The idea that wealth = luck comes from the idea that wealth comes from a job

[Dutchlike]

I've been thinking about this a little and this seems to be the reason why so many people think that wealth comes from luck.

If someone sees you driving up in a BMW 7 series, what are the going to think? "Oh I bet he's an successful entrepreneur" No! They're going to think "Man, he must have a good job!"
Now, we all know that climbing the ladder within the job-environment can be sometimes impossible, even when you work your hardest. There was a topic around here about a guy who worked his socks off for a 5% pay increase, case in point! That's why people get upset when you say "Yeah, I came here trough hard work". They do hard work, but they do it in the wrong field, the job field, they're not playing the right game, but they're doing (or at least think they're doing) their best to win their own game, only not getting the rewards they think they deserve.
So, when someone gets a promotion, it is trough hard work, but it's also trough a certain amount of 'luck' (luck here being a combination of circumstances; it's a good year and the boss has some financial leeway, some poor sap got fired etc. etc.). When someone gets a good job, it might not be because they have the best resume, but also a bit of luck (you happen to be a woman and they need to meet their quota or something like that, also a lot of random circumstances).

So when someone drives up in a BMW 7 Series they're not only think "Man, he must have a good job!" they're also pasting on "Lucky guy."

I know MJ touches upon this in his book, but I thought I'd write this to get a clearer picture of the slowlane mindset, at least how I see it around me.

 

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[JAJT]

It basically comes down to this:

If you call it luck, it's out of your control and you can blame your circumstances on being unlucky and outside forces. It's not your fault, you're just unlucky, born in the wrong family, don't know any of the "right" connections, weren't in the right places at the right times. Oh well, that's life.

If you call it hard work, you have to admit that you haven't done enough, didn't work hard, need to do more, and you are basically responsible for everything you have or don't have. You didn't get the promotion because you didn't work hard enough. You don't have a successful company because you never took any risks. You don't know the right people because you never said "hello" to anyone you didn't have to. You didn't, you didn't, you didn't. YOUR fault.

Also, people only see events, and almost never the processes that went into it. They see the job offer, not the weeks/months of networking. They see the promotion, not the dozens of "above and beyond" projects they worked on. They see the winner of the world poker tour, not the hundreds and thousands of losing hands before it.

 

[Dutchlike]

It basically comes down to this:

If you call it luck, it's out of your control and you can blame your circumstances on being unlucky and outside forces. It's not your fault, you're just unlucky, born in the wrong family, don't know any of the "right" connections, weren't in the right places at the right times. Oh well, that's life.

If you call it hard work, you have to admit that you haven't done enough, didn't work hard, need to do more, and you are basically responsible for everything you have or don't have. You didn't get the promotion because you didn't work hard enough. You don't have a successful company because you never took any risks. You don't know the right people because you never said "hello" to anyone you didn't have to. You didn't, you didn't, you didn't. YOUR fault.

Also, people only see events, and almost never the processes that went into it. They see the job offer, not the weeks/months of networking. They see the promotion, not the dozens of "above and beyond" projects they worked on. They see the winner of the world poker tour, not the hundreds and thousands of losing hands before it.

I think people easily combine these two in an all-out combination of it's not my faultness while still keeping a sense of accomplishment for the 'hard work'. Where the balance obviously usually pans out to more of a 'luck' thinking, I think it's important to recognize that some slowlaners think they're doing the best they can, because they are doing the best they can within their own limited frame of thinking i.e. the job-environment which is the place where you get rich, so they think.
They're aware of their own process, and project their own process upon the event.
I'm not talking about all slowlaners here, but I've met quite a few who think this way.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Half the battle is knowing which game to play. 95% of the world is trying to win a rigged game, which is why they think it's luck. And honestly, because the game is rigged against you, it IS luck, like walking into a traveling carnival and winning the big stuffed animal. Yup, there's a winner for every millionth loser. To quote WAR GAMEs, the only winning move is to not play at all.

 

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[Enki]

the only winning move is to not play at all.

In the context I love that quote.

 

[SGBoise]

Personal responsibility goes along way. Unfortunately most people prefer to blame others so they don't have to get out of their comfort zone.