Do you believe in luck or that you create and take opportunities?
As a lot of people state buying property is all down to luck so I thought it would be a different exercise to look at the theory. Some would say you are either born with luck or not, others that it is forged. Some would say some people get all the luck and they get none. Others would say that luck is distributed relatively equally among most of us over a long period of time: that luck evens out in the end and we all get our fair share of good and bad luck it just depends what you label as ‘luck’.
Below are 12 ways (just to test your superstition) that you can be and get luckier.
But first, it would be too simplistic to say that we all have the same, equally distributed amount of luck. Many billions of people in the less developed world can’t help, the poverty and war they were born into. But, if you compare yourself to people raised in a similar area, with the same amenities and luxuries, then you probably have a similar amount of good and bad fortune, assuming it was randomly distributed.
Many people who it would seem have had bad luck, still, drive and persist to greatness. There’s usually some theme of struggle in most successful people, rather than the silver-spoon-all-the-luck that victims usually assume of the successful.
So let’s focus on you,
First, you were born. And that’s really lucky. The odds according to research are about 400 trillion to one. You lucked out right there! And you probably have had at least some family around you. You were probably raised in an insured, secure and healthy environment. You were probably schooled and cared for. And if you didn’t have one or more of these, you probably have a huge drive to succeed despite your lack of luck.
Sometimes having all the luck makes you entitled and unmotivated. Not you, of course, but some.
Just because you don’t think you’ve had a lot of luck, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. How do you know that you haven’t had many opportunities that you just haven’t seen? Have you ever done something and wished you did it earlier?
Well, you had the chance but you couldn’t see it. You may have been given an opportunity before but squandered it. If you keep squandering chances they are going to dry up and go to someone else. So don’t get ready, BE ready. All the luck those successful people are getting is them grabbing the opportunities they saw that perhaps you missed, or you weren’t ready for, or they earned or will be yours soon enough.
1. Test lots
Instead of planning for years and doing nothing (and taking ages), test fast and small. Test your products, hobbies, passions on a small, low-risk scale, If you love it and it works, scale it up. If you don’t you’ve risked and lost little other than a bit of time.
2. Forge opportunities
Be persistent. Don’t take no for an answer. Get yourself out there. Make things happen don’t wait for things to happen. Gary Player famously said, “the more I practice the luckier I get”.
3. Build relationships
All opportunities come through other people. How other people talk about you matters. You can’t please everyone, but help people where you can, treat people well, keep all doors open and get out there and forge great relationships with great people. You only need one great recommendation from one big name and the doors open like dominoes.
4. Think you are lucky
You are what you think you are. “If you think you can. or you think you can’t, you’re right” said Henry Ford. Do you identify/call yourself lucky, or unlucky? You know those people who say “I get all the bad luck”. Yes, because they think they do. You literally attract the luck you think you have or don;’t have and filter out the evidence to back up your thoughts accordingly.
5. Contrast & gratitude
If you compare yourself to those with all the luck, you’ll always feel never enough. If you compared yourself to the old, worst version of you or billions of people in the 3rd world, you’d feel full of luck and gratitude. Be grateful for what you’ve got and who you are because you have everything to live for and others need you to be a beacon of light.
6. See the upside in the downside
All the luck you think you are missing out on has an equal upside. Can you see it? Are you even looking for it? Some missed opportunities were best missed, and some failed ones carry great lessons if you just took the time to see them. Nothing is all good or bad luck, everything has an equal upside and downside.
7. Give off good vibes
You get back what you give out. People will want a piece of you if you give out happy, positive, go-getting vibes. If you make the best of bad situations then people will want that to rub off on them.
8. Don’t squander your chances
If you keep getting chances and you waste them, you won’t get more. Take the chances you get with speed, skill and gratitude. Then ask for more.
9. Become a trusted person
If people trust you, you will get the good gigs. Whether you call luck chance or opportunity, people or karma will only trust you with great fortunes if you are a trusted person. Do the right thing, even when it is hard, and especially when no one is watching,. Because someone is always watching.
10. Solve problems…
…and search for solutions. Problem solvers rule the world. There is never an absence of problems, so stop wishing them away and start solving the biggest, hardest most meaningful ones and you will have great authority and responsibility. Our evolution and survival depend on it.
11. Don’t take yourself too seriously
No one likes a smart arse. Don’t be so uptight, relax and enjoy yourself. Do what you love and love what you do. Everyone feels better around people who are comfortable with who they are and happy to laugh at themselves. Paradoxically, if you have this light-hearted approach you will probably attract more opportunities than trying too hard.
12. Look at the problem a NEW way
The post-it note was a failed glue experiment. Penicillin grew overnight in petri dishes that hadn’t been cleaned and corn flakes were a result of failed cooking. Sometimes the thinking that created the problem can’t solve it. Be creative. Get help from others. Brainstorms ideas and be innovative.
In summary. Some have had more apparent luck and it has not served to motivate them. Others have had virtually none and it has driven them to success. Some are raised with equal opportunities to others around them but forge even more, and others can’t see the luck staring them in the face. You’ll get a bit of good luck, and a bit of bad luck, but how you use it to forge opportunities is on you, and only you.
