James Dyson on Luck, Distance Running and Success
I heard a quote recently on an NPR podcast featuring James Dyson, the inventor known for his vacuum cleaners, that I love:
" …And I do believe, though, that you create your own luck. Because luck is around. You know, I’m a — I did long-distance running at school. And you only succeed by doing a huge amount of training and then having great stamina, understanding that other people are also feeling tired. So when you feel tired, you should accelerate. That’s when you start winning. So — and I’ve learnt that with developing new technology, that when you feel like giving up is precisely the point everybody else gives up. So it’s at that point that you must put in extra effort. And you do that, and then success is literally just around the corner."
I relate to it since running has influenced a lot of my perspectives in life, even though I don’t run regularly these days.