A Question of Luck

Hey, hope you're having a good day. It's time for a story.

Back in 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, I lost my job. How it happened no longer matters; what's pertinent was that my then-colleagues and I had a WhatsApp chat group where we discussed our feelings about the workplace, our employers and such. Once I got the axe, within a couple weeks, another ex-boss landed me a better-paying job, on his recommendation. It was staggering news considering that, well, there was COVID-19 going around and job opportunities weren't exactly plentiful. That was when one of them said this...

WhatsApp excerpt.

Do excuse the bad English; this was typical textspeak in Singlish. We're super casual in WhatsApp chats. In essence, he was saying that I was "lucky" to land a new job so soon after getting fired from the previous one.

Honestly, I took exception to that. In fact, I fairly bristled. While I'm not so vain or delusional as to consider myself in the top twenty-five percentile of tech talent in Singapore, I like to think I have earned the opportunities given to me over the course of my career. It wasn't as though my name was picked out at random so that I could be recruited for a position I would otherwise be overlooked for.

It was not some random quirk of fate that caused the CEO of the company to give me a call. Rather, it was the fact that I worked my tail off for my ex-boss when I was plying my trade in his company, to the point where he felt confident about putting his professional reputation on the line by recommending me for a position. Whether it was for my know-how, or grit, or networking with the right people, those were actions I had personally undertaken to improve my odds.

Calling this "lucky" felt like a slap in the face.

On the other hand...

Improving my odds - that's exactly the thing. Whether or not I had improved my own odds, the fact remains that this was a gamble. Life itself is a gamble. There are tons of things that affects the odds one way or another, many of which have nothing to do with my aptitude or attitude.

A roll of the dice.

The fact that this company needed someone to fill this position, wasn't something engineered by me.

The fact that my industry boasted burgeoning demand during these trying times, wasn't down to anything I had personally done.

Being born and educated in Singapore, a country with stable political leadership and prosperity, definitely did not hurt my chances. It provided an environment where putting in the work would yield rewards.

There are a million and one things that happened, none of which I'm remotely responsible for, which contributed to me gaining this opportunity.

Had I done the work, and made myself an attractive option? Definitely. No one was denying it. That said, there was a lot more going on, that contributed to this situation. I had earned the opportunity, but the opportunity needed to exist in the first place. Without that, no amount of hard work or talent would have put me here.

Concluding thoughts

It was certainly not incorrect to say I was "lucky", at least in the technical sense. No matter how much work one puts in, no matter how talented they are, few people accomplish anything without a dose of good fortune. To assume otherwise is both naive and arrogant.

After all, how many people can say that they got fired during the pandemic and landed a higher-paying job two weeks later? Not many, I suspect. If that's not at least partially luck, what is?

Are ya feeling lucky, punk?
T___T