How To Create Your Own Luck
Are you lucky or unlucky? Is luck why some people seem to have it all, or have risen to a high level of success? Is unluckiness why you haven’t yet achieved your dreams?
For some, they would answer, “Yes!” I’m not where I want to be because I’m unlucky. Or..”Look at that guy, he’s got everything…he sure is lucky”.
Well, certainly there seems to be luck. I consider myself very lucky. I live in a world where there is ample opportunity. I was brought up in a loving home with loving parents. I was born in a time that has many advantages over some periods in the past. I could go on…
However, none of things are why I will or will not be successful or achieve my life goals. Those are things that are truly outside of my sphere of control.
Is Luck Preordained?
Here’s a great quote from golfing legend Arnold Palmer on his view of luck:
“The more I practice, the luckier I seem to get.”
And here’s Sir Richard Branson’s view:
“I have not been any more lucky or unlucky than anyone else. The difference is when luck came my way, I took advantage of it.”
I think luck does come around. Good luck and bad luck. But is our personal luck preordained? Who cares? Because its not what happens to you that matters, its what you do with it.
The Formula for Getting Lucky
One person who has studied successful people and the science and art of being successful is Darren Hardy. I’ve seen him speak in person, have been a student in his courses, and have studied both the Compound Effect and The Entrepreneur Rollercoaster. He’s one of the most knowledgable people on earth in this category.
Darren Hardy has a formula to create your own luck. Here it is:
LUCK = Preparation/Personal Growth + Attitude + Opportunity Recognition + Action
Let’s take a look at each of these parts to the formula.
Preparation and Personal Growth
Step 1 is to simply be prepared. Grow yourself…your skills, your mindset, your relationships. When luck comes around, you must have the ability to take advantage of it. The best way to be prepared is to continuously invest in yourself. Always be getting better.
Attitude
Your attitude is the lens through which you view the world. Luck comes around all the time, but you have to be able to see it. To see it, you must have the right attitude about it, which means you must be looking for it. You will never see it if you aren’t looking for it.
Opportunity Recognition
Similarly to attitude, you must be looking for opportunity. Many times opportunity shows itself somewhere unexpected, or even more common: it presents itself just outside of our comfort zone. Maybe you should go and speak in front of that networking group. Maybe you should call so-and-so and introduce yourself.
You should absolutely use your comfort zone as a guide. Getting out of your comfort zone usually leads to more “lucky” opportunities.
And sometimes opportunities come via unexpected paths. You start down one path, but over time, new opportunities present themselves and you find yourself ending up somewhere different than your original plan. Many entrepreneurs’ companies or endeavors have ended up somewhere different than their original plan. But they ended up more successful and impactful than they ever would have if the original vision was realized. You can only make this happen if you are recognizing opportunities when presented.
Action
Nothing happens, if you don’t do something. Action is always YOUR part making the luck, and without action, there is nothing. The opportunities that come via unexpected paths? They NEVER come if you haven’t STARTED down SOME path. Always start doing, and then recognize the lucky opportunities along the way.
The best approach is take action and then fail your way to success. Fear and resistance seek to hold us back. Sometimes others try to hold us back. Action is the only thing that overcomes this.
Create Your Own Luck
Luck is something that is real and exists, but its NOT likely the reason why you have or haven’t achieved your life goals. Many entrepreneurs, pro athletes, and high achievers talk about “creating your own luck.”
You can create your own luck, and here’s a formula:
LUCK = Preparation/Personal Growth + Attitude + Opportunity Recognition + Action
Will you make a fool of yourself sometimes by “failing”? Maybe…but if you keep going, and keep getting better, and keep taking action, and keep taking opportunities, those that thought you were a fool are going to be trying to figure out how you got so lucky.
