Luck

Opportunity - A favorable or advantageous circumstance
Action - The state or process of acting or doing
Luck - The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events
(definitions from dictionary.com)

Another way of defining luck is:

Opportunity + Action = Luck

An illustration follows.

Suppose there is a contest that offers a brand new car for the grand prize, several smaller cash prizes, and 1000 consolation prizes. And suppose that you submit your entry forms for this contest. You stand a chance among the other contestants who submit their forms as well. And if you win any of the prizes, you will be considered "lucky" by your friends.

What had happened?

An opportunity was presented. A contest offering over a thousand prizes is open to you. You take action. You join the contest with diligence, submitting several entry forms to maximize your chance of winning. You win. Luck? Yes!

How about another example?

The NLP training that I attended was an opportunity presented to me. A colleague who registered for it initially could not make it for the training. Therefore, I took the action of registering for it and making sure my boss will approve it. I got enrolled into the training. Was I lucky? Yes!

Can you think of the times when you felt "lucky", and could it be translated into Opportunity + Action?