As a chemical engineer, I spent a lot of time in school thinking about what are conserved quantities. We have an entire class called “Mass and Energy Balances”, where you rely on conservation of mass and energy to solve problems (some may find this very boring, I know). A friend and I used to consider what else in life might be conserved, meaning its quantity is finite. When I got to writing a chapter about a turning point in John’s life, I remembered our line of thinking and decided, “What if Luck is a conserved quantity? What if Ray & John are in some cosmic play where only one can succeed? Perhaps if one fails miserably, it will open the door for the other, and vice-versa.” And thus was born this chapter. Plus, I loved thinking about how Ray, someone with 23.5 hours a day awake, would handle adversity.
Reading 15: Ch 28 – Luck
About the Author
