Dogs in rented houses

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Of course it did, it always does to some extent.

chucknorris wrote: »

OK so lets look at the facts, and try and see where the luck occurred. When I was 24, I had a serious road traffic accident that took me 4 years to recover from.

During that 4 years I looked at myself and my lack of achievement in life, and I decided to try and do something about it. I was 27 years old (so still 1 year from recovery), I had not been regularly employed for about 7 years, and I had virtually no qualifications, and was left with two disabilities from the accident. I could no longer rotate my left wrist, no supination, and reduced pronation (my radius and ulna had both shattered and had fused together). Also my femur (thigh bone) had shattered too, and this left me with virtually no right knee bend, and other complications. I was informed that it was unlikely that I could work as an electrician again, due to my disabilities, although I doubted that, I was never happy doing that anyway, and I decided to re-invent myself. The first thing that I had to do was get an education, at the same time my disabilities (from the accident) were being assessed via the job centre, they came up with 'assistant QS' (quantity surveyor) and I enrolled on an assistant quantity surveyors course, where I eventually sat a city and guilds exam. I had worked really hard on that course, and was rewarded for my efforts by obtaining the highest marks in the exam in the British Commonwealth, and I won the silver medal (there was no gold medal). By this time I realised that I wanted to become a chartered quantity surveyor (not merely an assistant quantity surveyor). So I applied to various polytechnics to read for a QS degree as a mature student at 28. I went to Leeds Poly, quite intimidated, being amongst all those much more intelligent students (but that was just my in my mind), I thought that if I worked really hard I might somehow scrape through and end up with a degree. But I actually ended up being the top student, and I got a first class honours degree, not because I was a genius, but again because I worked so hard. When I graduated at 32, they asked me to stay on and teach there, but I was quite looking forward to working in industry, but again, a bit scared because of my age (being much older than all the other graduates). So as well as working very hard in my career I also started off two businesses that I built up in my spare time (but I had no spare time, I worked late every night, every weekend, and all my holidays. 10 years later, I nearly had a break down, and I realised that I had to stop working so hard, so at 42, I retired from quantity surveying, but by then I was a multi-millionaire, and my two businesses were providing more income than my career. 10 years later, at 52 I sold one of the businesses, I found I had a lot more time, and I started another career as a university lecturer, which I really enjoy. I gave them my notice to retire a couple of years ago, but they asked me to consider staying on, and work one day per week, which I did, and I think I'll do that for the foreseeable future.

So where was the luck:

- Having the serious road traffic accident, that took 4 years of my life to recover from, but which triggered me to re-evaluate my life and turn it around? I don't think many would call that luck.

- Working really hard and getting the highest marks in the City & Guilds exam (which enabled me to go to a polytechnic)? Not really, that was down to hard work (and also some ability).

- Ditto getting my first class honours degree.

- Ditto becoming a successful chartered quantity surveyor.

- Ditto for putting in the effort (on top of my career) to build up two businesses.

So why don't you tell me, where was the luck? I really think that it was down to hard work. I would accept that I was very lucky that I didn't die or was even more seriously hurt in the accident, considering the car that I was in, somersaulted over the crash barrier of the M1, and ended up upside down on the embankment on the other side of the M1. But that luck didn't really give me what I have now, I achieved what I did, in spite of that.

EDIT: I am 60 now, and I if I had my time over again, I would have followed the same path, but I would not have worked so hard. I realise that I sacrificed my personal life too much and worked too hard. But I was financially insecure, and I didn't really believe in my ability for a very long time (in spite of some success), and thought that I had to work harder than everyone else to get somewhere in life. I was financially insecure mainly down to coming from a poor background, and I was determined to become wealthy (or die trying). But I am not unhappy about my choices, I am happy and grateful for what I have now, but I do not think that it was down to luck. But I do wish that I had been more confident and believed in myself more when I was younger.