They say that hard work leads to success and that success can be found where preparation and opportunity meet.
I have come to learn that success is like a three-legged stool - one leg representing hard work, the next is preparation and the third being opportunity. It is only when all three legs come together that we can achieve true success. Success found any other way is realized only by luck and is not earned.
We have been lead to believe that hard work is the key to achieving our goals and aspirations. While hard work is imperative to success, only working hard on the right things produces positive outcomes. Work hard at your craft, don’t get lazy.
As important as hard work is, it is no more important than the second leg of the success stool, preparation. If you are bow hunting, shoot often, shoot from a tree, stand or ground blind, shoot standing up and shoot sitting down. It is not enough only practice your shots; you have to practice-perfect shots. Famed football coach Vince Lombardi said, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” Practice on the right things and practice perfect.
Preparation includes scouting trails, travel corridors, bedding and feeding areas a month or more before season. Be mindful of prevailing winds in your area, don’t overly relay on technology to overcome a deer’s keen sense of smell. Set up game feeders to maximize deer’s habitat and use them to your advantage.
The third leg, opportunity is easy to overlook and is sometime confused with luck. Opportunity includes understanding how your presents in the woods may affect deer movement patterns. At the moment-of-truth, understanding when to sit and when to stand, when to draw your bow and when to wait, when to take a shot and when to stand down. Understanding what the difference between a low percentage shot verses a high percentage shot and the patience in making the right decision.
If you fail to execute each leg in the success stool, you leave yourself exposed to failing.
But what about luck? I have often said I had rather be lucky that good. Sure, we all know that hunter that found favor with lady-luck and killed the buck of a lifetime. Where does luck fit into the finding of success? I see luck as the stool’s stretcher. Stretchers like luck are not necessary for the stool to complete the task but ad stability and helps the stool carry the load. A little luck along the way helps but don’t count on luck to overcome hard work, preparation and opportunity.
Don’t be fooled into thinking you can achieve success without working hard, being prepared and taking advantage of the opportunity when it comes.