Is Everything Based on Luck

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

I remember several months ago I was on youtube and happened to be having a discussion with someone who seemed to think that all things in life are based on luck and that humans have no control over their own lives. I of course think it's nonsense, especially after he made the argument that men can control their own behavior better than women. I think this ideology is for people who don't accomplish anything and simply blame their failures onto others, something I can't stand.

What are your thoughts?

[JACK-2]

Sounds like a losers logic.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Feb 7, 2014 3:51:26 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

Sounds like a losers logic.

One of the main justifications was, "Well you can't will yourself into existence, therefore everything is luck."

Dumb logic for so many reasons.

[JACK-2]

One thing I see in life is having an ego is the best thing you can do. Being confident, optimistic and ambitious are good things. Determinism is self sabotage.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Feb 7, 2014 5:11:47 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

One thing I see in life is having an ego is the best thing you can do. Being confident, optimistic and ambitious are good things. Determinism is self sabotage.

The stupid part about the "will yourself into existence" argument is that your parents made the choices that lead into your birth, which means they took certain actions that they didn't have to do but chose to. I really hate when people use that fallacy.


For the ego part, the thing is you have to be able to take credit period, whether something goes right or wrong. If you make a mistake, you need to man up and admit when you do something wrong. That's how you fix your mistakes and improve.

If you do something good. Take credit for it and look at that as an inspriation. Don't be ashamed of having something and earning it. It's yours.

We live in this society where people don't want to take responsibility for their bad actions, AND they want to tear down anyone else who has something by saying they got lucky. This is the ultimate form of loser.

Like my friend who posts here Ranner said,

"Oh man, debating fools like that makes me angry. "Luck" is simply when preparation meets opportunity. Nothing more.

Whenever I see some idiot arguing that all these "rich people" got that way because they were lucky they were in the right place at the right time seem to completely miss the point. Most wealthy business owners are very clever and insightful people who stay prepared and know how to spot an opportunity and when to strike while iron is still hot, so to speak. That's what separates them from the jokers like the guy you were debating. Usually the kind of people that make comments like these are the perpetual woe-is-me employee types who blame the whole world for all their problems.

Your own choice and free will is all you really have that is fully in your control. To put that into someone else's hands and say, "well it doesn't matter anyway what I do it's all chance or luck" is really a downright despicable attitude. I can't really respect someone like that. Any situation that goes wrong (or right) I always look at myself and my own actions first and decide what I did correctly or incorrectly. I never blame others for my problems or give others credit for my own success. You could say I have a "blame me first" attitude.

Unfortunately the majority of American's in our society today do not see it like you and I do, they see it like the guy you were debating. That's why we are in the mess we are in. The above philosophy I described is what really attracted me to Atlas and Rand because that's what really everything is based around, personal responsibility. It's also about giving the credit that's due to yourself."

[JACK-2]

Well, somethings do happen to you. But, as 50 cent says life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you take it. Successful people are bigger than their problems, losers are not. Like you said, successful don't blame. They take responsibility. They're two completely different types people.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Feb 7, 2014 12:28:08 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

Well, somethings do happen to you. But, as 50 cent says life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you take it. Successful people are bigger than their problems, losers are not. Like you said, successful don't blame. They take responsibility. They're two completely different types people.

Well your environment, genes, and other things play a factor. No two people are equal after all, which is why it is important for responsible people with the best prospects to reproduce in order to curb the stupid misery people put on others by having kids they are unprepared for and putting the cost on everyone else.

That said you can still succeed. I grew up with absolutely nothing around that kind of environment which is why I know it is bad. Even a person who isn't brilliant can do quite well with hard work and savings.

The biggest obstacles are the type of society you live in and largely who you associate with. In a theft society it is much harder so you have to leave, and you have to be able to leave people behind if they want to drag you down, even family. The problem is people want to please others instead of making sound decisions. This is why I advocate leaving places like the modern US if you plan on going far in life, especially if you're young.

[JACK-2]

It's also a way to downplay success. See Determinism which is a fancy way to say "They got lucky". Jared Diamond tried to argue that european colonialism is a product of luck for instance [lol]. This type of thinking is really nothing new. Just a repackaged Fatalism and it's gaining traction.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Feb 15, 2014 12:24:05 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

It's also a way to downplay success. See Determinism which is a fancy way to say "They got lucky". Jared Diamond tried to argue that european colonialism is a product of luck for instance [lol]. This type of thinking is really nothing new. Just a repackaged Fatalism and it's gaining traction.

Well exactly. People feel bad because they can't accomplish anything so they want to have downplay others. Same thing as when people want someone else to take care off you. It's all about avoiding responsibility for your actions.

They of course have no way to explain any of this, it's just a scapegoat. How in the world can everything just be luck. Do people not remember that we started out with nothing and everything we had was built and created by someone who had the skill, and in many cases worked at it over and over again to perfect it.