Funny how it happens! In one week, three different people, in three different situations, said to me; “that’s lucky”!
In context, each person was referring to someone’s business wealth, investment performance and someone retiring early. There was no vindictiveness meant, it is just that when they saw success, their instant reaction was to say; “that’s lucky”.
Gary Player, the golfer, has been attributed as coining the phrase; “The harder I practice, the luckier I get”.
Practice effectively improves the probability of achieving successful outcomes. In each of the situations I came across, it wasn’t down to luck at all. It was purely as a result of having a goal, creating a plan and then executing this plan. Rarely is someone’s success purely down to luck!
Business Wealth:
The person commenting wouldn’t have known about the business owner’s journey; the setbacks, the sacrifices, the dedication, the risks and the sleepless nights. All appears rosy now, but a lot of hard work and planning has gone into achieving their success.
Investment performance:
A new business client who had invested some of their company money with us in April (it turns out just before equity markets began to slide) casually said; “that was lucky” in the context of their investment portfolio. 75% of their money had been invested into the only two sectors of the market that had delivered positive returns over the last six months. This certainly wasn’t luck for there were many reasons behind the choice of asset classes and the subsequent funds that were chosen.
Retiring early:
Aged 56, this person had retired, he still had a nice car, went on luxury holidays, had a healthy tan, played golf and went cycling. He lived life to the full. Lucky eh! Knowing the details as I do, luck didn’t come into it. The main reason he found himself in this situation is because he decided to take more control. Having endured high levels of stress and anxiety in a high-powered job over the years, he wanted to plan his exit if he possibly could, although age 60 was the earliest he could dream of.
He now had a goal. He just needed a plan. Enter Blue Sky to help him create such a plan and to advise him on how to take benefits in the most tax efficient and flexible way whilst allowing him to enjoy his money while he has his health. A plan has given him the confidence to retire completely and to be assured that he can fund his lifestyle without ever running out of money.
It pays to be lucky!
It pays to be lucky!
