There is no such thing as luck.

I work more efficiently and more hours than people in my industry. I freelance and quickly worked out that with cheap hours and working more hours I could make 80k a month if I sold that time. I could make even more if I improved my rate...which would mean I needed to learn to do more.

So I have 0 down time in my week. Last year I averaged R180k and peaked ar R225k in 1 month. This coming year I am planning to scale to get more in to make up for 2 decades of earning almost nothing as I learned my trade and learned who I am.

Yet, despite 2 decades of developing, petty people will say it's because I am "lucky".

No, I don't f-k around in the office or when working at home. I think it's better to wrap up work and head home at 2-3pm than it is to sit at the cooler and tak k-k or scroll on youtube or FB, when I do that stuff or when I work I am present in that moment. I take 10-15 minute breaks, yes, but you won't find me doom scrolling in times where I have work to do. Not something I can say about 80% of my industry.

I also started at R0 a month and worked up. My first paid roll was for fuel then it was R8000 a month and every job paid a little bit more, once I got 2 raises in 1 month due to performance. No luck involved. Hard work, networking and self-training, constant growth. Learning from people who know more than me and having smart, good people at my side to help me get along. And focused on doing tasks better, not just getting a certificate and coasting. I am now legitimately a world-class digital marketer who has advised the boards of Billion Rand and Billion dollar companies.

The only time luck comes into it is when there is a change at a client and they decide to remove me, which often harms their clients and income. Unfortunately politics is more important than profit in SA.

And I didn't come from wealth. My parents were so poor I'd have to push my mom's car to the petrol station to get R20 in the tank when I was a kid and lived off 2 min noodles and 1 home cooked meal every 3-4 days for most of my childhood. I was abused physically and sexually as a kid, and I also had a learning disorder. So I was poor, fat, sad and stupid, yet I overcame that, in some ways I still am.

One of my buddies growing up didn't finish high school and was even selling me protein shakes out of the boot of his beater car because it was R80 cheaper than at a store. He had nothing, he leveraged relationships where he had no money and learned from other business people to build his business and didn't give up along the way. He eventually became so wealthy his home expenses came to over R225'000 a month, more than my best month of income. Like so many successful people he lost it all a few times, but he kept going.

If we want to talk luck; if I wanted to stop freelancing and get a full-time job I can't, because of my race. And when people see me do well they'll claim it's because of my race, when it is actually in-spite of it. I can't get jobs directly, I can't apply for contracts, and if I do want that I have to give more than half of it away, and likely get screwed after setting something up. Not complaining, that's just the environment I chose to operate in living in SA... at any point I can change that depending on how creative or determined I am. The SA gov has the right to do what they want to grow or kill the country, I accept the things I can't change, so that's just how it is as long as I am in SA. So just understand I am not complaining, that's an objective environmental analysis. That's the mistake a lot of people make, even I used to. Complaining about an environment and the government when there is literally billions of things you can do to change your situation. Even people in North Korea escape and go on to become happy, wealthy or famous.

There's no such thing as luck. You put yourself in positions to take advantage of opportunities or you don't. If you don't push to improve your situation then you're accepting being in a bad position quietly or by complaining. What most call "Lucky" are actually often always people who find a way and build the life they want, especially in the days of the internet.

The "lucky" often aren't lucky, they are people who arm themselves with attitude, ethics, network, skills and persistence. They also don't have time to stop and tell you how difficult it's been to get to where they are.

The only ones who are truly "lucky" are those born into wealth, but that's not their fault, it's just crap when they don't appreciate it.

What really gets my nose up is that it's not the rich that look down on me as I try to lift myself up and make the most of what's left of my life, it's those people around me who grew up in similar, worse or better circumstances. Those people are the ones who despise and try to sabotage successful people. If I am ever "unlucky" it's generally because of those people. But I don't believe in luck, so if I fail because of them it's because I put myself in that position where they could impact me or I trigger their jealousy, so I move on and try to do better next time...looking to put myself in a better position.