There Is No Such Thing As Luck

One of my childhood friends, someone who’s known me for years, once said to me, “You were lucky to get a job in New York.” She said it so casually, as if the role had somehow magically appeared before me.

For a split second, as her words sank in, I questioned myself. I thought, Maybe I was just lucky? But then I remembered everything it had taken to get there.

My journey to that “lucky” job in New York was anything but a breeze. I had moved to a foreign country on my own to pursue a degree, diving into economics textbooks in English—a language I, I must confess, was far from fluent in at the time. Each concept was a mountain to climb. After graduation, I didn’t get the magical ticket straight to the U.S. Instead, I moved to Mexico, earned very little while navigating a city that often felt both exhilarating and challenging—including daily, risky bus rides (those notorious peseros) just to get to work.

It didn’t stop there. I spent countless hours applying to jobs, networking, meeting people across industries, all with the single-minded determination to—somehow—land a position in New York. I had numerous conversations with strangers, turning those connections into contacts, and battled through sleepless nights of planning and hustling. Each step was strategic and deliberate, and there was never a guarantee of success. But despite all odds, I finally got my foot in the door of my dream company in New York.

So was it luck? Hardly. I didn’t stumble into that role—I fought for it.

That’s the part we don’t often talk about. Society loves to label success as “luck” because it’s something that’s easier to digest than facing the intense grit, sacrifice and resilience it takes to achieve something big. When people see a “lucky break,” they rarely see the countless nights of self-doubt, the near-misses, the rejection emails, and the times you felt on the edge of giving up.

When we allow ourselves to think of our achievements as mere strokes of luck, we diminish the work we’ve put in and the skills we’ve built. We let “luck” take credit for our sweat, our sacrifice, our determination. The truth is, while there may be a touch of luck in most journeys, it’s the countless small actions and perseverance that make that “luck” possible.

Every hard-won connection, every late-night study session, every difficult job interview or networking event—all of them represents a crucial building block, a building block defined and created by you—not "luck." Each “small win” paved the path toward what others may see as “luck,” but which simply is the result of relentless effort.

So the next time you’re tempted to dismiss an accomplishment as luck, take a moment to remember the journey that brought you there. 

There’s a peace of mind that comes from owning your journey—from knowing that every step was earned, not handed to you by luck. When we accept our achievements as the result of hard work, we find fulfillment in each victory. 

Luck may have played a part, but you built the path.