do everything you can to think of and do it well, but in the end, things change beyond our plans and efforts to rise up . . . click, click, click . . . “Must be Lucky Man. Must be Lucky Man.”
As my friend often says, “An over-night success, 30 years in the making”.
It’s also been said,” 90% of success is showing up”. I guess that makes the other 10%/action, a key ingredient.
I see so many people sitting around tables in meetings, discussing things that have no direct bearing on their personal advancement, but they don’t know what else to do, so there they sit.
Luck, good and bad, certainly plays into our lives, but hard work, focus, and persistence are what give good luck its wings.
Your impeccably-dressed friend should have been more in tune with his market at the time.
I’m sure it has changed by now, creating a new opportunity for someone who is hunting it down.
I have a plumber friend who, through hard work and parlay,, built a personal fortune of many million$.
“Forrest Gump” was a cute movie, but that’s just not how it generally works, unless you’re in politics maybe, and that explains a lot about that.