The mature man accepts the natural limitations of life. he does not expect Providence to be prejudiced in his favor. he does not ask for loaded dice to play the game of life. He knows, with Carlyle, that there is no sense in vilifying the sun because it will not light our cigars. Will Durant

Sure, some lucky ducks were born with silver spoons in their mouths. and in life's great poker game, some people get better cards than others. It's enough to make you just sit down and cry. The old law-of-averages certainly doesn't apply to you. If luck were really a lady, the world would be a fairer place. Even if it weren't, at least you would get better cards. Maybe your luck will turn. but then again, maybe not. In the meantime, you will need to simply go with the cards you are dealt.

Okay, you get it. but it's still a roll of the dice and you can't do much about that fact of life. but, maybe you can. A friend tells this story. It was bright-and-early one morning when Grandpa found an exceptionally fine sea shell on the beach. I flippantly commented, ‘That was just dumb luck, your finding that shell.' He smiled and replied, ‘Yes, it was dumb luck for a guy who was already on the beach and looking before 6.30.'

Sure, luck and maybe even dumb luck at times play a big part in a lot of things. Things happen and you can't control everything. but you can make a point to be on the beach before 6.30 and can make the extra effort it takes to improve the odds for your success. The old-timers call this smart luck.

Thomas Jefferson also supported personal responsibility as an important key to good luck. I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. The famous Anon. added one more key to unlocking luck's door, Luck is when opportunity knocks and you answer. It really is just likeE. Shay said, Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit. …

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In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. Laurence Peter

This maxim is known as the Peter Principle and is thought to account for the fact that there are incompetent people at all organizational levels, although not necessarily at a given level in a specific organization. Peter's notion is that people are promoted based on their competence at a lower level. The pool of people who are eligible for promotion to any level in an organization is limited to individuals who have demonstrated competence at a lower level. If you are the employee, you will keep getting promoted until you eventually get a position for which you aren't competent. That's as far up as you will go. and since everyone knows that is how it works, you will stay there until you quit or retire. Since Peter is right, at least to some extent, how can this organizational tendency be best managed?

First, recognize that the knowledge and skills (competencies) for success in a lower position aren't the same as those required for a higher position. Usually, job descriptions are mostly a list of duties and responsibilities. The position description for the next higher level simply says that the employee is expected to supervise or manage employees who perform the duties associated with the lower position. If you are a brick layer, promotion to foreman means that you supervise/manage brick layers. You get the idea.

As a brick layer, the position requirements primarily focused on being able to correctly lay X number of bricks under Y circumstances. As a foreman, the position requirements include knowing a lot about laying bricks. but actually being an expert brick layer isn't necessarily required. You need to be able to supervise/manage brick layers. The point is that the major competencies needed to be a successful foreman vary a lot from those required to be a successful brick layer.