By William Kristoph

Keep Going – “Diligence is the mother of good luck.” – Benjamin Franklin

Athletes

I am a believer in good luck. Occasionally. More often than not though, in my own life and from what I’ve seen in others’ Benjamin Franklin is right. Good luck is really just the summation of a bunch of hard work. How many times do we see a star athlete and think “Wow, he’s so lucky to have that talent?” More often than not, though, a MLB star or an NFL great put in tons of hours of hard work to maximize their talent and create their “good luck.”

Business

The same happens in business. Yes there are a few businesses that succeed for no apparent reason, and there are those that fail despite best efforts. The vast majority that succeed are run well by owners that keep at it. They learn from their failures and they continue to improve their product, restaurant or service. They listen to customers, they’re open to criticism. They work hard.

Family

Perhaps the biggest and best place I can apply Benjamin Franklin’s advice is with my own family. A good family isn’t just good luck. Yes, some of us are born with a seemingly better hand than others, but even the best of family require diligent attention. All too often I’ve seen friends’ families break up from people who don’t want to put in the work. Selfishness is easy and so is taking family for granted since we’re “stuck with them.” Ultimately, a stable family, one that weathers the bad times and truly enjoys the good puts in a lot of work through communication, through effort and through attention.

Diligence Everywhere

Benjamin Franklin must have been very hard worker, just like the rest of the Founding Fathers. When studying American History, it seems like there was a lot of “good luck” that Ben and his buddies found. The truth is that what makes this country great are the struggles that helped shaped our government and our laws. Good luck didn’t solely lead to the brilliance behind this country. Tons of hard work did. It’s easy to pass of our own insecurities on another’s good luck. It’s easier to give up. It’s easier to quit. Maybe it’s time we put in more effort, listened for five minutes longer or wrote that post when we didn’t feel like. Maybe our “good luck” that we desire is just one more diligent push away.