Written by Florence Doisneau
How to get lucky
“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity” said Seneca about 2000 years ago. The concept that luck is not just chance that happens to knock on your door is far from new. John Maxwell offers a more detailed formula in his book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth:
Preparation (growth) + Attitude + Opportunity + Action (doing something about it) = Luck
Let us take a closer look at some components of that formula.
Preparation:
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to hear one of Bob Kittell’s talks. He covered many themes and made a powerful delivery that was not only informative but also very genuine. One of the nuggets I took away was the value of being prepared. Prepared for what you will ask. Prepare for your ultimate career, your optimal relationship, your best health, you name it… All that we do today is in preparation of the future. We are in constant position to invest one way or the other into our future self. Every decision we make has an impact on tomorrow. Being prepared is about gathering the knowledge we want to apply in a certain area of our life. It is taking action, however small, towards a desired outcome. It can be choosing to make time to rest and replenish ourselves after or before a particularly demanding time period/event in our life. Sometimes we may not be clear on how the preparation will play a part in the greater scheme of things but there is no such thing as a waste of time when we are determined to see the value in each experience.
Opportunities and Action:
In The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason, the author states that luck can be enticed by accepting opportunity and that men of action are favored by the goddess of good luck. Moreover, “no man can arrive at a full measure of success until he hath completely crushed the spirit of procrastination within him”. In other words, we generate more opportunities for ourselves when we take on a proactive approach to life. It entails curbing a natural tendency to procrastinate that we all have to some degree. It is unnecessary and counterproductive to beat yourself up for it, we all have to battle it. One of the most potent antidotes against procrastination is action. Opportunities do not always present themselves in the best of lights. They may occur in midst of a crisis. “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict” wrote William Ellery Channing.
In order to recognize opportunities, especially in times of duress, and select the ones that have the most potential we have to be open-minded. That is where our attitude comes into play.
Attitude:
Michael Singer points out in The Untethered Soul that being happy is a decision we have to make. When you commit to seek the silver lining in all situations and adopt a constructive attitude you make things much easier for yourself. Granted there are events that are painful, even traumatic, and they require from us a tremendous effort to work through them for sure. Nonetheless, we are not under no obligation to set camp in negativity. We will have to process the emotions and take the necessary actions. In most cases, when we hurt we feel a need to isolate or lash out. That is the place where we get to exercise our self-control and select a response over reacting to what is thrown at us. The truth of the matter is that we have hardly any control on external circumstances but we always have options as to how we choose to respond to any given situation.
Ultimately, to realize that luck is provoked and honed is empowering. Once you wrap your mind around this idea, sincerely and whole-heartedly, you give yourself one of the most significant gifts available in life: to lead the life you want. No more excuses, just choices and decisions to improve your own life. I attended a seminar and the speaker made a great point that impacted me tremendously. He said that if you want to insult someone and their success, tell them they are lucky. Think of something you are successful with in your life: your career, your home, your marriage or anything else. Then, think about the energy, time, money, care, love you invested in achieving this success. Marriages that have lasted decades are the product of two people who overcame incredible challenges together. Success in a career comes to the price of repeated efforts and work. Nothing comes for free. You can choose to weep about it or accept the challenge. If you are currently wondering what area would be a wise idea to invest in is personal growth. It will support you in generating success in all the other areas of your life. With regular deposits on that account you can expect compounded interest beyond your wildest dreams. Lucky you!
The enemy: Procrastination
The ally: open-mindedness
“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” —William Ellery Channing
