How To Get Lucky

Full credits for this article goes to Paul Kearley; I read his articles which appear in my local newspaper every other week and this article I found so good that I have to post it here for all to enjoy.

“The day you decide to do something is your lucky day”~Japanese Proverb

People say that Dana Boutilier is a lucky guy. When he started ECCO Environmental in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia the early 2000’s, Dana was a young man who was pursuing a dream of owning and operating his own company and making it successful. Dana worked day and night for years to make it happen, often sacrificing his own personal free time and money to not only build his company, but also to build his community. A few facts about his company:

2002 - ECCO was the No. 1 fastest growing company in Atlantic Canada.
2002 - T. Dana Boutilier, was nominated as one of the Top 40 Business Executives Under Age 40 in Canada.
2003 - ECCO, once again, named one of the fastest growing companies in Atlantic Canada.
2004 - President T. Dana Boutilier, again was nominated as one of the Top 40 Business Executives Under Age 40 in Canada.
2005 - ECCO again named one of the fastest growing companies in Atlantic Canada.
2006 - Small Business of the Year ~ Silver Award.
2006 - T. Dana Boutilier, Engineering Technologist of the Year for Canada

Today, Dana’s company is successful, and it keeps getting recognition for its accomplishments. So you see, Dana is a lucky guy.

Daniel Roy is another lucky guy. When I first met Dan, he was a salesperson for a newspaper in Moncton, NB. With a hunger and a knack for success, Dan has steadily progressed in his career, where he is now one of the finest salespeople with the Yellow Pages in Atlantic Canada. He has a record of blowing all of the old sales records out of the water and setting new heights for others to rise to. His company thinks so much of him that they want him to manage and train people in his region of Atlantic Canada to be like him. If you are fortunate enough to know Dan, you would certainly see that he works hard at his craft. He loves what he does, he loves his clients and he generally loves people. I wish you could see him at work, you’d see that he is a lucky guy.

Then there is Ronald Vail, another lucky guy. A number of years ago Ron started a small construction company in Sussex, NB with his 2 brothers Moe and Rob. With a reputation of providing outstanding quality and workmanship the Vail brothers continue to be busy and sought after as carpenters, renovators and home builders. Not only is Ron a skilled home builder, he is also a skilled relationship builder as well. I have known Ron for 20 years, and in that time whenever I hear about one of his jobs from his multitude of clients, one thing seems to be always said about him and his brothers: Quality people and quality work. Ron Vail is another lucky guy.I’m sorry, did I say lucky? Actually luck has nothing to do with success.

I know many people who have been called lucky, but if you ask them, they’ll probably smile and say “It’s amazing how lucky you can be when you work real hard.” One of my philosophies about success is; where a person is in life is exactly where they should be based on the actions and decisions that they have made.

The “lucky” people in life seem to be also the hardest working and most dedicated ones as well. They don’t whine and complain about how bad things are, they put their heads down and work to find a solution, and then, the truly entrepreneurial ones sell that solution to others and become even “luckier”. Hmm, I see a pattern here, don’t you?

How can we become luckier? Well, that depends on how lucky you want to be. Here are a few suggestions:

Find your passion in life. Did you ever notice that the truly successful people in life are also the happiest ones because they are doing what they love to do? If you are good with building things, then doesn’t it make sense that you should be in the construction industry? If you are great with numbers, then why aren’t you an accountant or an engineer? If you can sell an idea or concept to others, and you enjoy solving problems, then you probably should be in sales.
Commit to getting results. If you truly want to get lucky, half of the way there is never enough: It can’t be! The market place is saturated with people who want success, but are not committed enough to put in 10 hour days 7 days a week while they are building their business. If you say you want success, but you are not willing to do what it takes, then you are only kidding yourself: You don’t really want the success that you say you do. You must commit to do whatever it takes that is legal, moral and ethical to build your success.

Build your people as you build your business. Zig Ziglar said, “You can get whatever you want in life if you will just help enough other people get what they want?” The most successful people I know are just as interested in building their people as they are in building their business. You cannot have a successful operation, if you treat people with disdain. What do your people need to be a success? Is there anything you can do to help them get there? When you know the answer, do it and they will help you to get what you want. All three of the people that I mentioned earlier, Dana, Daniel and Ron are builders. They absolutely love what they do, and they are committed to growing their people and their business. Do you want to be as lucky as they are? No one gets lucky by sitting on their behind and waiting for it to happen. Instead of sitting and waiting to create what you want, you simply must take action, then it will be amazing just how lucky you can become. Go For It!


© 2007, Personal Best Training Solutions. For 22 years, Paul Kearley has thrived in the personal development and coaching business. As a Master Coach for the past 10 years, Paul’s passion is in developing and creating increased potential with both clients and other trainers. A columnist for two newspapers in Eastern Canada, and editor for his own weekly ezine, Paul writes articles that address the everyday challenges we all have and face in life and in business, and offers suggestions for success.If you’d like to connect with Paul or subscribe to “E-Motion” his weekly ezine, simply goto the web site at http://www.mustfactor.com/ or by calling 506 433 4722.