Luck

In The Box Podcast

Episode 17: Team Building Failure, Brand vs. Customer Voice, Self-Reliance And More – Podcast

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast, we wrapped up our thoughts on luck, talked about why most startups fail, the difference between responding and reacting, and how much self-reliance is too much.

We also explored the idea of changing a brand voice to suit the voice of a publication one is pitching to and why many groups fall apart.

Give it a listen on itunes and subscribe.

Episode 17: Team Building Failure, Brand vs. Customer Voice, Self-Reliance And More

Luck – Trust that things will always work out.

Startups – Why do you think most startups fail?

Team building failure – Do many groups fall apart because of poor character dynamics or because the purpose of the group isn’t strong enough?

Brand vs Customer Voice – To get a publication or blogger to cover your business, should you choose your brand voice to fit their style or should you forget them and only seek out those who either speak or value your brand voice even if it doesn’t resonate with their own?

Respond vs react – How do you differentiate between responding and reacting?

Self-reliance – Is there such a thing as too much self-reliance?

 

Stay Positive & Is Your Purpose Clear?

In The Box Podcast

Episode 16: Luck, Being Early, False Equivalency And More – Podcast

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast, we discussed the concept of luck, the need to experience something to passionately sell it, whether life mirrors business or if it’s the other way around. We also talked about the advantages of being early and argued about false equivalency (fortunately never settling to agree to disagree).

On an earlier podcast Michael and I chatted about how so little surprises us anymore. On this podcast Michael stuck a check-up question about surprises in the box. It was a good time. Well worth the listen.

Episode 16: Luck, Being Early, False Equivalency And More

Selling – Does one have to experience a product themselves to sell it passionately?

Luck – Is luck something that finds you randomly or something you create?

Early – Do you believe it pays to be early? (early to a meeting, early to send email, early to say I love you?)

Surprises – Been surprised by anything lately?

False equivalency – How can we eliminate false equivalency?

Mirror – Does life mirror business?

 

Stay Positive & Refresh Your Life, Refresh Your Business

 

Watcha Gonna Do With That Luck

Garth Beyer

luck

I’ve said before that I don’t believe in luck, nevertheless I won’t take on the challenge of trying to convince you of that. Better yet, I’ll go along with it.

So you get lucky. The question shouldn’t be whether you deserved it or why you got lucky or if the luck was really a result of something you did. (What we most often wonder when we find ourselves lucky.)

The better question is what you’re going to do with that luck?

 

Stay Positive & I Always Suggest Give, But Do What You Will

Garth E. Beyer

Photo credit

Tired Of Professionals Saying They Were Lucky

Garth Beyer

I meet with a lot of reporters, journalists, and PR folk. I hear their stories, I heed their advice, and I ask a lot of questions.

The two most common things that I hear professionals say is

1. Learn to write well, really well.

2. I was lucky that…

The first is a “duh.” The second, well, is a lie.

None of these professionals were lucky that they ran into the headhunter of the PR firm they wanted to work for. They were not lucky that they had the credentials they needed for the job. They were not lucky that they got this or that internship. They were not lucky that the news editor had heard about them already.

These professionals didn’t land in their position by luck. They worked their asses off for it.

The real question is why do these professionals lie? Luck is a curated event, luck is the light at the end of the road, luck is a goal you meet after days, months, years(?) of hard work.

My thought is that everyone knows how difficult it is to become a doctor, yet, people still do. Then why do those in journalism and PR fear that the knowledge of how much work it will be to become a renowned journalist or PRS will stop people from becoming one.

At an even deeper level, why are these professionals not proud of how hard they worked?

I don’t have the answers for you right now. I’m not in their position. I know how difficult it is. I know how much I need to work to get where I want to be. I know the difficult leaps I need to take. I know that where I end up won’t be from luck.

When I find out the answers to these questions though, I will let you know.

I Don’t Believe In Luck

Garth Beyer

I don’t believe in being lucky. You attract everything positive into your life. “Luck” follows those who work for it. When you get it, it feels like you’re lucky, but you’re actually not.

Most people  just don’t know how to pat themselves on their back for the effort they put in, so they call it luck.

If you want other people to think your amazing, you first have to think your amazing.

 

Stay Positive & Pat Yourself On The Back (I hear doing that brings good luck … )

Garth E. Beyer

Lessons From The Cat In The Box

Garth Beyer

Clover is my cat. Although, I feel it may be more accurate to call her a little kitty despite the fact she is nearly 4 years old and after being with me, has only 3 out of 9 of her lives left. She’s small, cute, has half a tail (rescue kitty), and if you don’t remember, she has a big impact on my writing:( A Writer’s Crashing “Train of Thought” and Why It’s Excellent )

I have a cat story for you.

If your a cat owner, you have put a cat in a box. If you’re not, you now share the same curiosity as those who have as to what will the cat do if put it in a box? Let’s make the box a tall box, and the cat Clover.

Clover got put into a tall box and wouldn’t jump out. Contrary to belief, cats do have fear and it is this fear of the unknown and inability to prepare for the landing that Clover wouldn’t jump out. Cat’s, being very smart, choose not to take the risk. Admiringly, nor do they choose to just stay in the box. They will, just as Clover, put their paws on the rim of the box to try and peer over it to calculate the jump out of the box. It just so happened, as Clover had her paws on the edge, the box began to tip and it is almost as if the box was trying to push her out. Clover chose to try and prepare for the jump, only to find in that preparation that everything fell into place. (Pardon the pun)

See, we can learn many things from life, from each other and even from animals if we only observe.

Lessons Learned:

  • It’s okay to fear, just don’t let it immobilize you.
  • The unknown is not something to jump into, but to fall forward into.
  • If you prepare to try, you gain a forward leaning posture that tips the box, coincidentally pushing you forward.
  • Nothing is impossible, it’s just the angle at which you look at things.
  • Determination is unstoppable.
  • Fear of remaining in the box is worse than the fear of what’s out of it.
  • Freedom of any kind is worth losing 1 of 9 lives for.

Stay Positive & Luck Will Always Be On Your Side, As Long As You Try

Garth E. Beyer

Other posts about preparation (non-cat related): Prep To Destroy, Preparation and Expectation Reversed, Safety First: The Art Of Preparation

A Symbol Of Good Fortune

Garth Beyer

The Four-Leaf Clover

History and Origin

The symbolic meaning of the four-leaf clover has a definite origin. It is most commonly associated to the holiday of St. Patrick’s Day. Though, many celebrate it, few know of the true relationship between Patrick and the clover. “Patricius, better known as Patrick, is remembered today as the saint who drove the snakes out of Ireland, the teacher who used the shamrock to explain the trinity, and the namesake of annual parades in New York and Boston” (Cagney). Now, one can see that this explained the symbolic meaning of a regular three-leaf clover. Patrick attached each leaf of the clover to God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When the fourth leaf is found, it represents god’s grace (Clover Specialty Company). Not only does the significance of the clover relate to Saint Patrick’s analogy, but it also references the bible. “When Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden, Eve snatched a four-leaf clover as a remembrance of her days in Paradise” (Wallechinsky). This, in a way, agrees with St. Patrick’s representation of the clover in regards to its association with religion. “The clovers also occupied a position in the cultural life of early peoples. White clover in particular was held in high esteem by the early Celts of Wales as a charm against evil spirits” according to N.L. Taylor of Clover Science and Technology (Clovers Specialty Company). Also, Druids held the 4 leaf clover in high esteem and considered them a sign of luck. In 1620, Sir John Melton wrote: “If a man walking in the fields find any four-leaved grass, he shall in a small while after find some good thing.” (Clovers Specialty Company).

Cultural Transfer and Transformation

If one decides to credit St. Patrick for giving the meaning to the four leaf clover, one will often have arguments with those who believe its meaning was derived from the bible. This occurs because St. Patrick was known for driving the snakes out of Ireland, as stated before. This event by St. Patrick gives a background meaning to the clover through St. Patrick’s accomplishments. That meaning can be argued with common knowledge of the bible that Satan took the form of a snake in order to deceive Eve. So, those who believe that the clover has relevance to St. Patrick’s ability to drive away the snakes of Ireland, are shut down by saying the clovers in the Garden of Eden did not drive the snake away.

“The shamrock and its kin may actually turn out to be a much more practical than magical harvest. Cattle eat it, bee’s use its nectar and soil grows richer in its presence” (Sohn). The realistic perspective of the four-leaf clover, connected with the rarity of the plant, makes it a symbol of good luck. “The rarity of the plant (at one time) contributed to its value, although seeds which grow only four-leaf clovers are now available (Wallechinsky). According to Yoke and Zoom, The four leaf clover is a mythical symbol of good fortune, caused by a rare genetic mutation produced in an average of 1 in 10,000 clovers (Yoke). Though the overall meaning of “luck” is still universal, it has also been added to. Each leaf now symbolizes something different. One leaf is for faith, the second for hope, the third for love, and the fourth for luck (Clovers Specialty Company).

As it is clear, the symbol and its significance originated in Ireland by St. Patrick, and was introduced to the U.S. when Irish immigration to New York City took place during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s (Beau). When symbols are shared between cultures, it is natural for them to change slightly. While the original significance of each clover was faith, hope, love and luck, American culture invited the symbolism of the four-leaf clover into one of their sayings on the luck of the clover. “One leaf for fame, one leaf for wealth, and one leaf for a faithful lover, and one leaf to bring glorious health, are all in a four-leaf clover” (Wallechinsky).

Contemporary Cultural Meaning

The mystique of the four leaf clover persists today, since discovering a real four leaf clover is still a rare event and sign of good luck. Today, most commonly each leaf of the clover still represents the four meanings of faith, hope, love and luck. There are those still who perceive it in a religious sense of the trinity and god’s grace. This symbol is used in a variety of ways, from being tattooed on one’s body, to molded into good luck coins, to being displayed on post cards wishing others good fortune.  The symbolic meaning of the four-leaf clover is the same throughout the world. The clover is found across the globe, most species are found in the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but many also occur in South America and Africa, particularly at high altitudes in the tropics (Bradley). It is clear that the way American culture was introduced to the four-leaf clover and its significance, is the same way that all of these other locations have come to have the same opinion of the clover. Now, there may not be a different meaning between cultures, but rather, some may find no meaning out of a four leaf clover. Pete Hamill, writer for the Wall Street Journal says,

“For many Irish-Americans (I’m one of them), the shamrock is part of the green-beer-kiss-me-I’m-Irish nonsense that engulfs us all on St. Patrick’s Day and causes some of us to stay home,lock the door and watch a Fellini movie. When we see a plastic shamrock, our hearts don’t swell with pride or defiance; we don’t inflate with a rush of self-importance; we don’t cheer or weep. We are indifferent. Usually, the pasting of a shamrock upon the signboard of some bogus Irish pub is a symbol of only one thing: a complete and utter failure of imagination.”

One would surely agree with Hamill. Though, there are others that have the same attitude for other symbols as well. There will always be someone that disagrees with something. Part of what Hamill is saying is true. Do you remember the last time you remembered the origin of the four-leaf clover and the greatness and luck it offers you when you sat in McDonalds drinking your shamrock shake?

 

 

 

Works Cited

Beau, Dure. “Words heat up for colossal Shamrock-Slice showdown.” USA Today n.d.: Academic Search                Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Feb. 2011

Bradley, David. “Where to Find a Four-leaf Clover.” Science Blog from Freelance Science Writer David      Bradley. 31 Oct. 2008. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. <http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/five-leaf-             clovers.html>.

Cagney, Mary. “Patrick The Saint.” Christian History 17.4 (1998): 10. Academic Search Premier.    EBSCO. Web. 18 Feb. 2011.

Clover Specialty Company. “Facts about Four-leaf Clovers.” Clovers Online / Buy Lucky 4 Leaf Clover        and Shamrock Gifts, Plants and More! 2001. Web. 18 Feb. 2011.             <http://www.fourleafclover.com/vshop/facts_about_4-leaf_clovers.html>.

Hamill, Pete. “Diversity Blarney.” Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition 12 Aug. 1999: A22. Academic        Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Feb. 2011.

Sohn, Emily. “The roots of good luck.” U.S. News & World Report 130.11 (2001): 51. Academic Search     Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Feb. 2011.

Wallechinsky, David, and Irving Wallace. “Trivia on Origins of Good Luck Charms Four-Leaf Clovers |      Trivia Library.” Trivia on Movies, Music, TV, Sports, Science & More | Trivia-Library.com.            1975. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. <http://www.trivia-library.com/a/origins-of-good-luck-charms-four-   leaf-clovers.htm>.

Yoke, and Zoom. “Cell, London Zeigt N55  / Yoke and Zoom in London – Ausstellungen in Kunstaspekte.”               Künstler Kuratoren Galerien Museen Ausstellungen in Kunstaspekte. 25 June 2005. Web. 18 Feb.                2011. <http://www.kunstaspekte.de/index.php?tid=25685&action=termin>.