I often get the question: "How did you start brass?" Typically, I'll say it all came down to hard work, a lot of supporters and a lot of luck.

Recently someone responded back: "Don't you think it's funny that the harder someone works, the luckier they seem to get?"

It was a good point that got me wondering. Are there actually "lucky people?" Do the people we read about on a daily basis--be they athletes, entrepreneurs or musicians--make it big because fate dealt them a lucky hand? I don't think so.

Michael Jordan was cut from the varsity basketball team his sophomore year in high school. He trained extensively to make it back on the team. Despite the early setback, he went on to make the cover of Sports Illustrated a record-49 times.

Howard Schultz grew up in the Brooklyn Projects. He earned a football scholarship and became the first in his family to graduate from college. When a small company called Starbucks passed on his suggestion to create an Italian espresso bar, he started his own. Two years later he acquired Starbucks and today his espresso bars are in 36 countries around the world.

Kanye West was in a near-fatal car accident that broke his jaw, but he used it as inspiration for his hit song, Through the Wire. The chart-topper was recorded while his jaw was still wired shut. He now holds six Grammys and has been featured on the cover of Time magazine.

Oprah Winfrey came from a troubled childhood in the segregated South, but began working at a local radio station at 17. She went on to become the first female African-American news anchor at Nashville's WTVF-TV and eventually turned a local TV spot into her own national talk show. Today The Oprah Winfrey Show has been the highest-rated talk show for 20 consecutive seasons.

Sure, I've gotten lucky, but I also prepare myself to be in the right place when opportunities present themselves. I work 80 hours a week, travel 100,000 miles a year, and sleep in a hotel 100 nights out of the year. (I'm writing this very piece at 1:30 AM on a Saturday morning.)

As it turns out, the people who are willing to work the hardest and sacrifice the most for their dreams make their own luck. Anyone can get lucky... you just have to go out and get it.

Bryan Sims, CEO
 

Sources: askmen.com; sportsillustrated.cnn.com; cbsnews.com; forbes.com; starbucks.com; finance.yahoo.com; marketplace.publicradio.org; time.com; oprah.com; biography.com; rocafella.com; grammy.com; espn.go.com