“Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity.”
—Lucius Annaeus Seneca-Roman philosopher (tutor and advisor to Nero)

luck (Websters)
noun
1. the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person’s life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I’ll probably get pneumonia.

for·tu·nate (Websters)
adjective
1. having good fortune; receiving good from uncertain or unexpected sources; lucky: a fortunate young actor who got the lead in the play.

I was corrected as a child by my mother when we would refer to someone as “lucky”. I was taught to say fortunate. I would say these words only differ in how they were used in our homes. Actually, too often we attribute good things coming to folks as a result of hard work, perseverance and toil. We want to believe that we made things happen, not that randomly we met the right person or were in the right place at the right time. What if we attributed good things happening simply to the awareness to recognize opportunities when they’re presented to us? This is where Seneca really got it all right. “Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity” and sometimes it is simply that you were aware and open.

About Seneca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Younger