The More I Practice The Luckier I Get

Arnold Palmer Quote

The more I practice the luckier I get; Arnold Palmer philosophising on the preparation required just to be in contention for the opportunity to win a competition. Or to put it more succinctly it could be described as the diplomatic sportsman putting real meaning into the term success

On the odd occasion when a journalist suggests that someone who won a sports competition was lucky it must be disappointing for the professional sports person to hear considering the tens of thousands of hours practice they have put in to get them to the stage where they can compete at the highest level to beat the worlds best.

Practice; Climbing The Ladder Of Success

All top sporting competitors started somewhere and it is usually the ones that show some talent in the sport that get the opportunity to progress up the ladder of success.

But at these early stages they are still a million miles away from reaching the pinnacle of their sport. The part that comes next sorts out who makes it and who doesn't.

It takes years of sacrifice and single minded dedication to practice your sport and it is here where so many fail to make it.

Because the competition between sporting stars at the top of their game is so fierce it is easy to forget how muck practice and training that each and every one of them have put in and continue to do so just to maintain their competitive edge.

All this practice is required to master your sporting skill set and the continuation of your practice is to hone the mastery of your sporting skill. This level of practice will never let up while any sports person wants to stay competitive at the highest level.

Seize The Opportunity

Some people suggest you make your own luck and they are right to a certain degree, hard work on the practice field combined with a positive and confident mind set delivers good competitive results.

The Arnold Palmer quote; "The more I practice the luckier I get" could be uttered with ones tongue firmly placed in ones cheek because if you have the skill then the difference between first and second place could come down to who has practiced the most.

2000 years ago the Roman philosopher Seneca was quoted as saying; "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity", the relevance between this and the Arnold Palmer quote is the word 'preparation'.

Without the preparation, which in sporting terms is practice and training, you will not be ready when the opportunity arises. Carpe diem comes to mind and to seize the opportunity a sports person must put the hard hours into practicing their trade.

I think the meaning of the Arnold Palmer quote; "The more I practice the luckier I get" is the harder you work and practice the more likely you are to get the opportunity to win the big competitions.

Maybe a more accurate description would be 'the more I practice the better I get' but however true it may be this would be a less humble response to any barbs coming Arnolds way.

Article By: Michael Joseph Farrelly