The more I research into the subject the more I became convinced that success is as much about luck as about talent, hard work, risk taking, etc. As luck would have it I myself became rich and successful within a few months of moking to the US.

I do not believe in astrology and was skeptical when an aunt of mine predicted on my relocation to the US in mid 2006 that the success that had eluded me all these decades would finally dawn on me. ‘You will be a celebrity’ she had said.

Once in the US I read at least a thousand books on success and I was convinced that we tend to attribute almost superhuman qualities to the rich and successful. The successful people go along with this myth even though they know that luck had played a significant part in their success. Indeed greater the success the bigger the role of luck. Bill Gates, the Google guys, Warren Buffet - are all examples of people in whose success lady luck played a fair share.

Let me tell you how luck made me a dollar millionaire. Hold your breaths tighten your seat belts and those of faint heart don’t read any further.

My wife had always accused me of being a theoretician and a lazy guy. I had great advice to give to others on how THEY could become rich but she correctly admonished that I did not practice what I often preached. ‘India is not the place for a genius like me’ I scoffed at her. It was when we moved to the US that my time had come to prove that I could achieve great riches.

One evening I was at the apartment of my old fiend Dick in Maryland. I had several glasses of beer and, as was to be expected, visited the restroom. My visit turned out to be rather long and at one stage Fred’s kid started banging at the door. ‘Hi uncle get out fast’ he yelled. Unable to resist his plaintive calls I quickly terminated the proceedings and was about to step out when I noticed a bottle of pink powder with a label stating -

‘GROW YOUR OWN CUCUMBER’

I quickly thrust it into my pocket and walked out much to the relief of the kid.

Next day after my wife had left for office I sprayed the powder all over my one acre yard. A month later I asked my wife to close her eyes. I led her to our yard. When I asked her to open her eyes she screamed in delight at the luscious growth of the biggest cucumbers we had ever seen. I knew I was on to something big. Soon I made a business out of it. I announced on the website CRAIGSLIST that I had a ‘miracle’ powder for farmers and green-thumb guys. I even advertised on MIRACLE TV after the spiel about miracle cures for terminal diseases. I bought several tons of the powder from Walmart. Two months later I had made my first million.

I visited Dick to tell him that I owed my riches to him. He told me that he had also run into a stroke of luck. His wife had threatened to leave him if he did not improve his performance. He had found a magic potion to save his marriage. He took me to his bathroom and showed me a bottle that read

‘GROW YOUR OWN CUCUMBER’

I could almost hear trumpets in the background as he announced

‘THIS IS THE BEST THING TO HAVE HAPPENED TO MAN AFTER ADAM ATE THE FORBIDDEN APPLE’.

I decided to donate my undeserved money to the National Institute of Health with a specific request not to use it for research into male anatomy! A hard luck story or me. As for Dick. His name speaks for itself.