Wasn't it you who said that luck was when opportunity meets preparation?

But the way I see it, perspective is the framework to look at the past for information about the present. Looking back, I have had an enormous deal of fortune in my life. I happen to be born in one of the best countries in the world on a social, economical and educational level (Netherlands). Of the people born there, I happen to be a part of the minority that goes to university. That does an honorary programme. That has good prospects. Great friends and family. Enough money to live as I want to without a debt accumulating. That has been able to go to Hong Kong, and I'm planning to study in Canada next year. I could go on and on about all the things I'm grateful for.

Where I hesitate is to call it lucky. Nearly everything on that list had a lot of factors that had to be right to make it happen. I've beaten the odds multiple times, but is that lucky or is it just improbable? The difference between the two is that luck is endogenous. It happens beyond one's control, whereas something improbable can still happen if you put more effort in it. There is always an edge of randomness, of events occurring at the same time that you just can't control. Sometimes, that randomness becomes an important factor, as in your improbable '09 search for a financial job. But I doubt that you would've found the job you found if you didn't go around asking everywhere, having great interviews, improving your job-finding skills.

My perspective is that I've had a lot of optimal conditions for good things to happen. And I've put in effort / preparation for some events. Both contribute to it happening. Some played out well and others don't, often a matter of soulless statistics. Some improbable outcomes were positively impacted by luck (e.g. meeting the right person to get me into an exchange programme) and others negatively. Don't get me wrong, I'm still just as grateful of what has happened to me, it's just that I don't think I have a luck fairy following me and helping me around.

Luck is the easy reason. As mk puts more brief,

Personally, I think it is damaging for people to view the world as a place where luck is what makes the difference between success and failure. Everyone encounters rare circumstance, however dynamic people leverage what is available, and non-dynamic people do not.