--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the major ingredients for…" description: "\"One of the major ingredients for professional success in science is luck. Without this, forget it.\" — Leon M. Lederman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/leon-m-lederman-20865_forget_one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-profess_1525434.jpg" --- # One of the major ingredients for professional success in… ![“One of the major ingredients for professional success in science is luck. Without this, forget it.” quote by Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/leon-m-lederman-20865_forget_one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-profess_1525434.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/leon-m-lederman-20865_forget_one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-profess_1525434.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/leon-m-lederman-20865_forget_one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-profess_1525434.jpg) > “One of the major ingredients for professional success in science is luck. Without this, forget it.” [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Luck plays a crucial role in scientific achievement; without it, success is unlikely. **In simple terms:** Luck is essential for scientific success. Key Takeaway Cultivate skill and seek opportunities. Themes science career chance Mood realistic inspirational Type advice motivational When to use this quote - grant applications - research collaborations - career moves Key Concepts probability networking serendipity Questions to Reflect On - Can you increase your odds of lucky breaks? - How do you balance skill with chance? A Different Perspective Relying on luck can undermine effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Professional success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professional-success/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [Science, science is great. I love science. With any luck, it'll save us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-brock/science-science-is-great-i-love-science-with-any-luck-it-ll-save-us/) [Isaac Brock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-brock/) > [How ironic it is! Good luck to him down - he forget the death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/how-ironic-it-is-good-luck-to-him-down-he-forget-the-death/) Mak\_786 > [“The very success of science in showing us how deeply ordered the natural world is provides strong grounds for believing that there is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-lennox/the-very-success-of-science-in-showing-us-how-deeply-ordered-the/) [John C. Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-lennox/) > [Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/success-is-a-science-if-you-have-the-conditions-you-get-the-result/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The success of a science fiction writer is if he can write a good read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-success-of-a-science-fiction-writer-is-if-he-can-write-a-good-read/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“The widespread success of science is too significant an issue to be treated as if it were a happy accident that we are free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-polkinghorne/the-widespread-success-of-science-is-too-significant-an-issue-to-be/) [John Polkinghorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-polkinghorne/) > [It seems that for success in science or art, a dash of autism is essential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-asperger/it-seems-that-for-success-in-science-or-art-a-dash-of-autism-is/) [Hans Asperger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-asperger/) > [It is a myth that the success of science in our time is mainly due to the huge amounts of money that have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/it-is-a-myth-that-the-success-of-science-in-our-time-is-mainly-due-to/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Success in science and scientific work come not through the provision of unlimited or big resources, but in the wise and careful selection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lal-bahadur-shastri/success-in-science-and-scientific-work-come-not-through-the-provision/) [Lal Bahadur Shastri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lal-bahadur-shastri/) > [One of the reasons for its success is that science has a built-in, error-correcting machinery at its very heart. Some may consider this an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/one-of-the-reasons-for-its-success-is-that-science-has-a-built-in/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The only way to have real success in science, the field I'm familiar with, is to describe the evidence very carefully without regard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/the-only-way-to-have-real-success-in-science-the-field-i-m-familiar/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [“Sensuality is instrumental to developing the confidence for personal and professional success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/sensuality-is-instrumental-to-developing-the-confidence-for-personal/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [“Life had become some kind of profound competition, where my emotional loss was substituted by my professional success. I became a part of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saurbh-katyal/life-had-become-some-kind-of-profound-competition-where-my-emotional/) [Saurbh Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saurbh-katyal/) > [“All life is struggle, says the Sufi, but the struggle must be a coherent one. The average man is struggling against too many things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/all-life-is-struggle-says-the-sufi-but-the-struggle-must-be-a/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“For it is a fact that a man can be profoundly out of step with his times. A man may have been born in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-a-fact-that-a-man-can-be-profoundly-out-of-step-with-his/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## More by Leon M. Lederman > [ He \[Democritus\] is probably best known for two of the most scientifically intuitive quotes ever uttered by an ancient: 'Nothing exists except atoms and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/he-democritus-is-probably-best-known-for-two-of-the-most/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [By the grace of AEC, BNL, God, Green and Hayworth (alphabetical order), we should see neutrinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/by-the-grace-of-aec-bnl-god-green-and-hayworth-alphabetical-order-we/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [Theorists write all the popular books on science: Heinz Pagels, Frank Wilczek, Stephen Hawking, Richard Feynman, et al. And why not? They have all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/theorists-write-all-the-popular-books-on-science-heinz-pagels-frank/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [Particle physics suffers more from being infected by the socio-political mood of the day than from lack of spectacular opportunities for major and profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/particle-physics-suffers-more-from-being-infected-by-the-socio/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [The sequence of theorist, experimenter, and discovery has occasionally been compared to the sequence of farmer, pig, truffle. The farmer leads the pig to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/the-sequence-of-theorist-experimenter-and-discovery-has-occasionally/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [Science should have no less lofty a goal. My ambition is to live to see all of physics reduced to a formula so elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/science-should-have-no-less-lofty-a-goal-my-ambition-is-to-live-to/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [Democritus's work on the void was revolutionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/democritus-s-work-on-the-void-was-revolutionary/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [The history of atomism is one of reductionism – the effort to reduce all the operations of nature to a small number of laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/the-history-of-atomism-is-one-of-reductionism-the-effort-to-reduce/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [My children have often asked me why I never received a Nobel Prize. I used to tell them it was because the Nobel committee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/my-children-have-often-asked-me-why-i-never-received-a-nobel-prize-i/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [During an intense period of lab work, the outside world vanishes and the obsession is total. Sleep is when you can curl up on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/during-an-intense-period-of-lab-work-the-outside-world-vanishes-and/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [The aether: Invented by Isaac Newton, reinvented by James Clerk Maxwell. This is the stuff that fills up the empty space of the universe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/the-aether-invented-by-isaac-newton-reinvented-by-james-clerk-maxwell/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [Experimenters don’t come in late—they never went home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/experimenters-don-t-come-in-late-they-never-went-home/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [I started out as a molecules kid. In high school and early college I loved chemistry, but I gradually shifted toward physics, which seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/i-started-out-as-a-molecules-kid-in-high-school-and-early-college-i/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [I'm so old I can remember when the Dead Sea was only sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/i-m-so-old-i-can-remember-when-the-dead-sea-was-only-sick/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) > [ Where do we stand today compared to Greece circa 400 B.C.? Today's experiment-driven 'standard model' is not all that dissimilar to Democritus's speculative \[sic\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/where-do-we-stand-today-compared-to-greece-circa-400-b-c-today-s/) [Leon M. Lederman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) [Explore all 30 Leon M. Lederman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/) ## More Forget quotes > [I Never met her,i never talked to her,but in my whole day I am either thinking about her or trying to forget her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhananda/i-never-met-her-i-never-talked-to-her-but-in-my-whole-day-i-am-either/) [Subhananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhananda/) > [What people tend to forget is the journey that I had getting to Formula One. There were plenty of years where I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hamilton/what-people-tend-to-forget-is-the-journey-that-i-had-getting-to/) [Lewis Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hamilton/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forget the credit, they (male actors) take all the money as well. We don't get paid even one-third of what male actors get. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kangana-ranaut/forget-the-credit-they-male-actors-take-all-the-money-as-well-we-don/) [Kangana Ranaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kangana-ranaut/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/) [Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/) > [The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/the-problem-with-people-is-they-forget-that-most-of-the-time-it-s-the/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“So you try, and try, to move past it and forget about them, but it's like they're stuck in your head -- you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-mcdonald/so-you-try-and-try-to-move-past-it-and-forget-about-them-but-it-s/) [Abby McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-mcdonald/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) Trunxbeats > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) Browse all 11,315 Forget quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the major ingredients for professional success in science is luck. Without this, forget it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leon M. Lederman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-professional-success-in-science-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forget" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-professional-success-in-science-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/leon-m-lederman-20865_forget_one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-profess_1525434.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/leon-m-lederman-20865_forget_one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-profess_1525434.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/leon-m-lederman-20865_forget_one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-profess_1525434.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the major ingredients for professional success in science is luck. Without this, forget it.” — Leon M. Lederman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leon M. Lederman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-m-lederman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the major ingredients for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-professional-success-in-science-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-m-lederman/one-of-the-major-ingredients-for-professional-success-in-science-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```