I’ve nearly recovered from the sleep lost by staying up into Tuesday night to listen to the United States elections on the Radio. It felt very exciting and historic, although I did wonder if I was one of the “people huddling by their radios in the forgotten corners of the world” that Mr. Obama mentioned in his first speech as President Elect. I had a good chuckle at that—one slightly patronising note, in what was otherwise an energising and inspiring speech.
I’ve noticed some cynical responses to the news around the place though. A Facebook acquaintance likened Barak Obama to Tony Blair, and was steeling himself for a similar betrayal. This hardly seems a fair comparison to me. Mr. Obama has quite an impressive track record of direct involvement in progressive community-based projects and campaigns. And he seems much more interested in direct, practical interventions to improve people’s lives, than in a quasi-religious attachment to the doctrines of free-market economics. Mr. Blair seemed to have his head stuck in a cloud most of the time, where Obama’s seems firmly planted on his shoulders.
I’ve also read some slightly po-faced coverage on the BBC: Kevin Connolly accepting Obama’s many, enviable gifts, but also attributing his success in the election to some “lucky breaks”. The correspondant implies that only a fair helping of luck will enable Mr. Obama to succeed with his ambitious programme of change.
This really got me thinking about luck. I guess you could call the economic crisis lucky if it makes your opposition look bad. But is it still lucky that your first job in office is to clear up the mess? Rising, as always, to the occasion, The Onion yeserday claimed America gives worst job in Country to a Black Man. Not a bad point, that ;)
I think the maxim a lot of people overlook is that luck is where preparation meets opportunity. And I think it is this that is at the core of Mr. Obama’s approach, his message, his intentions, and (so far) his success. This is a man who has the courage to believe his country can become something that most would have deemed impossible until Wednesday morning. He will not quickly realise his goal, and it may never materialise to the full extent he yearns for. But he knows that he has two choices. He can either decide that his goal is so unlikely that it is not worth giving his life to. Or he can decide to spend his life working towards it anyway, accepting the difficulties, but setting himself to the task. The later choice is the one he has made, and which many, many people will equate with naivety—perhaps believing that such courage, while impressive and commendable, is more akin to tragic stupidity. But this demonstrates the way those people misunterstand luck. If Mr. Obama continues to hold to his ideals, and continues to work hard to create the preconditions for those ideals to exist, the people of America may be in just the right position to take advantage of good situations when they arise, and move closer to being the kind of society Mr. Obama dreams of. Luck, looked at like this, has an element of predictability about it. The more you try something, the more likely you will succeed. Try it enough, and I would argue you make it almost inevitable.
This is where I take my inspiration. Luck is what we call it when good things happen. Good and bad things happen to all people, and to all nations. As an entreprenuer, I have often felt cynicism and doubt. When a string of bad things happen, running one’s own business can seem like an impossible dream. But I have also discovered that I can make my own luck. I know that if I try hard enough, and keep trying, good things will happen too, and I’ll will be prepared and resourced to take advantage of them. I believe this to be common sense that any successful person will echo.
