Is it luck or misfortune?

One day in China, a poor boy sat on the sidewalk outside his house. His biggest wish was to own a horse but he couldn’t because he had no money. Just then, a herd of horses came trotting down the street, followed by a young colt scurrying along trying to catch up to the group. The owner of the horses could tell what the boy was wishing and asked if he wanted to keep the small colt.

The boy was elated and of course accepted. A neighbour took notice of what was happening and told the boy’s father, “Your son is very lucky!” “Why?” asked the father. “Well,” he said, “your son wanted a horse and as the herd was passing by he was given a colt. Isn’t that lucky?” “Maybe it’s luck, but maybe it’s not!” said the father.

The boy was very attentive caring for his horse, but one day, after the horse had fully grown, it ran away. This time, the neighbour said: “That’s some bad luck, isn’t it? He was given a colt, raised it until it was grown and then the horse runs away!” “Maybe it’s luck, but maybe it’s not!” repeated the father.

After some time, the horse returned home accompanied by a wild herd. The boy, now a young man, managed to corral them all together. Now, the observant neighbour said, “Your son is so lucky! He’s given a colt, raises him; it runs away and comes back with a herd of wild horses.” “Maybe it’s luck, maybe it’s not!” says the father again.

Soon after, the boy breaks his leg while training one of the horses. The neighbour comes and says, “What a bad bit of luck! The horse runs away, comes back with a wild herd, the boy trains them and ends up breaking his leg.” “Maybe it’s luck, maybe it’s not!” insists the father.

Days later, their village declares war with a neighbouring village. All the young men are summoned for war, except for the boy because of his broken leg. The neighbour says, “Your son is so lucky!”

Every event in our life can be viewed as lucky or misfortunate. It all depends on the outcome. What may appear to be misfortune now could turn out to be good fortune in the future.

Count on luck.

In general, people associate their successes and failures to luck or to the lack thereof. It’s a way of thinking that simply ends up blocking our creativity, innovation and our ability to take action to face the challenges of life.

“Those who wait on luck walk hand in hand with misfortune.”