E-tip No. 58 – How to be lucky!

Some people say they’re lucky, others say they’re unlucky. Which is true? Well neither! Luck is often what people use to describe as chance or serendipity.

Dr Richard Wiseman spent over 10 years researching unlucky and lucky people and found that over time lucky people did tend to get what they wanted.
He found that they had 4 things in common:
1. They knew what they wanted
2. They created lots of opportunities
3. They expected to win
4. They handled setbacks positively

So for example, with ‘Compers’ – people who enter competitions – they didn’t just enter a few competitions a month, they did hundreds to increase their chances. And if they didn’t win, they followed up to find out what the winning slogan was or winner did, and improved on that next time. Unlucky people did maybe 3 tries and then gave up, and you already know that trying just assumes failure from the start, don’t you.

I once met a Motor Manufacturer Executive who told me to enter competitions run by manufacturers because they have such low response rates you have a huge chance of winning! – I’d done just that and got an all expenses paid weekend in Venice courtesy of Mercedes!
And we can all practice these common Luck Factors.
The luck formula is:

Luck = Preparation + Opportunity

So what can you do to prepare?
· Be focussed on what you want
· Learn and keep learning
· Research and keep researching – you never know when what you know may be useful
· Look widely even though at the time it may seem irrelevant (hint – your unconscious knows better)

And creating opportunities?
· Keep taking action – and lots of it
· Talk to people – in the check-out queue, at the bar, in the street, in the shops, wherever…
· Develop your peripheral vision
· Put it out there – share what you’re looking for with everyone (hint – if they don’t know, how can they put opportunities your way, and people love to help anyway)
· Put it on your radar – then allow yourself to look for it unconsciously
· Take ‘chances’ and ‘risks’ – do things you wouldn’t normally do (hint – like all things it gets easier with practice – the holy grail of confidence)

So to remind you of the formula:
Luck = Preparation + Opportunity
And you never know when Luck may strike!
Today’s experiment
· Just follow the steps above and enjoy your ‘Luck’!
And have fun too!

Anthony

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