There sure are a lot of popular sayings that involve the word ‘luck’. And although I’m a solid believer in the quote attributed to golfer Gary Player, “The harder you work, the luckier you get”, I still think my favorite is “If it weren’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any at all!”

And even though I know that’s not really true, there sure are times when it feels like it is. Like how in the last four days I’ve had three flat tires. The first involved me driving a car over a curb in a parking lot… that one was 100% my fault and 100% dumb (to make matters worse, it wasn’t my car). The next one was on my skid loader when I was doing yard work late Friday night, trying to forget about the first flat tire and also get something done before the rain moved in on Saturday. And the third flat tire was on my trailer last night when I was loading up the skid loader so I could take it in to get the tire fixed!

It’s days like these that help me empathize and understand the frustration that dairy producers deal with on a regular basis when things go wrong. Whether that means repairing machinery breakdowns and accidents due to carelessness, animal losses as a result of poor decisions, or getting rain when you’re almost done putting up silage; these unnecessary occurrences can really test your patience and temperament. And I’ll be the first to admit, it’s easy to lose your cool, cuss, and ask “why me?!”

But if there’s one thing I always seem to learn from these unlucky events (although apparently not very well), it’s that none of these frustrating moments are really all that serious in the end. Most of the bad luck we experience throughout the course of a normal day is exactly that, normal. Good things happen to us all of the time, yet we don’t pay much attention to them because we figure that’s just how things are supposed to be. And then when things don’t go our way, we chalk up our disappointment to bad luck and wonder if we would’ve been better off staying home for the day.

Despite tough economic times, the one thing that most of us truly have is good luck. For one, you’ve been taught how to read and write. And if that’s too basic for you, you’re also lucky to have the ability to provide food and shelter for you and your family. Maybe you’re currently not making the money you want or need, but people still demand what you supply. And if you’re still searching for your calling, consider yourself lucky to have been given another day to find it.

Even on our worst days, we’re still luckier than most of the world’s population. We wake up every morning without having to worry about our streets being overrun by violent criminals and full of starving people. We’re blessed to have been born in a country that promises everyone the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We create value. We give back. We innovate. We take risks. We protect those who cannot. We feed the hungry. We work hard. We lead. We improve what already exists. We defend freedom. We vote.

Today’s a great day to be alive… lucky you!