Don't Push Too Many Trolleys

10The Best Rewards Are the Hardest Won

Some people just get lucky; they just stumble into something that is perfect for them: the timing is right, they get a lucky break and they are successful. But we've established by now that luck is not a career plan. You can't say, “I'm going to pay my bills by buying a lottery ticket every week!”

It can also be dangerous to look at someone who got lucky and think that you can emulate that person. If you don't get the same breaks, you could end up very disappointed. For inspiration, look at people who have been successful through hard work and dedication, rather than people who got lucky. Do your research on life's workers, not life's “lucky people”, because there is a formula for success, but there is no formula for luck. I've watched people look at someone who is successful and think that they can follow their success, but person A's success was based on luck; when person B doesn't get that luck, they fall flat on their face.

Make a Million to Keep a Million

I believe that you will always work harder for your own money than for someone else's. But the rewards, when they come, will always taste sweeter. We have heard many stories of people who win huge sums of money on the lottery but then burn through it, spending it on badly planned businesses or overpriced luxury items. Often these “big winners” create a lifestyle with huge overheads and yet they are not generating the income to finance those expenses. Once the original lump sum ...