More woof woof than blah blah...I hope.

Robert:

Words to live by? Or self-satisfied bs?

"The harder you work, the luckier you get." 

I don't know who first said that. It probably dates back thousands of years in one form or another. It's one of those bits of wisdom that should be self-evident, but that we all need reminding of now and then.

Another way of saying it is, "Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."

That specific quote is variably attributed to Arnold H. Glasow and/or Fred Shero, among others.

The only trouble with all that is that while it is usually true, it isn't always true. Not by a long shot.

Sometimes dopey, lazy people suceed. In spite of themselves. And sometimes smart, truly hardworking people fail.

Dumb luck. It plays a big part in everything.

Some people are fond of saying, with lofty, wise gravitas, "You make your own luck."

This smug pronouncement is most often quoted by people who've suceeded materially. Whether they truly "made their own luck" or not, they did in their own minds at least.

 "You make your own luck."  Well, in real life, not always. Sometimes, your luck makes you.