When Felix Frankfurter, a U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1939 to 1962, was asked how he became successful, he is said to have replied that it was “luck.” Similarly, Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice appointed to the Supreme Court, averred that her appointment to the bench was a “classic example of being the right person in the right spot at the right time”. Simply stated,” she said, “you must be lucky.” [1]
Luck has traditionally been defined as “good fortune; advantage or success, considered as a result of chance” but can it be true that at least two appointments to seats on the highest court in the land were simply a matter of “luck”? Similarly, do you need to have fortune on your side when searching for a job, or engaging in any endeavor for that matter, in order to be successful?
According to Ko-Yung Tung, [2] a distinguished attorney and professor at Yale Law School who, among his myriad of endeavors and accomplishments, has recently been giving lectures to students about the concept of luck, the sort of “luck” that Felix Frankfurter was talking about is actually comprised of three important parts (which are, thankfully, far more in one’s control than mere good fortune or chance).
As Ko-Yung sees it, the essential components of luck are: (1) Preparation (2) Awareness and (3) Action, all of which are discussed in greater detail below.
1. Preparation: Felix Frankfurter and Sandra Day O’Connor weren’t picked at random and they didn’t become Supreme Court Justices overnight. These Justices attended the best law schools, worked in top positions in the government, and spent years honing their skills. They were selected as Justices because they were prepared to be selected. The message here: Make sure to to spend time building your skills. Especially if you’re not feeling “lucky” in your job search at the moment, you can use it as an opportunity to refine your skills and to nurture important relationships.
2. Awareness: Sandra Day O’Connor said that she might not have been chosen in 1981 if she had not randomly met Chief Justice Warren on a houseboat vacation. It is hard to quantify the impact of that chance meeting on her selection, but there is an important lesson to be learned here. Every day people come into your life and connections are made, if only for an instant. You need to keep your eyes open and become aware of the individuals and opportunities that come into your life that may lead to exciting opportunities down the line.
3. Action: Once you become aware of the opportunities and connections that exist, you must be ready to act and to seize any opportunities that present themselves. In some cases that may mean sending a follow up e-mail, in others making a call or sending your resume. Sometimes it may simply mean saying “yes.” Only by taking action will you be able to make the most of the opportunities that come before you.
Were Justice Frankfurter and Justice O’Connor “luckier” than the rest of us? Maybe. But, with these tips, and maybe just a little bit of good old fortune, we can all create our own luck.
___________________
1. Notably, both Justice Frankfurter and Justice O’Connor had difficulty finding a job out of law school due to religious discrimination and gender discrimination, respectively. This of course didn’t stop them from reaching the highest level of their profession.
2. Special thanks to Ko-Yung Tung who inspired this blog post!
Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” We certainly make our own preparation and we can only see opportunity if we have our eyes open.
[…] the painter encounters. Guess I’ll never know. But what I do know is it’s evidence that if you set your intention, take action and pay attention, you get results. So a small suggestion to all the ladies in law: start painting a vision. You may […]