If you search through the archives of this blog you will find no shortage of posts on the topic of luck. TL;DR we are often unwilling to acknowledge the role that luck played in our lives. This can be especially true for the most successful among us.

Warren Buffett in his Thanksgiving letter spends a lot of time talking about the role luck played in his life. He notes how many of the friendships and business relationships he has had have come from this being born, and growing up, in Omaha, Nebraska. Buffett writes:

Looking back I feel that both Berkshire and I did better because of our base in Omaha than if I had resided anywhere else. The center of the United States was a very good place to be born, to raise a family, and to build a business. Through dumb luck, I drew a ridiculously long straw at birth.

Buffett also zooms out to look at luck as well. He writes:

But Lady Luck is fickle and – no other term fits – wildly unfair. In many cases, our leaders and the rich have received far more than their share of luck – which, too often, the recipients prefer not to acknowledge. Dynastic inheritors have achieved lifetime financial independence the moment they emerged from the womb, while others have arrived, facing a hell-hole during their early life or, worse, disabling physical or mental infirmities that rob them of what I have taken for granted.

It’s not a sign of weakness to acknowledge that luck played a role in your life. I once wrote:

Acknowledging luck doesn’t make you lesser. On the contrary is demonstrates humility and a view of the world that reaches beyond your own field of vision. If we actively acknowledge the luck in our lives we can be grateful for what we have and appreciate it all the more.

A.J. Jacobs this week was also writing about luck and the role it played in his career as a writer. He believes acknowledging the role luck played in our lives makes us better, more compassionate people. He writes:

Don’t be prideful. Fate is fickle. More than fickle—fate has Borderline Personality Disorder. The real world is no doubt a combination of luck and skill, but I lean strongly toward Ecclesiastes. Part of one’s fate is determined by hard work and persistence, but a lot is cosmic Powerball.

Hard work matters, but both Buffett and Jacobs acknowledge the fickle nature of luck. It can be uncomfortable holding that feeling in your mind. Then again, you can feel lucky that you have that opportunity in the first place.