Gambatte!

In the US, when we want someone to do well, we say either "break a leg" or "good luck".  In Japan, they say "gambatte".  Translated, it means "try your best".

I had spent 10 years playing the french horn while growing up, before dropping it in college to focus on architecture.  My family didn't have the money to pay for private lessons, but I'd practice at a minimum, 10 hours a week outside of rehearsals.

In elementary school, I moved up from second to first seat (there was only the two of us); in middle school I worked my way up from fourth to first; in high school I worked my way up from fourth to first.  Along the way, each time I'd earn my seat by beating everyone else in the state (except for one person), in auditions for the all-state band.  Everyone else who'd auditioned and earned their spot on the roster for the all-state bands, at least for french horns, were taking private lessons.

(An aside: my friend - the one person I could never beat - told me one time after an audition, that we had been tied, but that they picked her over me for some convoluted reason.  She was better than me, but I was competitive and did not like losing, and in retrospect, she deserved to win.)

I didn't achieve these things by a stroke of luck, or a series of lucky incidences.  I got to the top by trying my best, and that meant pouring hours of hard work and knowing what my weaknesses were.

So I think we shouldn't say such niceties as "good luck", but instead encourage others to "try your best".   When you work really hard, you might surprise yourself as to how far you end up.

Gambatte!