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With investment can bring luck

Many people dream of being a millionaire. These days, it is not that high a bar to jump over.

Monetary authorities have depleted the value the dollar so that it is worth a small fraction of what it was when the term was used to describe the very-rich. Still, the million-dollar mark is a significant milestone. Someone has to do some things right to achieve it and maintain it, and only a small portion of the population does.

Of course money is not everything, but whether you have a personal goal of crossing that threshold, almost everyone wants to be better off tomorrow than they are today. They hope for a higher level of financial security as time goes on. The bad news is that everyone’s fortune is a matter of luck. The good news is that there are many effective ways to put yourself in luck’s path.

Education is one of those luck-enhancing activities. Statistically, the higher your education level, the higher your income is likely to be. Those with degrees from elite institutions tend to have significantly higher incomes than those with the same degree from run-of-the-mill programs. These statistics, however, can be deceiving. Does the higher education level or the Harvard degree cause the higher income? It is a correlation, but it is not necessarily causation.

When people decide to pursue a particular degree, they necessarily accept the tremendous investment of time, effort, and money that goes along with it. That necessity automatically eliminates people who don’t have motivation, energy, and vision. The low motivation, however, goes beyond schooling. It undermines working conditions, personal lives, and ultimate prosperity to a large degree. The sad fact is, however, that a university degree does not guarantee a rewarding job in a dream career. Many college graduates are forced to take low-paying jobs they hate.

On the other hand, many very successful people either did not attend university or dropped out before finishing, because opportunity couldn’t wait. There are many more who fashioned their success outside their field of study. The degree was, in many cases, a small factor. The important ingredients were the energy, creativity, and resilience that they exhibited over time. It is the person who is hired, it is the person who wins customers and contracts, and it is the person who makes breakthroughs, not the degree. Everyone falls down. It is those who keep getting up and trying again who develop the character required by success.

Education is not a degree or diploma. It is investment in yourself, and that can happen regardless of formal education, where you started, or where you are now. Schools can provide tools, mentorship, and encouragement, but they can’t educate. All education, without exception, is self-education. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) famously noted that education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

The fire is what accomplishes, it is what adds value, it is what makes the difference. Wherever you find yourself right now, whatever your age or income or circumstances, light your own fire. Determine to be better tomorrow than you are today. There are tremendous resources for learning available for everyone every day. Invest in yourself, in your relationships, in your network of people, in your character, and in your understanding of the world around you.

Many well-off people were not born with a silver spoon in their mouths. They weren’t just lucky. They lived within their means, they improved their skills, they increased their own value, and they accumulated assets over time. They invested in themselves and put themselves in luck’s way.

Daniel McLaughlin is a Randolph resident. Visit daniel-mclaughlin.com for more commentary, for links to other resources, or to leave a message.

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