Preparation —— Opportunity, & the Work Between
Teddy Roosevelt supposedly said without the Civil War, history would forget Lincoln. Irrespective of authorial veracity, the sentiment remains. Absent opportunity, the most prepared person remains an elite-trained spectator. Let’s soften that statement as the equation’s balanced look misleads us:
Further nuance remains: It's what the prepared person does with the opportunity that determines their relevancy. Opportunities offer possibilities. Preparedness increases our odds of success. With a greyscale outlook, we are mindful of resulting—i.e., retrospectively conflating our decision-making process as equivalent to our outcome. My buddy Jake loves to bet on “Sweetness” #34. When it hits, he’s a genius, and when it doesn’t, he’s just gambling.
The necessity of acknowledging arbitrary misfortune
Excuses are valid, especially so for communities that receive arbitrary discrimination. It doesn’t matter if preparedness largely determines the ability to seize possibility if opportunity never arrives.
Excuses are also always present.
So, we're left to ask what exceptions we will accept.
The ego will always find room for an exception, and in doing so, it will eliminate any room to be exceptional.
Since all generalizations are wrong, including this one, the best advice is more circumspect: Regarding excuses, we should be specific and selective.
“A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness varies in proportion to its object. You’re better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve.”
—Marcus Aurelius
Awareness and then acknowledgment are the first and second steps in solving a problem. The third is starting.