I now see my mistake. I attempted to frame a question in terms of a widely used metaphor for getting lucky: “Hey, I got a great job! I just won the lottery! Let’s celebrate!” No one who says that is implying that great jobs are given out arbitrarily. And their friends have enough of a sense of humor to get it.
Intelligent people realize that the lottery is nothing more than a regressive–and voluntary–tax on the poor. Donald Trump doesn’t play. Ever. Neither does Charles Manson. Ever. Winning would mean nothing in their lives.
However, some people feel lucky at times and the lottery is an almost universal expression of that feeling. Forget the lottery. Do you feel lucky when something cool happens and you’re in a groove or if something cool happens do you think you’re ahead and you should just sit back and enjoy that ride?