"You say, good fortune used to meet you at every corner. But the fortunate person is the one who gives themselves a good fortune. And good fortunes are a well-turned soul, good impulses and good actions" - Marcus Aurelius
Like Taoists, Buddhists, and Zen-Buddhists, the Stoics believed that you should only focus on what is within your control. If you focus on anything you cannot directly control right here and now, you will create suffering (also known as stress.)
Do your very best in life and at work; that is the only thing you can do. If you work hard - cross that - if you work smart and prepare well, mitigating risks and having plan A, plan B plan C down to plan ZZZ, you are putting more chances on your side.
Diligence is the mother of luck.
The Stoics had an analogy that tells the story of an archer. The archer will train his whole life for hours every day. He will also work hard to make the best arrows and maintain their bow. Then, when comes the day to protect the village, the archer will do what he was trained for; shooting arrows. The job of the archer is everything prior to releasing the arrow. He trains, prepares, takes aim, and fires. What happens next is out of his control - on to the next shot. Because there could be a swoosh in the air, a bird coming between the arrow and the enemy, and so on. When the arrow is released, the job is done. NOT when the arrow hits the target.
Think about this at your next product launch or sprint review: did you do the best you could? Did you analyze risks and make plans to mitigate them? Then the job is successfully done. The internet could crash, and your job would still have been a success.
To recap: everything out of your control is either good luck or bad luck. Give your luck the opportunity to be good. You know how, now do it.
Originally published on https://www.TheTaoOfLeadership.com
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