Luck is good stuff

"You've got to be lucky, but if you have good stuff, it's easier to be lucky." Sandy Koufax

I used to have a manager who used the phrase "good stuff" quite often, although not at all in this context. We made fun of the expression as he often sounded unintelligent about the subject at hand when he said it, but this quote reminded me of him.

Good stuff in this case means movement on the ball, the ability to make hitters miss. In our case as business and sales professionals, it means you are good at your job. When people call you lucky, they often do not see the sheer talent and hard work behind the scenes that created that which they call luck.

Sure sometimes we get struck by the oddball lucky circumstance. But how often is it because you were the one working early or late that day that you took the call? Because no one else was there, out golfing, calling in sick, or at the water cooler. Doing your job to the best of your ability and putting in the hours, the time, the effort...that is what creates what many call luck.