The Meaning of Luck

In the first ever year of back-to-back Ashes Test cricket series, former Australian captain and 2004 Australian of the Year Steve Waugh has finally written a follow-up to his best-selling autobiography Out of my Comfort Zone.

In The Meaning of Luck: Stories of Learning, Leadership and Love, Steve explores the concept of luck, based on his experiences in the worlds of sport, business and charity. He begins by recalling the potentially devastating experience that rocked his life two and a half years after he retired from cricket. ‘The best example of my take on luck is my wife Lynette, who in 2006 suffered a stroke,’ he explains. ‘She nearly died and would have died if Australia’s best neurosurgeon had not been on hand to treat her. Today, she calls her illness a “stroke of luck”, which she can do only because she fought so hard to regain her health and strength. She is lucky, but only because she chose to be.’

Lynette is the first of a number of characters in the book who have triumphed over adversity. There are cricketers, but also Olympians, coaches, business and community leaders, and, most important of all, some of the brave children Steve has come into contact with through his philanthropy in India and Australia. The stories in The Meaning of Luck and the way Steve tells provide a ‘life guide’ for people seeking to progress not just in sport, but in whatever direction they choose. Each chapter carries a message about leadership, maximising potential, having fun and getting something out of life.