Cheat 63: F*** Luck
Cheat 63: F*** Luck —Luck, like shit, happens. You don't have much to say about it.
Lots of people think serendipity is the same thing as luck, but it isn’t. Serendipity—defined as a valuable, unexpected occurrence—doesn’t just happen. Serendipity is luck that happens when you keep your eyes open.
Probably the most serendipitous thing that ever happened to me was when I was playing hockey at age 15. At that age, I didn’t match up to most of the other guys in muscle power, but I played balls-to-the-wall and held up well, which was great for my self esteem—until the day my knee got hit so hard that it almost shattered the lower growth plate in my femur. That would have stunted the growth in my leg forever, but it missed the plate by a millimeter. That was lucky!
The doctor at the ER initially took an X-ray and saw nothing, so he told me I had a tendon tear and that I should go home and try to limit my walking until it mended. If I had, I would have walked with a limp for the rest of my life. My mother is a nurse though, and she didn’t agree and was able to bump me to first in line for an MRI —which revealed the fracture. That was serendipitous! Not just because it kept my leg intact, but because when your mother does something like that for you, it creates gratitude and respect that you remember all your life.
For about a year after the injury, I was in a wheelchair and on crutches, and had to depend on my mom and dad and friends to do the most basic things for me.
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This excerpt has been truncated and is just a portion of the full chapter. To read the rest of F*** Luck and to unlock all 71 cheat codes order The Cheat Code book here!