Wednesday, February 9, 2011

How To Be Lucky In A World Of Unlucky People

Have you ever met anyone who seemed to live with Lady Luck? This person had the Midas Touch, with everything in their path turning to brilliant gold beneath their feet. Even if they knew they were lucky, they probably admitted so with the caveat that, “they made their own luck.”
And you thought, “Yeah, right, how am I supposed to do that?”
Truth is, there are plenty of things you can do to give yourself more luck, and none of them involve rabbit’s feet or voodoo. Learn to incorporate the following things in your life and you might find that luck becomes as natural as breath.

1. You Need a Network
Isolated, few opportunities will fall your way. New jobs, fresh fortune and random strokes of great luck are often the simple result of being plugged into the right network at the right time.
Make it a habit of trading contact information with everyone you meet, then touching base every so often. Keep your exchanges friendly, natural, and helpful at all times.
Multiply the people that know who you are and what you do, and you will multiply life’s ample opportunities.

2. Shift Your Perspective
Mishap and misfortune happen to everyone. You WILL always have setbacks, but it’s important to remember you can’t live in denial. You must actively shift your perspective to a more positive outlook and keep searching for the hidden opportunities that exist in every situation.
Many people are resistant to re-framing their life view because they don’t think it’s “realistic” to look for a positive way to view negative situations, yet even the Great Depression saw the steady rise of many “lucky” millionaires.
Lucky people understand that there might not be any way of changing the past, but they can always change their minds and see life in a way that allows them to move forward rather than wallow in place.

3. Put Yourself Out There
Do you know anyone who sits on the couch or surfs the Net all the live long day with something to show for it by the time the sun sets?
I didn’t think so.
The more you participate in life, the more great luck will leap your way. The more active you are, the more opportunities you will have to find yourself in the right place and right time. Instead of waiting at home, hoping luck just happens along, go out and find it, then bring it back home where it belongs.

4. Be Grateful for What You Do Have
Gratitude puts you in the right frame of mind and makes it easy to recognize the right opportunities. When you incorporate gratitude into your life, it is easy to see all the lucky things that have already been happening to you each and every day.
That sense of wonder and natural humility is the true antidote for feeling unlucky.

5. Learn to Take Chances
You won’t always succeed when you take risks, but remember, every chance taken is a new opportunity to learn and will make every forward step simpler than the one before.
And remember, without risk there is no reward. Sure, only betting on a sure thing might mean you’ll never lose. But how often will you win?
We DO make our own luck. Start living like you mean it, and you’ll be lucky, too.