Key Messages
How To Increase Your Luck: Understand The Science Behind The Fortune
Have you ever wished and wondered why some people seem to effortlessly have luck on their side?
It’s time to understand how luck functions.
Fortunately, this isn’t out of our reach: with the right knowledge, we can increase our chances of success and happiness.
This is exactly what How Luck Happens seeks to do; it teaches us the basics about luck that we need to know.
We learn about how and where luck happens and how we can manifest more of it in our daily lives.
We discover what a Fosbury Flop is and understand how standing out from the crowd helps maximize your chances of getting lucky.
Finally, avoiding bad luck via preparation and risk mitigation strategies is also important when harnessing and utilizing luck in our lives.
Learning How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting Lucky: Hard Work, Preparation And Seizing Opportunities
Contrary to popular belief, luck is not just a product of chance.
Instead, it’s the result of chance meeting talent and hard work.
That means that while you may not be able to control chance events, you can control how much effort you put in and how prepared you are to capitalize on opportunities.
For example, if by chance you get seated next to an investor at a dinner party and after pitching your idea she decides to provide the initial capital for your company – this may seem like just a “stroke of luck”, but there is so much more than meets the eye in this scenario.
Chance is one part of the equation, but preparation (for example having the skillset necessary to pitch your ideas) is another factor that contributed to this outcome.
A survey conducted by authors of How Luck Happens revealed that almost two-thirds of people surveyed realized that hard work was an important part of luck and similarly many people mentioned curiosity and seeking out opportunities as crucial aspects too.
Therefore, we can conclude that luck is something more than random events – it is indeed a combination between chance, talent and hard work where we have more control over it than initially assumed!
Channel Your Passion And Persistence To Improve Your Luck
If you want luck on your side, it pays to be persistent and passionate about your ideas.
Dedication and hard work are essential if you want to succeed – best-selling author John Grisham was rejected by 28 publishers before finding success.
Additionally, it’s important to put yourself in the right place – just ask ice-hockey legend Wayne Gretzky who owes his excellent scoring rate to the strategy of skating “where the puck is going, not where it’s been”.
This means that aspiring actors move to Hollywood and why most tech start-ups are based in Silicon Valley.
But even when you follow these methods, it can still be difficult to stand out from the crowd.
That’s why thinking differently can also help you increase your luck – just ask athlete Dick Fosbury whose peculiar midair rotation technique, known as the Fosbury Flop, won him an Olympic gold medal in 1968 despite being dismissed by experts.
Since then, the technique has been used by every gold medalist since 1972!
Therefore, if you’re looking for added luck, be persistent and passionate about your dreams, find the right place for opportunities and go against the flow!
How To Increase Your Luck And Recognize Opportunities When They Arise
Setting up a lucky framework means networking, keeping your options open and being ready to act when small opportunities arise.
To make full use of the luck available to you, it’s important to think about establishing a wide network of acquaintances – connecting with people you may not know can be invaluable as they might have access to different kinds of opportunities or contacts.
It’s also important to diversify your life so that if one opportunity isn’t working out, you have plenty of others that are doing well.
When new opportunities appear, it’s essential to recognize them and spot any tiny lucky breaks in them.
This is where the concept of having a ‘wide network’ becomes valuable – by communicating what kind of opportunity you’re after, even to strangers, you never know who might be able to refer you in the right direction.
Additionally, Alexander Fleming’s example shows how someone has to recognize lucky moments and pick up on their potential as well as growing small breaks into something bigger.
Taking Advantage Of Weak Ties To Stand Out And Maximize Your Chances Of Success
When it comes to landing that dream job you’ve been eyeing, chance is certainly a contributing factor.
But those who get lucky and make it into the “lucky pile” of candidates are those who, more often than not, put in the work to stand out from the competition.
This doesn’t mean relying on family or friends with inside connections; instead, aim to find those with weak ties that can help to elevate your profile above everyone else’s.
Showing effort and enthusiasm by contacting potential employers or going the extra mile to seek recommendations will also be noticed.
By tapping into existing contacts or cultivating new ones – even seemingly small ones – you can open doors of opportunity for yourself.
And once these doors are open, using your initiative and proving yourself as the best candidate for the job is still essential for success.
Successful people don’t just rely on luck; they also take every chance they get to maximize their chances of success.
Whatever path you take in life, taking ownership of your career trajectory can be just as important as having an inside connection.
Finding True Love Is About Working Hard And Cultivating A Strong Partnership
If you’re looking for luck in love, it’s important to remember that there’s much more to it than pure chance.
You need to be proactive in your search for the right person and make sure you put yourself in the right places.
For example, if you’re a fan of art then head to galleries and see who you meet!
Additionally, build stronger connections by looking beyond large gatherings and focus on smaller social settings with people who share similar interests as yours.
Once you do meet somebody great, don’t waste time trying to find perfection because it doesn’t exist.
We all have flaws so it’s better to make the most out of your current partner instead of looking elsewhere for something that doesn’t exist.
According to a survey conducted by the authors of “How Luck Happens”, 80% believe successful relationships depend on paying attention to each other’s needs as much as your own – show appreciation, listen, compromise and appreciate what they bring into your lives.
To be lucky in love requires effort and dedication – it won’t simply fall out of the sky so don’t just settle for what comes easy.
With enough hard work and persistence, you can reach new levels of connection with someone special that will make you feel truly lucky in life
Teaching Children The Value Of Luck: How To Help Them Realize Their Full Potential
A lucky start in life means being taught from a young age that you have the power to make your own decisions.
This is the message that we learn from How Luck Happens by Dr.
Jessica Levenstein, as discussed in the context of her work with children.
Her research has found that when parents forbid their children from being educated by specific teachers, due to poor reputation, it can stifle their independence and learning.
She encourages parents to resist the urge to interfere and instead focus on showing children the wealth of opportunities available to them.
The author shares her personal experience, where she wanted to change her son’s teacher but was encouraged by the school principal not to get involved.
Ultimately, her son ended up having a great relationship with his teacher which turned out well for everyone involved.
Likewise, Bill Gates was able to pursue his seemingly unimportant adventures due to his father’s willingness to let him fail without interference or judgment.
By allowing him this freedom and space, he developed a self-belief and confidence which would later lead him through difficult times and eventually success.
These stories demonstrate the importance of teaching children from an early age that making mistakes is alright because it teaches us about ourselves and the world around us – ultimately leading our paths towards luck!
We Can Improve Our Luck By Practicing Preparation And Positivity
In the book How Luck Happens, the authors make it clear that with the right preparation and reaction, we can get rid of unwanted bad luck.
Preparation is key when it comes to preventing tragedy, whether natural or human-made.
We should take a few minutes each day to check fire escapes in our buildings or take note of fire alarms, instead of thinking that bad luck could never affect us.
It’s not just physical preparation – mental preparation is also essential.
Having a positive, optimistic outlook on life can do wonders in our ability to turn bad luck into good fortune.
Just look at Lee Child who, after being fired from his job for 13 years, turned his frustration into building the bestselling Jack Reacher novels.
At the end of the day, bad luck isn’t something that we have to accept without question; if we take the necessary precautions and have an open mind and heart to opportunities, then bad luck won’t be as big of a factor as it once was!
Wrap Up
In the end, the main message from How Luck Happens is quite simple: luck is largely within our control.
By following certain principles — a combination of hard work, talent and chance, as well as preparation and putting yourself in places where opportunity is likely to arise — you can increase your chances at becoming lucky.
Plus, rather than sticking with a rigid life plan, it pays to use a compass – this will help you adjust if the landscape around you changes, and also gives you the courage to find your own path in life.
So follow these steps for greater luck in your future!
