"The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and of chance. Seeing others grow rich, they say, 'How lucky they are!' Observing others become intellectual, they exclaim, 'How highly favoured they are!' And noting the saintly character and wide influence of still others, they remark, 'How chance aids them at every turn!' They do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these people have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised, that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable and realize the vision of their heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and joy and call it 'luck,' They do not see the long and arduous journey but only behold the pleasant goal and call it 'good fortune.' They do not understand the process but only perceive the results and call it 'chance.'"
James Allen – As A Man Thinketh
My comment: It is natural to us to look at what fortunes and good luck others around us have and envy them for it, exclaim that we might as well have the same luck others have. We do not remind ourselves that many have paid in blood the price of what they have today and what they have achieved, that nothing came easy to them on a silver platter! And we hit ourselves that we do not have such great fortune! Yet we do not realize that it would take us years and years of hard work if we wanted to be something in this life, that nothing is free of charge and luck can only be so good to a very small minority, and even those may have done something at some point that brought them good fortune! ... don't look at what others have, because you will only get yourself a nervous breakdown, look at what you've got today, be thankful for it every day, hope for the best and work for it, this is how you can achieve ...