THEY say that whenever anyone went to Napoleon to sing the praises of this or that general, he would cut them off with one short question.

“Yes, but is he lucky?”

He had a point. Life’s not fair.

We all know talented people passed over for promotion, the workhorses who plod away in the background without a word of praise.

Then, of course, there are the people who saunter through life with a smile on their face, picking up awards and rewards and leaving the rest of us muttering: “Why is it always them?”

So it was no surprise to switch on the TV this week to see Richard Branson wearing his usual broad smile as the fiasco of the West Coast rail deal unfolded.

I recall the day when the Virgin boss announced he was challenging FirstGroup’s win. Commentators were shaking their heads. Mr Branson’s a clever guy and a great showman, they said, but he’s out of his depth here. The lawyers and civil servants will have crossed every T on this one. They can’t be wrong on something this big.

And of course, they did get everything right, except the fairly crucial matter of factoring inflation into their equations.

An omission so glaring might seem inexplicable, but if you’re part of a council struggling to cope with seemingly endless cuts by central government, you’ll recognise that this malevolent incompetence is about par for the course these days.

I thought at the time that it would be no great surprise if Mr Branson turned the tables on them, and that is what he has done.

His interviews should be watched by anyone who wants to learn how to handle the media. He didn’t crow, he didn’t demand the officials’ heads on plates. Virgin Trains were there to help and would be investing profits on the line in green technology.

At a stroke he had made the other side look not just silly, but shabby as well.

Maybe it’s just luck that he can rely on a dysfunctional government department.

Maybe it’s more.

Mr Branson didn’t shrug his shoulders and give up when he lost the franchise. He came out fighting. He might seem to be someone who lives only for photo-opportunities but he didn’t create a business empire merely by wearing an open-necked shirt and grinning a lot. He grafted, took advice and took risks.

When you look at the other so-called lucky people, you find the same thing. They actually leave very little to chance. But most of all they are positive, optimistic people. They know life is a numbers game – you are bound to suffer defeats, but keep pitching and your wins will mount up and outweigh them.

Another person who thought positive this week was Ed Miliband. He could have delivered a dry autocue-reliant address at his party conference, but went for something different and more daring.

He gambled, but he also did the hard work too. You can’t speak fluently for more than an hour without notes unless you put in a lot of practice, believe me.

He got his reward and has established himself as a serious political player. That’s good news as lack of credible opposition makes governments lazy.

But it is a long road to the election and Mr Miliband will have to tread carefully and purposefully to reach the finishing line.

So while his supporters applauded and looked to the future this week I would be surprised if one or two weren’t whispering “yes, but is he lucky?” under their breath as well.