[munificent]

So what you're saying is that the combinations are like:

           Work  Don't
           hard  try
          .-----.-----.
    Get   | :-) | :-( |
    lucky |     |     |
          |-----+-----|
    No    | :-( | :-( |
    luck  |     |     |
          '-----'-----'

You don't have any control over what row you end up in. But if you want any chance of success, you better at least make sure you're in the left column.

[creakingstairs]

The analogy I like is that you have a net and you need to catch luck in that net to succeed. Naturally, you want the area of your net to be as large as possible to have the most chance of catching luck. There are a lot of things that can increase the size your net. One of them being working hard.

[klelatti]

Yes but my underlying point was that if you don’t expect Beatles level success then you might turn the Work Hard / No Luck combination to :-) - just enjoy what do you do achieve through your hard work.

[agumonkey]

And that's the whole gist of the problem of existence.

You have to merge this table with a S-curve of growth so you can work 'a bit' hard in a lucky enough context. And repeat the cycle.

I'm the kind to grind hard for long but blind.. it leads to a boring death. Find where, when, how to spend your mental energy is crucial.