essay - TOEFL10

Question:
"When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success." Do you agree or disagree with the quotation above? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your position.

Answer:
I totally agree on the idea that success depends on hard work, not luck. Whereas luck has influence on relatively small matters, hard work makes big achievement possible.

The first reason why I stress the importance of hard work is that I believe hard work can go beyond influence of luck. Several years ago, I took a exam for getting a certification regarding business consultancy. The percentage of passing the exam was around just three percent, and the coverage was wide-ranging. So, the applicants cannot hope a good result without hard work. Since I was convinced about it strongly, I spent much time to study the wide variety of the subjects. As a result, it seemed like the hard work was rewarded.

The second reason why I stress the importance of hard work is that I believe that luck can be increased by adequate preparation. Needless to say, luck exists everywhere in this world. You might be able to win one million dollars at a lottery, or you might be elected as a president of United States by accident. However, from my experience, we can control the luck with sufficient preparation. I invested my money in stocks. At the stock market, people can rely on luck, but intelligent investors relies on their knowledge and preparation coming from hard work, not luck. Thanks to this attitude, I could make decent fortune at the market.

In summary, I believe that big successes come from hard work, not from luck. This belief stems from my experience and principle. Hard work easily overpasses luck and can bring a great success to ones who believe the value of hard work.