Do you think you have a lucky life or you are beset with bad luck? Did you know that I can tell whether you are lucky or not, just by the way you respond to the following scenario?

Read the following story and then answer A or B.

‘You walk into a coffee store and someone bumps into you, spilling coffee over your jacket. They apologise profusely and offer to pay for dry-cleaning and the cost of your lunch. Which of the following responses do you identify with most?’

A: “Great. Now my jacket will smell of coffee all afternoon and who knows if this jerk will pay for cleaning.”

or

B: “Cute smile and lunch is thrown in! Wonder if I can get their number?” 

The way you reacted to the above situation will tell me whether your life is lucky or not. If you answered A, then you are not lucky. If you answered B, then you have more than your fair share of luck.

So, did I guess correctly?

But how is that possible? Surely luck is random? It strikes out of nowhere. So how can I accurately predict a person’s luck when luck itself is a question of pure chance? 

Well, that’s the interesting thing about luck; there are two types, and you can influence one to your advantage.  

Two Types of Luck and How They Influence Your Life

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of the secrets of a lucky life, I want to talk about the two types of luck: blind luck and serendipity luck.

Blind Luck

Blind luck is something good that happens by surprise or chance. It requires no skill or awareness from the person.

An example of blind luck:

Winning the lottery is an example of blind luck. Sure, you bought the ticket but you did not influence the winning numbers. 

Serendipity Luck

Serendipity luck is active luck. It is when you look for unexpected advantages in situations and make the most of unforeseen events. 

An example of serendipity:

A woman’s flight was delayed by several hours. Instead of sitting by herself reading a magazine, she struck up a conversation with her fellow traveler. After talking for several hours, it transpired that both women had trouble finding good childcare in their home town so they decided to start up a nursery. 

Now, in the example of serendipity luck, some people might think they are unlucky because their flight was delayed. But do you see how one woman used this delay to her advantage? 

“The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.” – Douglas MacArthur

Having a lucky life is not about fate or destiny. Lucky people make their own luck. Lucky people do things to attract luck into their lives. For example, they’ll put themselves in the right frame of mind to see the potential of a situation. Or, they’ll use a chance encounter to their advantage. 

Dr. Christian Busch is a researcher and author of The Serendipity Mindset: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck. He explains that there are ways to lead a lucky life. 

5 Secrets to a Lucky Life

1. Get out into the world and experience it

Luck is a proactive choice

“You don’t get lucky while sitting in the sofa with arms crossed doing nothing. You can be lucky only when you are prepared.” – Nesta Jojoe Erskine

You wouldn’t expect to get a job if you didn’t send out your CV. Would you have any luck in finding a partner if you never went on a date? So how do you expect to live a lucky life if you never leave your house? 

Luck doesn’t come knocking at your door asking if it can come in and surprise you with a lottery win. Luck is hard work. It is keeping your eyes open. Being a lucky person involves vigilance on your part. That is unless you want to leave it up to chance, and how has that been working for you recently? 

2. Reframe your experience of the world

Be open to opportunities 

“Learn to recognize good luck when it’s waving at you, hoping to get your attention.” – Sally Koslow

Now that you have stepped out into the world it is time to reframe your perception of it. If you always see the world as an unlucky place, you will never be open to the possibility of good fortune.

Here’s a good example. An experiment was set up with people who identified as lucky and unlucky. They were asked to walk down the street into a coffee shop, order a drink, sit down and drink the coffee. 

Unbeknownst to them, lying on the ground in front of the shop is a $10 bill. Inside the shop, the only vacant seat is opposite a successful millionaire businessman.

Afterward, both sets of people were asked how it went. The lucky person says it was amazing. I found some money, talked to the businessman, and exchanged business cards. The unlucky person says that nothing really happened. It is the same scenario but experienced by two different people.

Try seeing potential wherever you go.

3. What goes around comes around

Be generous – increase your karma

“Karma will always follow us close behind … There is no escaping it. Question is do you want good or bad karma following you???” — Timothy Pina

It is better to give than to receive. It is a cliché, but don’t you feel better when you give a gift? The good thing about giving is that it increases the odds of receiving. 

It is all to do with your spirit of mind. Mean-spirited people who hoard their good fortune tend to be envious when others acquire good luck. Those that share their luck are more likely to be a recipient of someone else’s. 

It’s simple. You are more likely to help someone that helped you in the past. Projecting a positive attitude reflects that same energy back to you. 

There is evolutionary evidence to show that sharing benefits everyone. Neanderthals died out because they were an insular group that kept away from others. Our Cro-Magnon ancestors survived because they reached out and shared food, language, and survival tips. 

4. Send out hooks

Spot the triggers and connect the dots

“Luck affects everything; let your hook always be cast. In the stream where you least expect it, there will be fish.” – Ovid

You wouldn’t go fishing without a fishing rod and expect to land a fish. It is the same with a lucky life. To attract luck you have to send out hooks.

This is what I mean. I have two dogs and walk them every day. I was chatting to another dog walker recently and I told her I would love to move to the coast. She has a holiday cottage in Devon and told me there were a couple of rentals available coming up in the summer. I could have ignored this person, but instead, I decided to chat and found out some useful information.

Most encounters are opportunities to put yourself out into the world. You are creating lucky breaks for yourself. Think of it as handing virtual CVs to everyone. 

5. Play the long game

Don’t give up because things haven’t gone your way

“Realize that everything connects to everything else.” – Leonardo de Vinci

Living a lucky life is not about a one-off big win and then retiring in luxury on a desert island. It is about cultivating a spider’s web of connections that will last a lifetime. You will cast some threads far and wide and they may be tenuous but could be useful at a later date. Pay good attention to the weaker ties in your life.

Your circle of family and friends already know everything about you and their contacts are the same as yours. It is the broader acquaintances that you don’t see all the time that can offer new opportunities.

What you are doing is casting your net far and wide. You want to make connections, create good karma and as a result, you’ll get back a network of support. The more connections you make, the more opportunities there are for serendipitous luck. 

Final Thoughts

Life is full of chance encounters, unexpected events, accidents, and delays. All of which we cannot control. But we can look at each event and try to make something in that incident work in our favour.

I believe that is the secret to a lucky life. 

References:

  1. www.psychologytoday.com
  2. www.entrepreneur.com
  3. www.inc.com

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