My grandfather’s generation was fond of using the phrase “when your ship comes in,” which a lot of my generation co-opted to mean, “when you get a lucky break.” What it actually meant was, “when you’ve worked long enough, and hard enough, that you’re finally ready to succeed, it’ll happen.”

That’s the secret of lucky breaks: they must be EARNED. And the best way to prepare for your ship to come in is to build a port worthy of receiving it. Sometimes that takes much more work and much more time than you ever want or expect. But here’s another secret: ships are coming in ALL THE TIME — and those who are prepared to receive them are the ones who experience the most luck.

However, you must also be prepared to be told two things by nearly EVERYONE you know: 1) they will say you’re a fool to put in so much time and effort to receive a ship that no one may believe is actually coming; and 2) after it comes, all a lot of those same people will see is that somehow you lucked out and just happened to have a port waiting for a ship to arrive.

And the last secret? None of that really matters, because your vision is what must be clear, not whether anyone else around you can see what you see, want what you want, or would be willing to pay the same price to achieve your goals. At times, you will need to communicate your aspirations to others around you, because some things are easier to do if we have help. But sometimes, you will — you WILL — be completely on your own, with no resources to build the port, no ship in sight, and no one there supporting you. And in those moments, only one question matters:

How bad do you want it?

Decide. Then make it happen — no matter what.