Success is that old ABC - ability, breaks, and courage.

“Success is that old ABC – ability, breaks, and courage.” So spoke Charles Luckman, the architect and businessman who built his destiny not through inheritance or fortune, but through the mastery of perseverance and vision. His words are simple, yet within their simplicity lies the map to every triumph that man has ever achieved. He tells us that success is not born of mystery or magic—it follows a timeless pattern, the ABC of human greatness: Ability, the foundation of skill; Breaks, the opportunities that fate or effort provides; and above all, Courage, the spirit that transforms both into victory.

To understand Luckman’s wisdom, we must first remember who he was. Born into humble beginnings, he rose to fame not once, but twice: first as a brilliant salesman who became one of the youngest presidents in the history of Lever Brothers, and later as an architect who helped shape the skylines of America. He knew both fortune and hardship, both favor and struggle. His quote, then, is not a platitude, but a distillation of experience—the voice of a man who learned that while talent opens the door, it is courage that steps through it, and luck that meets those who dare.

The first letter, A – Ability, speaks of preparation. No man rises far without first laboring to sharpen his craft. Ability is the discipline of the mind and hand, the long patience of mastery. It is forged in quiet hours, when no one is watching, when the reward is distant and unseen. The ancients called it arete—excellence, the habit of striving toward perfection. Luckman knew that success begins here, in the cultivation of one’s own powers. A singer must train her voice; a leader must school his mind; a craftsman must shape his hands. Without ability, opportunity is wasted; with it, the smallest chance can be turned into destiny.

The second letter, B – Breaks, reminds us that the world is not conquered by effort alone. Breaks are the moments when the universe opens a door—sometimes through fortune, sometimes through the kindness of others, sometimes through sheer accident. Yet the wise know that luck favors the prepared. What some call chance is often the meeting of readiness and opportunity. Consider Thomas Edison, who said that genius is “one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” He faced thousands of failures, yet each “break” that came to him was not chance—it was earned through relentless persistence. He met luck halfway, as every achiever must.

But it is the third letter, C – Courage, that gives life to all the rest. Without courage, ability lies dormant and opportunity fades away. It is courage that moves the heart to act when the outcome is uncertain. It is the will to try when failure seems near, to rise after defeat, to stand firm when the crowd trembles. The courageous soul is the architect of his own fate, refusing to yield to doubt or despair. Luckman himself left a secure business empire to begin anew as an architect—a bold leap that most would have feared to make. Yet it was that leap, born of courage, that brought him his lasting legacy.

The ancients taught that all great endeavors are a balance of the divine and the human—of what we can control and what we cannot. Ability is our offering; breaks are the gifts of fate; courage is the bridge between them. Together they form the trinity of achievement. The one who lacks skill will stumble; the one who waits only for fortune will grow bitter; the one who fears will die dreaming. But the one who cultivates ability, watches for his moment, and meets it with courage—he will rise, not by chance, but by destiny fulfilled.

So let this be the counsel for all who seek to rise: build your ability, for it is the foundation of all greatness. Welcome your breaks, for life offers them to every patient and watchful soul. And above all, nurture your courage, for it is the fire that turns potential into power. When fear whispers, remember that no victory was ever born of comfort. Step forward, though the path is uncertain. The gods of fortune walk with those who dare. For as Luckman reminds us, success is no mystery—it is the old ABC: Ability, Breaks, and Courage, the eternal alphabet of achievement by which every man may write his own destiny.