A good horse never lacks a saddle

A good horse never lacks a saddle.

When there is a choice no one is going to pick a poor horse to go riding with, are they? Why give yourself unnecessary hassle?

This saying tells us that quality attracts success. An able person finds it easier to get a job. A good looking person is never short of dates. A good shop is never short of customers.

Present yourself well. Make sure that you have the best tools, education, clothes, car you can get and you won't go short of people who want to know you. Then, unlike the horse, you can be picky about who you want to associate with!

Good luck come by cuffing

Good luck come by cuffing.

This saying seems to date to an era when spare the rod and spoil the child was common advice to parents.

The idea being that well brought up children who have been taught firm discipline are more likely to succeed, and therefore appear "lucky" to their less fortunate peers. Learning at the school of hard knocks is a similar idea.

You cannot cuff your children today but if you want them to grow up to expect good fortune then teaching them the importance of disciplined, regular hard work will increase their chances of success.