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Daily Inspiration Quote by Ed Bradley

"And I always found that the harder I worked, the better my luck was, because I was prepared for that"

About this Quote

Luck gets treated like a lottery ticket; Ed Bradley treats it like a deadline. The line is a quiet rebuke to the myth that careers are made by being “discovered” at the right moment. Bradley, a journalist who built a reputation on credibility and precision, reframes fortune as the byproduct of readiness: work doesn’t magically summon opportunity, but it increases the odds that when opportunity shows up, you can actually use it.

The phrasing matters. “Always found” signals lived evidence, not motivational poster certainty. He isn’t promising that effort guarantees reward; he’s describing a pattern he’s watched repeat in real rooms with real stakes. “The harder I worked” implies more than long hours. For a reporter, it’s the unglamorous accumulation of facts, sources, context, and craft - the scaffolding that keeps you steady when the story turns volatile or public.

The subtext is about power and gatekeeping. In journalism, “luck” can mean being assigned the right story, meeting the right editor, arriving when history cracks open. Bradley’s point is that preparation is a form of agency inside systems you don’t control. You can’t schedule the news, but you can train yourself to recognize it, ask the sharper question, and deliver under pressure.

The final clause, “because I was prepared for that,” lands like a corrective to magical thinking. It’s not hustle worship; it’s professionalism: the difference between catching a break and being able to hold it.

Quote Details

TopicWork Ethic
SourceHelp us find the source
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Bradley, Ed. (2026, January 17). And I always found that the harder I worked, the better my luck was, because I was prepared for that. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-i-always-found-that-the-harder-i-worked-the-53229/

Chicago Style
Bradley, Ed. "And I always found that the harder I worked, the better my luck was, because I was prepared for that." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-i-always-found-that-the-harder-i-worked-the-53229/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And I always found that the harder I worked, the better my luck was, because I was prepared for that." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-i-always-found-that-the-harder-i-worked-the-53229/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

Ed Bradley

Ed Bradley (June 22, 1941 - November 9, 2006) was a Journalist from USA.

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