I am at that time of life now where I can look back and reflect on all I have achieved, or not. Don’t get me wrong, I have had a good life. I have been to many places, achieved many things and in many ways I have lived a charmed life. It is easy in hindsight to attribute all of my success to my character, my inherent skill set and my destiny but I have realised that I owe the majority of my position to none of these. In fact I have simply been lucky.
It is human nature to reflect on our own glory. We have achieved what we have down to our own gumption yet this is not the case. Yes, most people who achieve positions of success have had to put in some effort and have some inherent talent but they have relied upon a huge amount of luck.
It all starts with the day you are born, Where you are born and who your parents are have an enormous influence on your life success. Not always but usually, if you are born into a well off family you will remain well off and if you are born into a poor family you will remain poor.
I was born to parents who both cared and were in a position to help me. I was given a good education, though I was not particularly academic. I was supported through college and scraped through my degree and on the back of this landed a reasonable job. As opportunities arose I put myself forward. Some took me down blind alleys but in the main I rose to positions of some influence. A lot of this has been down to the kind of person I am.
I have worked hard but not harder than many of the other people I have come across. I took my chances with their inherent risks but no more so than many of my compatriots. I have planned for my future and invested some money but no more than many people of my age. I have ended up comfortably off, very by global standards, yet relatively close to where I started.
I can tell myself that I deserved my success, my achievements were down to the sweat of my brow and, to a degree I may well be right. I am a legend in my own lifetime. But above all I have simply been lucky.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 