What is luck?
The dictionary defines luck as ‘success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions.’
All our lives we’ve been told that if you want to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc. you have to work hard. If you want to be a successful actor, you have to be “lucky” and “get discovered”.
Really? I need to work hard to be a doctor but I need to be lucky to be an actor?
I’m not sure where this perception came from, but it’s a real disservice to the thousands of performers who bust their hump every day for years to develop the skills needed to be successful.
I was thinking about this while I was waiting to make an appearance on a TV show. I can’t talk about the show yet, but set your DVRs to 10AM EST on ABC this Friday. With that in mind, follow this sequence of events…
Last month I had the pleasure of being a guest on “Movie Talk Show”. You can see the interview here:
I got the gig because one of the producers found me on LinkedIn.
In the interview, I was asked how I got cast to narrate the film “Last Man of Idaho“. I was cast because I use Tweet Deck to look for casting opportunities and replied to a casting call for the film.
As a result of the interview, I got booked on the other show I can’t mention yet. I booked it because I did a LinkedIn recommendation of the producer who asked me to be on Movie Talk Show so I was top-of-mind.
Was that sequence of events luck, or something else…?
TIP OF THE WEEK
Was the sequence of TweetDeck to Last Man of Idaho to LinkedIn to Movie Talk Show to the other show because of luck, destiny, fate, kismet, or whatever cosmic adjective you care to slap on it? It didn’t happen because I’m particularly talented, good-looking, or connected either.
Here’s another definition of luck from the Roman philosopher Seneca; ‘luck is what happens preparation meets opportunity’. If this is what they mean by lucky, I can work with that.
You achieve success by preparing yourself for whatever opportunities that may come your way. If you think you’re going to be successful in any endeavor by waiting to be discovered, get comfortable. You’ll be waiting a while…
HAPPY HAPPYS!
Happy Good Neighbor Day and Ask a Stupid Question Day! Are the stripes on a zebra black on white or white on black?
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
It’s just gonna make you stronger. Every good man I know has been through somethin’! Chris Carter
From my village to yours; this is Tom Dheere, GKN News…
Tom Dheere is a 19-year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a coach at Edge Studio, voiceover business consultant known as the Voice Over Strategist, and is currently writing & producing the comic book “Agent 1.22”.
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