Where luck comes from...

I saw an article or post or something somewhere.  Maybe I heard it on the radio.  I didn't think much of it at first until I thought about my life as it applied to this statement.

"when I work hard, my luck seems to be better"

most people consider winning the lottery or finding a $20 bill in their pants they forgot about, lucky.  It is, sort of.  but consider the above statement.  I'd have to say that as I truly evaluate it id have to say its true.  Maybe not entirely, but there are definitely many key moments I can attribute to it.

luck is defined as success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions.

but is that the end of it?  can we make our own luck?  or perhaps through hard work can we simply improve the chances of getting lucky?  or is it really luck at all?

lets look at the lottery.  is it really pure chance that a person wins?  for the most part yes.  but that person still had to make the choice to buy a ticket.  the purchasing of the ticket increased their chances of winning.  does that mean the created their own luck?  or at least a small amount?  how much more luck did they create by picking their own numbers or not picking their own numbers?

im not one to believe in pure random chance.  there are so many things going on in this world at the same time that at some point things are bound to intersect.  the law of 3s is fun one.  as this oddity I have witnessed many times for good or bad.  you know, the whole things happen in 3s, good or bad. 

I find that through hard work things don't feel like luck so much, even when they appear as random acts of chance.  that my actions have created or improved my chances to a point where I have manifested my own luck.  hard work is good for the mind, body, and soul.  it can make you feel like you have accomplished something and give you confidence. 

Confidence....

im sure there are plenty of psychologists out there that will tell you confidence or lack of it has a direct impact on successes and failures, and even impacts luck. 

there is always someone better or worse off than you.  and when the occasional person floats the comment when they decide to comment on my life by saying "you are lucky", my standard response tends to be "I work hard".

so the question remains.  can you make your own luck?