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FAVOR OF FORTUNE
Fortunate Thinking
The benefits of a prepared mind
After solving today’s NYTCo Communications Wordle, I am reminded of a favorite quote of mine by Louis Pasteur, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” I have it posted in my classroom alongside other quotes.
Of course, given that Mr. Pasteur was a French chemist, this quote was part of a lecture on laboratory observations, and was also in French. But still, the sentiment from the hero of milk drinkers everywhere is that to gain the benefit of chance, one must have a mind prepared to both perceive and receive that chance.
I have been lucky in my life, and also sometimes unlucky. Sometimes being lucky sneaks up on you and you don’t know what the hell happened. But sometimes you can see in hindsight how you set yourself up for that luck by doing some research or thinking about the possible outcomes or asking the right people for help.
You’ll hear the same sentiment from self-help gurus who say “visualize what you want”, or religious leaders who say “have faith that things will work out” or songwriters who say “open your heart”. Basically, set yourself up for success by prepping yourself for that success.
I’ll take this back to teaching because school has started and that’s where my mind is. A teacher isn’t only…
