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Ever worked your tail off only to have someone call you “lucky”? It’s a pretty sucky feeling. It’s much more fun to take complete credit for everything you do, and paint yourself as an odds-beater. But where does luck really come into the picture, and what role does it have in our success?
In my estimation, luck is an opportunity, nothing more. You can use it or abuse it. Luck has little power over you that you don’t supply yourself.
What do I mean by “luck is an opportunity”? Like an opportunity, luck can change your life. Whether that change is good or bad, is up to you.
Luck is one factor among many. I doubt even the luckiest person in the world can fall into lifelong happiness if they’re hellbent on being a shmuck. Your attitude, your talent, your willingness to share your good fortune, and your goals all have more of an effect on your day-to-day life than sheer luck. So while it can sting when you’re working hard and someone else “gets lucky,” there’s always more to the story.
The importance of luck often depends on how much effort you put in. You’ve heard the stories of million-dollar lotto winners who wind up destitute. There are also an equal amount of stories where someone gets a lucky break after doing a ton of groundwork. If you want to be a writer and you meet an agent at a cocktail party, you’re lucky. If you’ve got an outline of the book you’re working on and demographics on the intended audience, that luck might even get you somewhere.
You can’t force luck, but you can give it “come hither” eyes. You can’t always be in the right place at the right time, but you get yourself within proximity.
Go to places where the people you want to meet hang out.
Sign up for conferences to make connections.
Help people now (out of genuine kindness, please) and they might be able to return the favor later.
Dress like you’re about to meet your new boss.
Have a written plan for your dreams, not just a vague idea.
Stay in touch with friends and acquaintances. (It’s so easy now there’s really no excuse…)
Do what you have to in order to stay healthy. (In other words, eat and sleep. Simple, right?)
Be interesting and have fun. (I know it sounds trite, but dude, how much easier is it to approach someone when you’ve got something in common or worthwhile to share?)
Introduce other people to each other.
Luck itself isn’t good or bad; only what you make of it can determine that.
So, what do you do to “get lucky”? Share your ideas and thoughts in the comments.Similar Posts:
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Comments
10.21.09
Luck is interesting. I'm not sure if someone is more lucky than the other, but like you said, you can put yourself in analogous situations that would benefit you. Then it turns to a basic numbers game (e.g. send out 20 resumes, hear back from 3).
There's a story about luck that I wanted to share. There's a teenager who was given a horse and everyone said, "That was good luck". Then, he fell off the horse and broke a limb and everyone said, "that was bad luck". The army came through the village and all the young men were drafted except the teen with the broken limb. "That was good luck," everyone said. The boy said, "Good luck, bad luck, who knows?" No matter your circumstances, you can begin the practice of choosing to be happy, finding the good in everything, and enjoying your life.
I do things that bring me natural happiness but in the end, I don't think it's the expectations, but rather the attachment to the expectations or finding luck that can hurt you.
10.21.09
I am a firm believer in the power of intention, and I can see it working in my life everyday, and believe me it has no always been good. But when I am being proactive with my dreams and health I get what I put out, when I start becoming negative things start falling down. iveck
10.21.09
I really agree with Grace on this one, Sara and i think that your post is really relevant.
I think this whole business of luck is being in the right place at the right time. And as the saying goes, it's not really the situation, so much as your reaction to it. You can choose to completely give up and be depressed when something happens to you, or you can choose to think of it as an opportunity to learn.
If all you try to do is look for luck, you'll be hard presed to find happiness when it is right in front of you.
10.23.09
Favorite line: "You can’t force luck, but you can give it “come hither” eyes."
What frustrates me as well is when people say how lucky I am to be engaged to my finance; how lucky we are to be so happy and in love. It wasn't luck or fate that I met him or that we're happy together. We met through friends, were willing to take a chance, and work really hard to have a successful relationship.
I think the idea of luck is the idea that humans love: that there is some force in the universe guiding our lives. There isn't; there is just you.
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