OK… I’ll admit it before you read too much. This posting is really a bit of a rant, but I do try to wrap it up with something positive; maybe even insightful.

I was in a drive-thru the other day and the personalized license plate on the giant SUV in front of me read, “LUKYONE”. This “lucky” person decided the world was his oyster and proceeded to dump out his coffee as he reached the speaker station. Of course, coffee splashed everywhere. Fortunately, even a bit hit his own vehicle.

The prestige of his overpriced behemoth and the smug look on his face as he decided he would make a mess for someone else to have to deal with implied his good fortune in life. The license plate only put icing on the cake. Now, I’m not against anyone having some good luck in this life as we all know it is hard enough as it is. I simply don’t believed that if we’re lucky enough to have good fortune shine on us that we ought to confused that with thinking we’re privileged.

Nobody is privileged to do harm to another. Now… I know this fella didn’t actually hurt anyone, but his cavalier attitude was just too much for me and made me get on the subject in the first place. I believe strongly in civility and responsibility (now there’s a rant you don’t really want to start me up on) and this seemingly small event betrayed that this gentleman didn’t practice either.

How we act in the seemingly insignificant matters foretells how we will act when there is something important on the line. When push comes to shove, I sure don’t need somebody working for me that feels they are “privileged”. None of us really are. I want bright folks folks who know how to stay focused on the tasks at hand. I want SUCCESSFUL folks, not privileged ones.

Do I want lucky? Heck yes I do! Bright folks know that luck combined with opportunity, ability and effort rounds out the four legs that hold up the table called success. So… find an opportunity that aligns with your abilities, lean into the work and with a bit of luck, bask in your success. And if you fail, don’t feel like you were privileged in the first place; just notice how much luck actually had to do with it, be persistent and try it again.

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