This saying, “fortune favors the“, it’s been around the block a few times, you know? Heard it from my old pappy, and he heard it from his pappy before him. It’s like them old wives’ tales, but this one, it’s got some real truth to it, I reckon.
See, life, it ain’t gonna just hand you nothin’. You gotta go out there and grab it. Like plantin’ seeds, you don’t just throw ’em on the ground and expect a whole crop. You gotta till that soil, water it good, and keep them pesky crows away. Same with life. You want somethin’? You gotta work for it. Fortune favors the doers, not the wishers.
Now, some folks, they’re scared. Scared of failin’, scared of lookin’ silly. They sit there on their porch, watchin’ life go by, never takin’ a chance. Well, let me tell you, ain’t nothin’ gonna change sittin’ on your behind. You gotta get up and get movin’!
Take old Mr. Johnson down the road. Always talkin’ ’bout startin’ his own little store. Had it all planned out, he did. But he never did nothin’ about it. Too scared, I guess. Then young Billy, fresh outta school, he opened up a shop right there on Main Street. Now Billy, he’s doin’ alright for himself. Mr. Johnson? Still sittin’ on that porch, talkin’ ’bout what coulda been. That’s what happens when you don’t got no, you know, no gumption. Fortune, it likes them that try.
- You gotta be brave.
- You gotta be strong.
- You gotta be willin’ to take a chance.
It ain’t about bein’ loud or showin’ off, neither. It’s about havin’ that fire in your belly. That little somethin’ that pushes you to do more, be more. My mama, she always used to say, “Empty barrels make the most noise.” It’s the quiet ones, the ones workin’ hard, them’s the ones that get ahead.
And it ain’t always easy. Lord knows, life throws you curveballs. You gonna stumble, you gonna fall. But you gotta pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep goin’. That’s what fortune favors the persistent ones, the ones that don’t give up. Even when you lose, if you tried, that is good. You tried something new!
Look at me, still kickin’ after all these years. Seen a lot, done a lot. Ain’t always been easy, but I kept at it. And you know what? I got a good life. A roof over my head, food on the table, family around me. What more could a person ask for? And I got here ’cause I wasn’t afraid to work for it.
So, don’t be like Mr. Johnson. Don’t let fear hold you back. You got a dream? Go after it. You want somethin’? Go get it. The world ain’t gonna wait for you. Fortune favors the ones who make their own luck. And that’s the truth, so help me.
I remember this other time, back when I was a young’un. There was this big contest in town. Everyone wanted to win. But they were all scared to put their names in. Not me. I marched right up there and signed up. Didn’t win, mind you, but I tried. And you know what? I felt good about it. Didn’t get what I wanted, but hey, I had some fun. That is good, too. It’s all about the doing. It is not always about winning. If you try hard and don’t win, that’s still good, right? Fortune favors the ones that try something, something new.
Now, I ain’t sayin’ you gotta go jump off a cliff or nothin’ crazy like that. There’s a difference between bein’ brave and bein’ foolish. You gotta use your head, think things through. But don’t let that thinkin’ paralyze you. Don’t overthink it. Sometimes, you just gotta take that leap of faith. If you want something, go get it. Do something. Don’t just sit around doing nothing. That is how you get stuff done. That is how you do good in life. Be good and try your best, and you will do good.
Life’s a garden, see? You gotta plant the seeds if you want somethin’ to grow. You gotta tend to it, care for it. And sometimes, even when you do everything right, things still don’t work out. That’s just the way of the world. But you keep plantin’, keep tendin’, and eventually, somethin’ good’s gonna sprout. Fortune favors the determined. The ones who just want it bad enough. The ones who get up and try, even when it’s hard.
So, go on now. Get out there. Make somethin’ of yourself. Don’t be afraid to try. Don’t be afraid to fail. Just keep movin’ forward. And remember what I said: fortune favors the ones who ain’t afraid to live.
