by Dr Rahim Said
Over Raya, about 10 of us from the Form 6 class of 1966/67 at Sultan Abdul Hamid College gathered for brunch at NOA (No One Alone), a resort-style café near the East Course of KLGCC, where pickleball and paddle players now gather with dreams of their own.
We reminisced about a different kind of court — the classrooms of SAHC — where just 50 of us were selected from thousands in the state of Kedah to enter pre-university, setting us on paths toward college and careers.
Someone said, “We were lucky.” And indeed, we were.
That word — lucky — stayed with me. It brought to mind Jeff Bezos’s favourite interview question: “Are you a lucky person?” Odd, maybe — but psychologists and business leaders say it reveals more than it seems.
To say we were lucky is to practise humility — to acknowledge that our journeys were shaped not just by hard work but also by teachers who believed in us, families who sacrificed, and a Malaysia that, at that time, still believed in merit.
It also reflects initiative. Studies show that those who consider themselves lucky are more likely to spot an opportunity. Like the test subjects who found a hidden message in a newspaper because they expected good things to happen, “lucky” people are often just more attentive and willing to act.
And above all, it signals optimism — the quiet belief that tomorrow can be better than today. Optimists don’t just dream; they prepare, persist, and adapt.
At our age — in our late seventies — hindsight sharpens perspective. We see how life unfolds not in a straight line but in a series of doors, some open, some missed, many unexpected.
And to the youth of today, we say this:
Yes, be smart. Yes, work hard. But also, be open to guidance, to chances, to serendipity. Call it luck if you must. Just make sure you’re ready when it knocks.
Are you a lucky person? You just might be — if you’re paying attention. That was what that Raya brunch taught me at this ripe old age.
WE