Diligence is the mother of good luck. ~ Benjamin Franklin I’m lucky. Every day, I get to do what I’m passionate about, which is to write poetry, blog articles, and creative non-fiction. And on a regular basis I’m invited to perform spoken word, and I’m actually paid for it. But these days, I’ve been particularly lucky in my creative career. I was invited to submit to two publications and my writings were accepted to both. A few people have asked to interview me. A couple of people have asked me to guest blog. Someone wants to possibly do a feature on poetryNprogress, and that’s just a few examples. I’m not bragging. I’m just telling you: I’m really lucky because I haven’t purposefully sought out any of these opportunities. Instead, I’ve simply been doing my work—writing every day, occasionally promoting my blog articles, and making meaningful connections with other artists and writers. Luck and Diligence Give luck a chance to happen. ~ Tom Kite So, what exactly is luck? Well, there’s the poker-hand kind of luck, which requires, as Kenny Rogers suggests, knowing “when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.” The thing about this kind of luck is that it can go either way. You can make a killing or you can lose your shirt. But the kind of luck I’m talking about happens through perseverance, determination, conscious effort, and paying proper attention to a task by giving it the attention and care required for its successful completion. In other words, the kind of luck I’m talking about ensues from diligence in our creative work. Read the rest of the article at poetryNprogress.