Success is not an accident. When you put yourself in the right

“Success is not an accident. When you put yourself in the right place at the right time, then you're likely to be more successful because of how you prepare yourself on a daily basis.” Thus declared Andrew Cherng, founder of Panda Express, and though his words arise from the world of business, they strike like an oracle’s truth across every path of human endeavor. For in them lies the reminder that success is never born from chance alone; it is the child of foresight, of habit, of the unseen discipline that forges readiness long before opportunity arrives.

The ancients, too, proclaimed this wisdom. They taught that fortune favors the prepared, that opportunity is like a door which only opens to those already standing before it. The unready may see the door swing open but cannot walk through it; the prepared, through daily training of mind and hand, step boldly when the moment arrives. Thus, Cherng’s words remind us that preparation is not a side task, but the very foundation of greatness.

Consider the story of Andrew Cherng himself. He did not inherit empires of wealth but began humbly, working alongside his family, learning discipline through daily labor. The birth of Panda Express was not a sudden accident of luck, but the fruit of countless days of preparation: refining recipes, studying people, and positioning himself in the right places where opportunity could be seized. When the chance came to open in a California mall in the 1980s, he was ready—not by fate, but by relentless daily commitment. Success followed because he had laid the groundwork with patience and persistence.

History too offers shining examples. Recall Alexander the Great. Many speak of his conquests as though they were miracles of destiny, but his triumphs were not accidents. From youth, he was taught by Aristotle, trained by his father Philip, and hardened by daily drills. When his time came to lead armies, he was not merely lucky to be king—he was prepared for the task by years of discipline. He placed himself in the right place, at the right time, with a heart sharpened daily, and thus carved an empire that still echoes in the halls of history.

The lesson is clear: do not sit idly waiting for success to fall like rain. Success comes not to the idle but to the vigilant, not to the dreamer alone but to the dreamer who works daily. It is in the small, steady acts—rising early, training the hand, sharpening the mind, building discipline—that one prepares the soil. When opportunity finally appears, it blooms as though overnight, but the roots have been growing for years in silence.

O seekers of wisdom, mark this well: each day you live is a stone laid upon the road to your destiny. If you waste your days, the road will crumble when you try to walk it. If you honor your days, preparing steadily, you will find yourself always ready when the gates of opportunity open. The right place and the right time do not reveal themselves to the careless; they reveal themselves to those who have made themselves ready.

In practice, shape your life around steady discipline. Build habits that sharpen your craft, nurture patience in failure, and treat each day as preparation for the unknown tomorrow. Do not curse the waiting season, for it is there that you are forged. When the moment comes—and it will—you shall find that you are already in position, already ready, already strong. That is when the world will call it luck, but you will know it was preparation.

Thus let the words of Andrew Cherng endure: “Success is not an accident.” It is the fruit of countless daily choices, the harvest of preparation, and the reward of being ready when destiny calls. Live with readiness, for when chance meets preparation, what the world calls fate, you will call triumph.