--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being great involves luck, and unique…" description: "\"Being great involves luck, and unique circumstances, and a lot of other forces beyond your control. You can’t just make it happen by working more or tr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/charles-wheelan-23089_absolutely-nothing_being-great-involves-luck-and-unique-cir_927534.jpg" --- # Being great involves luck, and unique circumstances, and a… ![“Being great involves luck, and unique circumstances, and a lot of other forces beyond your control. You can’t just make it happen by working more or trying harder. There is an irony here, of course. The less you think about being great, the more likely it is to happen. And if it doesn’t, there is…” quote by Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/charles-wheelan-23089_absolutely-nothing_being-great-involves-luck-and-unique-cir_927534.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/charles-wheelan-23089_absolutely-nothing_being-great-involves-luck-and-unique-cir_927534.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81b/charles-wheelan-23089_absolutely-nothing_being-great-involves-luck-and-unique-cir_927534.jpg) > “Being great involves luck, and unique circumstances, and a lot of other forces beyond your control. You can’t just make it happen by working more or trying harder. There is an irony here, of course. The less you think about being great, the more likely it is to happen. And if it doesn’t, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being solid.” [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness often depends on luck, circumstances, and forces beyond effort; overthinking it can hinder success, and being solid is fine. **In simple terms:** Greatness isn’t just hard work; luck and context matter. Key Takeaway Accept limits, focus on solid work. Themes luck circumstances effort expectations Mood reflective realistic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - creative projects - personal goals - team leadership Key Concepts probability psychology self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - What factors beyond effort shape your success? - How can you stay grounded when aiming high? A Different Perspective Hard work alone rarely guarantees greatness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trying Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-harder/) ## Related quotes > [In a startup, absolutely nothing happens unless you make it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andreessen/in-a-startup-absolutely-nothing-happens-unless-you-make-it-happen/) [Marc Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andreessen/) > [I'm looking, often, towards younger people, listening to how they're working, at least they're trying, and some of the old greats, too. Just to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/i-m-looking-often-towards-younger-people-listening-to-how-they-re/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [I always knew that if I kept working and trying to improve, good things would happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-bradley/i-always-knew-that-if-i-kept-working-and-trying-to-improve-good/) [Shawn Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-bradley/) > [Writing or making anything-a poem, a bird feeder, a chocolate cake-has self-respect in it. You're working. You're trying. You're not lying down on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/writing-or-making-anything-a-poem-a-bird-feeder-a-chocolate-cake-has/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [If you ever see the director pulling people aside, that means something's not working. Because you're trying to figure out why it's not working.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti-west/if-you-ever-see-the-director-pulling-people-aside-that-means/) [Ti West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ti-west/) > [If you don't have a dream as an artist, you shouldn't be an artist, because you should be working towards something and trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-griffiths/if-you-don-t-have-a-dream-as-an-artist-you-shouldn-t-be-an-artist/) [Megan Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-griffiths/) > [I'm just lucky to be working; I'm not trying to leave a legacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-evans/i-m-just-lucky-to-be-working-i-m-not-trying-to-leave-a-legacy/) [Shaun Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-evans/) > [My house was a revolving door. 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If you don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/keep-working-keep-trying-keep-believing-you-still-might-not-make-it/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) > [If you're not working on trying to be mine then you shouldn't be worried about who consumes my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-not-working-on-trying-to-be-mine-then-you-shouldn-t-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have several things that I'm working on and trying to put together. It's hard to say exactly what's next. I think I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-robert-mitchell/i-have-several-things-that-i-m-working-on-and-trying-to-put-together/) [David Robert Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-robert-mitchell/) > [I get restless easily so I always want to keep working, but I am trying to pace it as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/i-get-restless-easily-so-i-always-want-to-keep-working-but-i-am/) [Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/) > [Keep working. Keep trying. Keep believing. You still might not make it, but at least you gave it your best shot. If you dont…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-working-keep-trying-keep-believing-you-still-might-not-make-it-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Charles Wheelan > [“Several studies of thousands of British civil servants (the Whitehall studies) have found that workers who have little control over their jobs—meaning they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wheelan/several-studies-of-thousands-of-british-civil-servants-the-whitehall/) [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) > [“We’ve built a society that values civil liberties even at the expense of social order.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wheelan/we-ve-built-a-society-that-values-civil-liberties-even-at-the-expense/) [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) > [“Is the journey still worthwhile if the mountain turns out to be enshrouded in fog at the top?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wheelan/is-the-journey-still-worthwhile-if-the-mountain-turns-out-to-be/) [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) > [“Here is one of the most important things to remember when doing research that involves regression analysis: Try not to kill anyone. 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Some”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wheelan/remember-human-capital-embodies-not-only-classroom-training-but-also/) [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) > [Change is inevitable; but progress depends on what we do with that change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wheelan/change-is-inevitable-but-progress-depends-on-what-we-do-with-that/) [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) > [“According to the American Lung Association, the average smoker dies seven years earlier than the average nonsmoker, which means that smokers pay into Social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wheelan/according-to-the-american-lung-association-the-average-smoker-dies/) [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) > [“I have always had an uncomfortable relationship with math. I don’t like numbers for the sake of numbers. I am not impressed by fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wheelan/i-have-always-had-an-uncomfortable-relationship-with-math-i-don-t/) [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) [Explore all 25 Charles Wheelan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) ## More Absolutely nothing quotes > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. 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If I can have a good time doing absolutely nothing with him, then that's boyfriend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-hannigan/i-know-quickly-whether-a-guy-is-boyfriend-material-if-i-can-have-a/) [Alyson Hannigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-hannigan/) > [I cannot conceive of music that expresses absolutely nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-bartok/i-cannot-conceive-of-music-that-expresses-absolutely-nothing/) [Bela Bartok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-bartok/) > [Well, I've got nothing to hide. 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Doing the same thing over and over again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/here-is-something-no-real-celebrity-will-ever-tell-you-film-acting-is/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [Listen to everyone, read everything; believe absolutely nothing unless you can prove it in your own right!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-william-cooper/listen-to-everyone-read-everything-believe-absolutely-nothing-unless/) [Milton William Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-william-cooper/) > [What a delightful thing is the conversation of specialists! One understands absolutely nothing and it's charming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/what-a-delightful-thing-is-the-conversation-of-specialists-one/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [I go to practice every day. I really don't have a training camp. 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