I’m a pickleball novice and am stunned at how often I make an unintended good (even excellent) shot.

Heard on the court: “Nice shot Paige.”

My retort: “That was just lucky.”

This must happen at least four times during an 11-point, 15-minute game – which seems like a lot to me.

This got me thinking about how lots of life looks to others like competence but is really a result of dumb luck.

So here’s my (very partial) list of how luck has made me look good:

Born in America.

Great childhood.

Attended “good public schools.”

Parents who modeled an entrepreneurial spirit.

Parents who NEVER nagged me (“Did you apply for that internship,” “Study harder.” “… follow up.” “You should…”) – this may be one of my luckiest breaks because I felt so trusted as a kid.

Attended longshot college despite SAT scores far beneath their “cutoff.”

An unexpected staff vacancy that lead to an early job promotion (way before I was qualified).

A chance meeting with my future husband Lou (not ALL luck, some skillful “reeling in” on my part – ha!).

A successful first business despite having absolutely no plan and zero clue what a Profit and Loss report was.

A few career switches with very little consequence to anything.

My “lucky list” could go on and on.

Now that I have older kids, I try to point out instances where I’ve been (oftentimes extraordinarily) lucky. I hope this gives them extra fuel in their tanks, understanding that what now looks like a thorny, overwhelming path to their dreams will likely contain a few lucky shortcuts.

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