Creating Luck: A Personal Action Plan

Now that we’ve talked about other peoples’ luck, let’s talk about yours. How do you get started? Here are some suggestions for a personal action plan:

Review your own luck. Think about your life. When were you lucky? What did you do to influence your luck? Perhaps your current job was a result of telling a friend or colleague that you were looking. That’s networking. And networking isn’t something you should do only when you need help. Your network should be renewed and growing all the time so that when you do need help, you can get it – and fast. So, choose one of the luck skills that you have already used successfully and think of some ways to use it again soon. Perhaps attend a professional meeting next month and promise yourself to meet two new people.
Talk to other people about their luck. The more good luck stories you hear, the more ideas you’ll get and the more motivated you’ll be to use them. You’ll be learning how to incorporate luck skills into your career and your life. You’ll also be preparing your mind for success. You can control your attitude and your strategies even if you can’t control the outcome.
Focus on developing one skill at a time. It’s unrealistic to believe you can learn everything at once. Choose one skill and try it out – risk taking, for example. Start small and take a manageable risk. Begin where you have the least to lose and the most chance of being successful. Then you can build on your successes and slowly increase your risk tolerance.
Keep a success journal. Each week write down your successes for that week. For each entry, ask yourself what role did luck play and then consider what skills you used to make your own luck. You’ll start paying more attention to the impact of luck on your successes. You’ll also be able to track how well your luck skills are developing.
Make room in your life for luck. Luck needs time; luck needs attention. It’s not logical, it’s not organized, and it can’t be controlled. Keep an eye out for opportunity. Welcome the unplanned. Be flexible. Make room for serendipity. Be open to meeting new people. Life is an art, not a science. And luck is part of the art of living.