Shouting from my shed

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Serendipity?

So…
Listen to me.
Listen.
Think.
THINK.
No excuses. Just think.
Think. And then act.
Do you believe in serendipity?
Do you believe in fate?
Do you believe in luck?
Some people do. And people don’t believe for nothing. They believe because they’ve seen somethin’. They believe coz they’ve seen others who are LUCKY. They believe because they hope. The believe coz they think that luck exists.
And do you know what I think? Hey – you mightn’t even care a damn what I think but this here is my blog and if you don’t like it you can disagree or you can click some other place or you can even think a bit. And if you still don’t like it well that’s fine. But at least think about it.
Anyway what do I think? I think that you make your own luck, that you work hard and you’re a good guy so people like you and help you and you’re an interesting person so you meet interesting people and so that opens doors and you’re kind of determined and you won’t let them get you down and so you fight like hell and you don’t give up and you strive and you seek and you sure don’t yield and then, then, at last, at long last you find yourself exactly where you want to be. EXACTLY WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. Exactly where you should be. Except you couldn’t see that back when you started, you didn’t know where you were headed. You didn’t know where you wanted to be.
But you got there. Luck? LUCK?! Don’t you dare to sit back and wallow and whinge and whine and hope. Trusting to luck? No way – if you want luck you’ve got to chase it. Chase it hard. Chase what you want with all your might. And you then have a chance to get it. And people will say you are lucky.
——
(These thoughts come after meeting a friend, a good friend, as bold and optimistic as me. But he remained bold and optimistic at a time when I feared my life was run, when I dreaded that I had peaked and that the next 60 years were mere filling. Thankfully my mate kept sparking, kept enthused and now, with my life bang back on track again, I am grateful to him. I’mm grateful for those dark and low days for they’ve re-fuelled the fire for me. And I am chuffed at how thrilling his own life has become. Shine on you crazy diamond. Luck? No way.
I propose a toast to the loose cannons, to those who are free to choose their own way, to those who are bold and swim against the tide. You may fail, but you’ll never know unless you try. And you’ll regret it if you don’t try.)

[update 2010: in case it is not obvious: I was drunk when I wrote this. Angry drunk. But I still stand by every word that is in there. Don’t whinge about luck. Make your own luck.
And, 30 months since I wrote this, my mate from this post is doing brilliantly. Writing for The Times and doing all sorts of things I would be doing too if I’md had the nerve… Shine on, you crazy diamond]

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Comments

  1. Anita mcskimming Posted

    Whilst this sounds like good advice, it can be difficult to do with commitments etc. I listened to this advice and did something unthought was right but now bitterly regret. You still have to consider others and your responsibilities. It would actually be nice to know what I’d love to do!!

    Reply
  2. Nad Posted

    Alastair. This is so beautiful. And it’s also so strange. You think exactly as I do. You even use the same words. The message is even what I always used to believe, but I’ve let life drag me down, just like it has everyone else and I forget Alastair. I forget what it’s all about. I forget what matters.

    Reply

 
 

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