I’m not lucky.

Recently I was told how one of my friends thinks I’m ‘just lucky.’
Funny how often people think I’m ‘lucky’, as if I didn’t work so hard since I was 18 to achieve success.
My Spring Break party money went to trips to Russia.
My drinking money went to seminars and clinics training.
When other people had the newest of this or that, I was spending my money on books and lessons.
I shop at Walmart and have 10 year old clothing because I buy training clothing instead.
I’ve been homeless for my studies – I’ve wrecked relationships for my studies – I’ve forsaken friends and family for my studies.
I’ve laid awake night dreaming of what things will be like one day when all the hard work pays off and gotten up early to work on it.
I’ve work 50 hours a week since I was 18, and still managed to teach classes, run different businesses, work on various projects, and learn from some of the best in the world.

This morning I was up at 7am on Saturday working while those who say I’m lucky are sleeping.

I work hard to innovate, with videos like The Screw (https://pramek.com/new/shop/default/videos/the-screw) and The Gear, where we teach people to create their own ground work instead of copy others (https://pramek.com/new/shop/default/videos/the-gear-ground-movement)

Far too often the people that know me forget this when they see the success – when I can buy everyone a beer, or hang out a little too late, or buy a new toy like a nice rifle (when I do spend money). People look and they say, ‘Man, Matt’s lucky’ while I look at a 20 hour day that comprises that luck.

And now, I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and all the hard work pay off so that when I’m 35, I work for no one and I have great success in a number of projects and businesses that allow me to live out the rest of my years having fun, learning, changing, traveling, and teaching.

I spent my first 33 years working while others played. And they will spend the next 33 years working while I play.

This may seem arrogant, but the reality is there is no luck and those who believe in luck as a path to success should be rewarded with none. My old boss, John Cornetta, used to say, ‘Success leaves clues.’ I watched him slave, toil, work endless hours, strive, push, hit 5 low points for every 1 high. And now he lives on the beach in Florida with his family and gets to do what he wants for a living – while most of the people who hated him do what they have to do to survive.

There is no luck – there is only hard work when not working hard would be easier.
There is no magic pill or drink, there is just not taking the pills or drinking whenever one else does so you can drink when they can’t.
There is nothing handed to most of us – there is only taking what we get and making something of it.

So, next time you work hard and someone says ‘you’re lucky’ use a Pramek wedge to their face, pull their hair to the side and remove their equilibrium so they fall down and then smile.

Most martial arts would call that luck if it works.

I call it planning an application and executing theory.

For 33 years I’ve been doing it and I’m not planning on stopping….you’re either riding shotgun or jumping into the ditch to get out of the way.