“How lucky this person is! They succeed in everything they do. They have all the money they need. Their life is like a dream. They have such a great partner!”
People often say things like that, and you’ve probably thought it yourself, in reference to a celebrity or someone you know who has had a lot of success.
You’ve probably had these kinds of thoughts at some point in your life. And there is no shame in that. It is human nature to be jealous of the happiness that other people enjoy. But when you say something like, “Look how happy he is…” you’re essentially saying that your own life is unsatisfactory, that other people have a lot of luck, while you have little or no luck.
A false image of happiness
We often imagine that happy people simply wake up one beautiful morning surrounded by wealth, that it all happens by chance and that they do nothing special to deserve the paradise they live in.
At least, that’s how things are usually depicted in the media. But that image is a false one, created to sell newspapers, magazines or TV talk shows. The reality is usually very different.
When you take a closer look at the lives of celebrities, whether they are known for their business acumen or their politics, their success in show business or simply their money, you will usually find a few things that are not so nice.
Like all mortals, famous people are not perfect. They have their mistakes, go through hard times, get sick, divorce, have financial problems, suffer the loss of loved ones… just like everyone else.
Their stories are sometimes heartbreaking: an unhappy childhood, rape, drug abuse, serious illness, the loss of someone dear to them, and so on.
People like us
Famous people are just like us. They are born and die, and between these two extremes they live a life marked by highs and lows, sadness and joy, pleasure and pain.
“That may be true,” you might say, “but famous people are rich too. They have beautiful houses, beautiful cars, they travel all the time… It’s much easier to be unhappy when you have money!”
Let us assure you that having money does not make the grief of such people less intense than what you feel.
Whether you are rich or poor, if you contract a disease, you will suffer. If you are in an accident, money will not make you invulnerable to death, or protect you from paralysis or other injury. When a wealthy person gets divorced, a full bank account cannot express the pain and loss they feel.
We could give you many more examples. People who succeed in life are people, just like us. They suffer the same torments. Having money can alleviate some of their suffering, but suffering cannot be avoided completely, no matter how rich you are.
You’ll also find that most celebrities are no more intelligent than you (many didn’t get far in school) or even more beautiful than you.
Don’t set the bar too high
“But some people have special gifts,” you say. “That makes their job in life much easier.”
You ask an important question.
Having talent is an undeniable advantage. But think of the number of people who fail in life despite their gifts. You’ll be amazed at how many there are.
Most “gifted” people make the mistake of thinking that their talent will always be accessible, even if they do nothing to maintain or improve it.
It’s true that sometimes talent can do a lot for you. But sooner or later you will encounter an obstacle that you cannot overcome.
You will be like a high jumper who easily clears the first few obstacles, but ultimately fails because the bar is too high and your natural skills are not enough to get you through.
The secret that makes the difference
If you study the lives of famous people, you will see that most of them had a single goal in life, to which they devoted themselves completely. They did not wait for luck to make things happen, because they knew that luck had to be created and provoked.
They weren’t waiting for Lady Luck to smile at them. They devoted themselves completely to achieving their goal and all made the necessary efforts to succeed. They did things to further their own success, and even if they were gifted, they spent an enormous amount of work and energy achieving what they wanted to do. They worked tirelessly until they succeeded.
People generally do not have a high opinion of the concept of ‘work’. It is usually seen as an unpleasant task that must be done to earn a living, a duty that you do not like to perform but cannot avoid.
We have to work to earn a living. That cannot be denied. But work does not have to be an unpleasant duty that we have to fulfill all our lives. If you don’t like your current job, you should at least try to see the positive aspects of it, one of which is that it gives you a way to make a living. If you can, do something else, something you really enjoy!
When you enjoy what you do, it is much less difficult to put in the effort because you know that you will be rewarded with great satisfaction in the end. That, in turn, will boost your self-confidence and lead you from one success to another.
If you want to make a success of your life, you need to adjust your view of work.
Changing your view of happiness
Work and happiness are closely linked.
The difference between the man-in-the-street and people who succeed in life is that those who succeed are highly motivated and spend all their time achieving their goals. What counts is the personal investment you make, how much work you are willing to do. That’s the best way to benefit from ‘Happiness’.
If you still see happiness as something that falls from the sky without you having to do anything to attract it, you need to change that attitude right now!
Happiness must be provoked!
Anyone who has succeeded knows this to be true. It is the energy and work you put into achieving your goals that determines whether you will be lucky or not.
Some successful people hesitate to make that fact known because they don’t want to compete with all the people who are candidates for success in their chosen field. Most personalities do not like to share this secret. They prefer to maintain the illusion that happiness is something that can happen to anyone at any time, that it is solely a matter of danger and that nothing needs to be done to attract it. In fact, the exact opposite is true! What has kept you trapped in your current situation is nothing but a myth!
Take a closer look at your current view of happiness and you will know why you are not successful.
The more you work, the luckier you are!
It’s not made up. Some of the richest and most talented people in the world have said it. Like Dave Thomas, founder of Bedarra Research Labs, one of the largest American software companies. Dave Thomas is not a dreamer, he is an eminent pragmatist who created his own success by following his own advice.
You can trust what he says, and he is not the only one who reveals this secret of success and happiness.
Luck seems to stick with people who, like Dave Thomas, are determined to achieve their goals. Do some research on him and you’ll find evidence of that. He has written a few books (Swimming with the sharks And Beware of the poor man offering his shirt), all of which have become ‘best sellers’ in the US
Of course, there are other factors that influence your success and happiness. Who you know, the special talents you have, your instinct to take advantage of favorable moments, your sense of organization… can all be useful. Experience is necessary, of course, but experience cannot yield much without your personal investment, the work you are willing to do. Even the best guide can only show you the path to follow. You are the one who has to reach the top of the mountain yourself.
Happiness means ‘doing the right thing at the right time.’ That’s what True Luck is, nothing more and nothing less. All successful people know this to be true.
