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I have been on both sides of this. I used to hate it when people said I was "lucky" for my career for the reasons you mentioned. I hated that people were diminishing my efforts. Then I got sick. The big sick, that took me out of work for almost 5 years. Someone who had worked just as hard as me, but in a industry that paid less, would not have financially recovered from that. I realized how much luck and privilege go so much beyond connections and hand outs. Yes, I worked hard to be where I am, but it is luck that is the reason I was born in a country where my accomplishments are possible, luck that my health allows me to keep working hard, and even luck that I have the talents I do.
Both are true, being born to your parents, having the teachers you had, the education you had, the opportunities you sought out, etc. no man is a village, someone had to see something in you and hire you over someone else
This is very true. Two things can be true at the same time. I don't think anyone is discrediting your work. It is hard work and a bit of luck.
It's insecurity and jealousy, plain and simple. You're doing great. Whoever made this comment isn't, or isn't doing as well. Rather than acknowledging that someone else might be making more because they're legitimately better, more skilled, harder working, whatever, it's easier for a fragile ego to chalk it up as "luck" or "privilege." It's not. You earned it. They can pound sand and stay mad.
I think luck and hard work both have their place in how I’ve gotten to where I am today. For example, I’m lucky to be born in the US, but worked hard to graduate college and get promotions
As others have said… luck and hard work aren’t mutually exclusive. You can be lucky and have worked hard to get to where you are. I understand why you may not like hearing you are lucky when you’ve dedicated so much time and effort to get to where you are, but success isn’t as simple as the equation of hard work + time = success. You need good breaks to go your way along that path to success. I don’t think everyone means it as derogatory when they say you are lucky, though some are probably jealous. Not everyone is good at seeing things from other’s perspective, and unless you explicitly tell them about your work and sacrifices, they won’t understand how you got to where you are. Keep hustling and don’t worry about the things you can’t control… you know the truth and that’s good enough!
I like the saying “luck is when opportunity meets hard work”
Don't let it discount what you've done but also be aware of your luck. I know people who work hard, really hard, and haven't been successful. And I know people who have put in the bare minimum and have found immense success.
It's about being aware of how fortunate you are. Saying you got to where you are due to hard work is diminishing others' work who weren't as fortunate. IMHO, luck is 80% of success. Luck to have been roommates with Zuckerberg or luck to have been at Nvidia in the 2010s, etc.
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It depends on how you look at it. When people tell me that, I think they mean lucky to get that position and to not take it for granted. Hard work plays a huge factor, but sometimes you need a bit of luck to get to that position as well.