“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.”

Last update Nov. 2, 2021. History

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Do you have more details about the quote "Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity." by Oprah Winfrey?
Oprah Winfrey photo
Oprah Winfrey 143
American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, … 1954

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Denzel Washington quote: “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.”
Denzel Washington photo

“Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.”

Denzel Washington (1954) actor, screenwriter, director, producer
Seneca the Younger photo

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

Seneca the Younger (-4–65 BC) Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist

Has been attributed to Seneca since the 1990s (eg. Gregory K. Ericksen, (1999), Women entrepreneurs only: 12 women entrepreneurs tell the stories of their success, page ix.). Other books ascribe the saying to either Darrell K. Royal (former American football player, born 1924) or Elmer G. Letterman (Insurance salesman and writer, 1897-1982). However, it is unlikely either man originated the saying. A version that reads "He is lucky who realizes that luck is the point where preparation meets opportunity" can be found (unattributed) in the 1912 The Youth's Companion: Volume 86. The quote might be a distortion of the following passage by Seneca (who makes no mention of "luck" and is in fact quoting his friend Demetrius the Cynic):<blockquote>"The best wrestler," he would say, "is not he who has learned thoroughly all the tricks and twists of the art, which are seldom met with in actual wrestling, but he who has well and carefully trained himself in one or two of them, and watches keenly for an opportunity of practising them." — Seneca, On Benefits, vii. 1 http://thriceholy.net/Texts/Benefits4.html</blockquote>
Disputed

Oprah Winfrey photo
Zig Ziglar photo

“Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation.”

Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American motivational speaker

See You at the Top (2000)

Winston S. Churchill photo

“I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.”

Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

On his 75th birthday (1947), in reply to a question on whether he was afraid of death, quoted in the N. Y. Times Magazine on November 1, 1964, p. 40 according to Quote It Completely! (1998), Gerhart, Wm. S. Hein Publishing, p. 262 ISBN 1575884003
Post-war years (1945–1955)

Luis Miguel photo

“I feel that destiny is a mixture of preparation and luck. You can be very lucky, but it is useless if you're not prepared. You can be prepared, but it is useless if you're not lucky.”

Luis Miguel (1970) Puerto Rican singer; music producer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aipyRne6dso
Interview in Mexico, 1995

Robert A. Heinlein photo

“[Irene] hated trusting to luck. It was no substitute for good planning and careful preparation.”

Genevieve Cogman (1972) novelist and game designer

Source: The Masked City (2015), Chapter 11 (p. 141)

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