Is It Luck?

A friend and I were chatting recently as she shared the exciting news that she had finally landed a job in the field she had spent months preparing for. Someone had made the off-hand remark that her success had a great deal to do with "luck." As we talked I reminded her of all of the steps she had taken to finally get the job: submitting dozens of resumes on line, making personal calls on businesses, finding out and meeting the person doing the hiring, even being willing to volunteer until a paid position came along, and persevering when it would have been easier to pull the covers up and go back to bed! There was no "luck" involved, at least not in the way we typically think about luck.

The truth is, we create our own luck by:

• Setting a clear intention
• Following through with consistent, strategic action
• Recognizing opportunities when they come along
• Overcoming inertia and acting even though we may not "feel like it"
• Maintaining a positive, optimistic outlook
• Surrounding ourselves with positive people who believe in us
• Persevering until we achieve the goal

I'm not the only one who thinks we create our own luck. I read an article in Fast Company magazine a couple of years ago, written by best-selling author Daniel Pink about creating luck. He profiled a company that actually teaches people and companies how to increase their luck. (For obvious reasons they have not been invited to work in Las Vegas!). Anyway, an exercise they recommended to people in one study was to keep a "luck diary." Every day they were to write down whatever positive or lucky thing(s) happened that day. They were not to record anything unlucky or unfortunate. After a few days they began to notice more and more positive things happening. And after a month of recording their good fortunes, day after day, they had come to expect luck to be the rule rather than the exception.

So where is it in life or business you're wanting to create more opportunities? Whatever the area, I challenge you to increase the odds in your favor by following the steps I've listed above and creating your own version of the "luck journal."

Remember that lucky people are in the game, not standing on the sidelines complaining and worrying about what isn't happening. If you stop to think about it, life is a gamble and the more often you "roll the dice" the more times the dice will come up in your favor!

I'm not sure who said it, but the following answers the question, "Is it luck?" succinctly: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. And the harder I work, the luckier I get!"

Now get out there and make it a "lucky" week!