Luck is great, but most of life is hard work.

“Luck is great, but most of life is hard work.” Thus spoke Iain Duncan Smith, and though the words are simple, they carry the weight of all the wisdom that time and struggle have ever taught mankind. For in every age, the foolish have worshiped luck — that fleeting and mysterious force that seems to favor a few — while the wise have known that labor, not fortune, builds the lasting pillars of life. Smith’s words echo the ancient truth that destiny may open a door, but it is effort that walks through it. To rely on luck is to wait for rain in a desert; to rely on hard work is to dig the well yourself.

The ancients themselves spoke endlessly of this. The philosopher Aristotle said that excellence is not an act, but a habit — the fruit of discipline practiced day after day. The Romans carved into their temples the saying, Fortes fortuna adiuvat — “Fortune favors the bold.” Yet even this proverb, so often misunderstood, did not praise idleness; it praised courage in action, the willingness to labor even in uncertainty. The gods of chance, it was said, smile only upon those who have first labored in the heat of the sun. To wait for luck alone is to sleep through the rising dawn.

Luck is indeed a sweet companion, but it is fickle and faithless. It comes uninvited and departs without warning. The harvest of life cannot depend upon it. The farmer who plants his seeds and tends them with care will see his fields bear fruit whether or not luck sends rain. The sailor who learns the tides and strengthens his vessel will reach his destination even when the wind turns against him. So it is with the soul: those who labor with patience and courage find their own fortune, while those who wait for chance find only regret.

Consider the life of Thomas Edison, whose name became a symbol of innovation. When asked how he had succeeded in inventing the electric light, he replied, “I did not fail a thousand times — I found a thousand ways that did not work.” His genius was not a gift of luck; it was the child of relentless labor, of nights spent in trial and error. The world called him brilliant, but his brilliance was merely persistence wearing the face of genius. Through his story, we see that fortune does not grant success — it yields only to those who have mastered the art of endurance.

Even in war, the most uncertain of all human endeavors, the great generals have known that preparation is the true luck of battle. Alexander the Great did not conquer the known world by the favor of the gods alone, but by years of training his men to fight as one, by studying every terrain, by planning for every storm. Chance may have crowned him with opportunities, but it was his discipline and will that turned those moments into empire. The same truth applies to all pursuits: life may offer opportunity, but it rewards only those ready to seize it through toil and focus.

Yet there is humility in Smith’s words as well. He does not dismiss luck entirely — he calls it great. For indeed, there are moments when fortune opens doors that hard work alone could not. But luck, without the hand to grasp it, is wasted. A favorable wind means nothing to the sailor who has not built his ship. A moment of opportunity means nothing to the one who has not prepared his mind and heart. Thus, the wise recognize that luck and labor must work together: fortune may light the path, but sweat and perseverance must carry the traveler forward.

So, my child, take this teaching into your heart. Do not envy the lucky, nor despair when fortune turns her back. Rise each day with the will to work — to build, to learn, to improve, to endure. Plant your seeds even in barren soil, for diligence turns deserts into gardens. Remember always that the gods favor the steadfast, not the idle. Luck may touch your life for a moment, but hard work will shape it for a lifetime. As Iain Duncan Smith reminds us, the true measure of greatness lies not in how often luck smiles upon you, but in how tirelessly you labor, even when it does not. For in the end, it is not luck that defines your destiny — it is the strength of your own unyielding hands.