HJ: The legendary Roman philosopher Seneca once remarked “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” And he is correct in that luck, which could be likened unto synchronicity or opportunity, is a manifestation (in simple terms) of intent combined with action. Now action can mean simply shifting ones awareness and focus or building a business, among other things. It depends on the circumstance and what one is trying to create. Even in the situation in which one wins the lottery, one must make the effort to at least buy the lottery ticket. When we ‘do’ something — take action in any number of ways — we initiate a sequence of events that expands possibility in a given direction. Therefore, we create the conditions which give rise to opportunity and hence attract luck, which again, is simply a euphemism for focused intent. With that being said, there are specific things one can do that give rise to the occurrence of luck and these are outlined simply and eloquently below.
– Truth
4 Ways to Become a Lucky Person
By Eduard Ezeanu | Dumb Little Man | People Skills Decoded
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“Care and diligence bring luck.” – Proverb
Some people seem to have all the luck. Opportunities just appear to fall in their lap.
However, this is not true. If you look carefully at their situation and take a glance behind the curtain, you realize that these people perform specific actions that the rest do not. And these actions create a context that makes it much easier for opportunities to manifest in their life.
These actions are akin to opening the windows of a house really wide, and then the fresh air naturally comes inside in abundance. And when you notice this phenomenon from the outside, it just seems like good fortune, because you don’t see everything that’s happening behind the curtains.
Well, I’d like to show you what’s going on behind the curtains. I’d like to show you the 4 action steps that so called “lucky people” take in order to create a context in their life that attracts opportunities. And I’m gonna describe them as prescriptions for your own life.
1. Get Clear on What You Want
Opportunities pass by you every day. And if you grab them as they pass by instead of chasing them after they’ve already passed, it can seem from the outside like they just fell in your lap.
The trick though is to recognize these opportunities as such when they appear, otherwise you’ll just let them pass by. And in order to recognize opportunities, they have to connect with your own wants and sort of trigger a light switch in your head. But they can only do so if you know clearly what you want.
If your goals are vague or undefined, your mind simply won’t identify anything as an opportunity and grab it. So your life won’t go anywhere, simply because it lacks direction. And it lacks directions because you lack clear goals. This is why getting clear on what you want is the starting point of becoming lucky.
2. Keep Yourself Informed
Lucky people have a strong inclination to read learn and research a lot. They always keep up to date with current news, local events, global trends, and so on. They know what’s going on around them, nearby as well as further away, and they have a good understanding of the world they live in.
This is the equivalent of having your antennas wide open, which means that you catch a lot of the signals broadcasted around you. And some of these signals encompass accessible opportunities, which you can grab at the right moment.
Again, from the outside it seems as luck. But we’re actually talking about a well informed person, who invests a lot of time in keeping themselves well informed. Be such a person and you’ll achieve the same kind of results.
3. Be a People Person
At an interpersonal level, this concept of having your antennas wide open equates to knowing lots of people and interacting with them, particularly the kind of people who can present you with all sorts of interesting offers.
For example, I can’t tell you how many friends I have who never had to actively search for a job in their life, simply because job opportunities are constantly offered to them by people in their social circle, or people in their social circle recommend them for job openings to other people they know.
It’s the secret way to land a great job. Make sure lots of quality people know about you, they see your potential and they talk about you.
Whatever goals you have, a wide and strong social web can play a key role in achieving them, and it can make achieving them a lot faster and easier. So it’s an excellent idea to be sociable, go out, meet new people regularly, and build a rich social life. It will pay off.
4. Be Willing to Take Risks
There is an elegant relation between “luck” and the wiliness to take risks. When you fear risk, novelty, uncertainty, this creates psychological blindness to most opportunities that present themselves to you. Your mind blocks you from seeing them, oftentimes even worse than when you don’t have clear goals, because there is some danger involved.
So opportunities pass by you, while other people who are willing to take risks grab them. And when you see them doing this and bettering their life, it appears as if they had a chance you didn’t. But it’s not true. You had the same chance; you just didn’t see it because of fear.
Fear of taking risks is very common. But it works against you, which is why it’s important to overcome it. And the best way I know to do this is by gradually taking more risks, even if you’re afraid. This builds trust in your ability to handle risks and get things done, which makes you more willing to take risks in the future. So stop avoiding risks and start taking them.
When you understand at a deep level the underlying principles behind attracting opportunities, luck seems like a silly notion. You start to see that all people are lucky, that chance does not care and in the long-run it doesn’t favor some people over other.
Then you are free to take charge of your own destiny and take it in any direction you want. It’s a power within you, but you have to step away from rationalizations and making excuses in order to access this power.
Eduard Ezeanu coaches people who believe they are socially awkward and helps them be more talkative and smooth in social situations, in order to build an abundant social life. He also writes on his blog, People Skills Decoded.
