Recently, it seems luck has become the go-to explanation for both success and failure. I hear it again and again - in coaching sessions and casual coffee chats.

When it comes to success, luck is a convenient explanation. The success of others? They got lucky. Your own success? If you want to appear humble, you just point to luck again. It’s the polite thing to do.

And when things don’t go your way? You didn’t get the [deal / job / promotion]? How easy to blame bad luck.

The flipside is this: some of the most successful people I know insist on making their own luck. And there’s good scientific backing for that stance.