Face it—life can be tough, and it’s easy to get down when things aren’t exactly going your way. That said, sometimes all you need is a little bit of *luck* for everything to turn around: Maybe you want that screenplay you wrote to get optioned, or you're hoping to score an apartment you've had your eye on, or you think you might be up for a big promotion. The speakers of these 30 quotes get it.
Why quotes, you ask? No matter how you want luck to manifest in your life, sometimes reading another person articulating your thoughts can help you gain a better understanding of yourself and your own needs.
For example, Oprah telling you about the role luck has played in her career can be pretty enlightening. (Hint: She thinks luck has more to do with preparation than chance.) Or Zac Efron talking about the way luck has impacted his acting career. (See number eight.) Or rather, Shonda Rhimes explaining that she doesn’t even really believe in luck. (Scroll to number 16 for context).
All in all, everyone has different opinions about luck, and it can be insightful to read their thoughts and let them inform your own. So, no matter where you’re at in life or how you might need a stroke of luck to come about, the following might be able to help you get there.
Read on for the 30 best quotes about luck, according to creatives, accomplished writers, successful musicians, olympic athletes, and more to inspire you.
- “When it comes to luck, make your own.” —Bruce Springsteen
- “Luck is believing you’re lucky.” —Tennessee Williams
- “Excellence is being able to perform at a high level over and over again. You can hit a half-court shot once. That’s just the luck of the draw. If you consistently do it… that’s excellence.” —Jay-Z
- “I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn't been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn't have been lucky.” —Oprah Winfrey
Betsey Halsey - “Not many people have had as much bad luck as I have, but not many people have had as much good luck, either.” —Tig Notaro
- “Those who have succeeded at anything and don't mention luck are kidding themselves.” —Larry King
- “I have had lots of luck in my career but there has also been a lot of hard work.” —Maria Sharapova
- “I know I've been lucky. But it's what you do with that luck afterwards that really defines whether you stick around.” —Zac Efron
- “Things happen to you out of luck, and if you get to stick around it's because you're talented.” —Whoopi Goldberg
- “Poor decisions and bad luck are contingencies of most horror films.” —Wesley Morris
- “When I've least expected it, an enormous opportunity or stroke of luck has crossed right under my nose. So I tell everybody, if you're passionate about what you do and you love it, do it. But do your homework. Because you'll never know when the opportunity is going to happen.” —Julie Andrews
- “Don't minimize the importance of luck in determining life's course.” —Alex Trebek
- “If you are lucky enough to be successful, you have a responsibility to give back.” —Lori Greiner
- “I played in a rock band. I climbed trees. I did stuff that made my parents wonder, 'What the hell is she doing?' But I also was a good student and a good daughter, so I never brought shame on the family. And I was lucky that the men in my family thought the women should have an equal shot at everything.” —Indra Nooyi
Betsey Halsey - “I was lucky. I found what I loved to do early in life.” —Steve Jobs
- “I am not lucky. You know what I am? I am smart, I am talented, I take advantage of the opportunities that come my way, and I work really, really hard. Don't call me lucky. Call me a badass.” —Shonda Rhimes
- “Don’t luck into success.” —Anonymous
- “Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work–and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.“ —Lucille Ball
- “Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.” —Dalai Lama XIV
- “It's a question of attitude. If you really work at something you can do it up to a point. If you really work at being happy you can do it up to a point. But anything more than that you can't. Anything more than that is luck.” ―Haruki Murakami
- “When you get as lucky as I got, you have to work as hard as possible to earn that luck.” —Daniel Radcliffe
- “Diligence is the mother of good luck.” —Benjamin Franklin
- “I never considered myself a lucky person. I'm the most extraordinary pessimist. I truly am.” —Christopher Nolan
- “Luck is believing you’re lucky.” —Tennessee Williams
- “We are all a great deal luckier that we realize, we usually get what we want—or near enough.” —Roald Dahl
Betsey Halsey - “Luck has nothing to do with it, because I have spent many, many hours, countless hours, on the court working for my one moment in time, not knowing when it would come.” —Serena Williams
- “People always call it luck when you've acted more sensibly than they have.” —Anne Tyler
- “I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”
—Ernest Hemingway
- “Good luck is often with the man who doesn't include it in his plans.” —Anonymous
- “Life proceeds, it enrages. The untouched ones spend their luck without a thought, believing they deserve it.” —Barbara Kingsolver, The Lacuna
