Today was a good day, overall. Belle didn't feel well earlier, so she stayed home and I went to my parents for a BBQ.
How I was Lucky:
1. I had the day off and great food to boot.
How it could have been worse:
1. Belle didn't feel well and slept a lot of the day. But as they day went on she felt better and better.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Day 17
Today was a good day. We went to Grandma's for lunch/dinner. There was some excellent food, cute puppy dogs, and a rousing game of Scrabble.
How I was Lucky:
1. We played Scrabble.
2. I got to see Little Dog! She's my mother-in-law's black lab. While she's a lot bigger than Tiny Dog, she still fits in your lap and is a total cuddle-puppy.
3. The office is closed tomorrow!
How it could have been worse:
I didn't feel that great, but it was just a headache and stiff neck.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
How I was Lucky:
1. We played Scrabble.
2. I got to see Little Dog! She's my mother-in-law's black lab. While she's a lot bigger than Tiny Dog, she still fits in your lap and is a total cuddle-puppy.
3. The office is closed tomorrow!
How it could have been worse:
I didn't feel that great, but it was just a headache and stiff neck.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Day 16
Today was a good day. Belle had play practice, our place was already cleaned up pretty well, and we had company over. It was everything we could ask for in a Saturday.
How I was Lucky:
1. Game Night 2 was a success! At least, I'm pretty sure that everyone had fun. I enjoyed it a lot.
2. It was wonderful to have most of our housework already done when we got up. That's largely what we did Friday night.
3. The day was relaxing in general.
How it could have been worse:
Today was excellent.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
How I was Lucky:
1. Game Night 2 was a success! At least, I'm pretty sure that everyone had fun. I enjoyed it a lot.
2. It was wonderful to have most of our housework already done when we got up. That's largely what we did Friday night.
3. The day was relaxing in general.
How it could have been worse:
Today was excellent.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Friday, May 27, 2011
Day 15
How I was Lucky:
1. Gas dropped in price yet again today!
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
2. We found more houses that we like.
Today I wasn't terribly in tune with how lucky or unlucky things were. Was anyone else lucky today?
1. Gas dropped in price yet again today!
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
2. We found more houses that we like.
Today I wasn't terribly in tune with how lucky or unlucky things were. Was anyone else lucky today?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Day 14
Not too much to report for today.
How I was Lucky:
1. A guy at work might have a more appropriate home for Gerbil Dog.
2. I tried a new tilapia recipe and it turned out well.
3. We relaxed before bed by reading instead of watching TV.
How it could have been worse:
1. Belle wasn't feeling well again yesterday. But things really turned around halfway through her play practice.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
How I was Lucky:
1. A guy at work might have a more appropriate home for Gerbil Dog.
2. I tried a new tilapia recipe and it turned out well.
3. We relaxed before bed by reading instead of watching TV.
How it could have been worse:
1. Belle wasn't feeling well again yesterday. But things really turned around halfway through her play practice.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Stormy Day 13
Another lucky day! Day 13 must be, based on the weather. The storms blew through again, but fortunately we were untouched. Belle and I even spent some time hunkered down with Tiny Dog, Gerbil Dog, and our fish.
How I was Lucky:
1. I got to spend a lot more time than I planned with my lovely wife, Belle.
2. Storms on this day reminded us that we really don't want to have a house without a basement. We also remembered that we are in no hurry to buy if it's not right, either, so we can afford to wait until we find the right house.
3. I know how to read weather radars on account of one of my best friends is a meteorologist and spent the time to teach me. So my office had a pretty good idea what was coming and when it would hit.
4. I was able to make it home with plenty of time to spare before the storm hit.
How it could have been worse:
1. Another thunderstorm came through and I had to cancel all of my afternoon meetings. But I got the afternoon off and our area wasn't hit by any tornadoes.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
How I was Lucky:
1. I got to spend a lot more time than I planned with my lovely wife, Belle.
2. Storms on this day reminded us that we really don't want to have a house without a basement. We also remembered that we are in no hurry to buy if it's not right, either, so we can afford to wait until we find the right house.
3. I know how to read weather radars on account of one of my best friends is a meteorologist and spent the time to teach me. So my office had a pretty good idea what was coming and when it would hit.
4. I was able to make it home with plenty of time to spare before the storm hit.
How it could have been worse:
1. Another thunderstorm came through and I had to cancel all of my afternoon meetings. But I got the afternoon off and our area wasn't hit by any tornadoes.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Day 12
Today was a half-day at work. I had a few meetings and then we went to look at some more houses. I finished up the day with a few more meetings with prospects.
We have several houses to think about right now. We're in the middle of mulling them over, but I'm not sure if any are quite good enough for us to buy. We're lucky because we don't have a big time crunch. We don't actually need to buy a house. If we don't find a place that we like, we can always rent an apartment until we find a place that we do. It's satisfying to feel in control and have some options for once.
In fact, a lot of the last few years have been frustrating. That's another post in and of itself, but the biggest reason that I started this is to really get some perspective on my life. It's way too easy to focus on the negative and ruin my day/week/year. I've really needed an organized way to do this, and to do it every day.
How I was Lucky:
1. I was in the right place at the right time again. A client called in and was assigned to me since I was at my desk. This is especially lucky because I spend very little of my working day actually at my desk.
2. We saw a couple more houses that we like.
3. Our real estate agent's office just happened to have a huge amount of extra food for lunch, so we got a surprise free lunch!
How it could have been worse:
Today was a very positive day.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
We have several houses to think about right now. We're in the middle of mulling them over, but I'm not sure if any are quite good enough for us to buy. We're lucky because we don't have a big time crunch. We don't actually need to buy a house. If we don't find a place that we like, we can always rent an apartment until we find a place that we do. It's satisfying to feel in control and have some options for once.
In fact, a lot of the last few years have been frustrating. That's another post in and of itself, but the biggest reason that I started this is to really get some perspective on my life. It's way too easy to focus on the negative and ruin my day/week/year. I've really needed an organized way to do this, and to do it every day.
How I was Lucky:
1. I was in the right place at the right time again. A client called in and was assigned to me since I was at my desk. This is especially lucky because I spend very little of my working day actually at my desk.
2. We saw a couple more houses that we like.
3. Our real estate agent's office just happened to have a huge amount of extra food for lunch, so we got a surprise free lunch!
How it could have been worse:
Today was a very positive day.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day 11
Today was another lucky day. Things just seemed to work out.
How I was Lucky:
1. I made it to work on time in spite of a massive traffic delay.
2. I also managed to snatch one of the closest parking spots to my preferred side door.
3. This was incredibly lucky because of the monsoon that hit just as my partner and I needed to leave for an appointment.
4. The head of my Continuing Education group got his hands on an organized training manual for our new process.
How it could have been worse:
1. My toe was bothering me, but I put some Prid on it at night and antibiotic ointment in the morning and it cleared right up.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
How I was Lucky:
1. I made it to work on time in spite of a massive traffic delay.
2. I also managed to snatch one of the closest parking spots to my preferred side door.
3. This was incredibly lucky because of the monsoon that hit just as my partner and I needed to leave for an appointment.
4. The head of my Continuing Education group got his hands on an organized training manual for our new process.
How it could have been worse:
1. My toe was bothering me, but I put some Prid on it at night and antibiotic ointment in the morning and it cleared right up.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Day 10
How I was Lucky:
1. Today was a second, full day of recovery.
2. Our tomato plants, which were looking pretty sad, rebounded today.
3. We found some houses with really good potential online.
How it could have been worse:
There really wasn't anything negative to speak of today.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
1. Today was a second, full day of recovery.
2. Our tomato plants, which were looking pretty sad, rebounded today.
3. We found some houses with really good potential online.
How it could have been worse:
There really wasn't anything negative to speak of today.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day 9
Today's luck was largely related to another piece of luck. A few months ago, Belle was offered a position as the head of a high school's drama department. This was tremendous luck, because she's still working on her masters in education and hasn't yet student taught. So, she'll be getting paid for her student teaching. Even luckier, she'll be the head of a drama department in a high school and get to teach a variety of classes. Normally, such a position takes years of jockeying and politics and paying dues to acquire.
The drawback is that the job is quite a drive south from where we currently live. We currently live a short drive north from where I work, so we're looking for a place to live further south for a more equal drive.
How I was Lucky:
1. Gas prices dropped several times today, while we were looking at houses.
2. We saw a few houses that were surprisingly good for us as far as location goes.
3. When Belle's cousin walked into our bedroom this morning, we were both tucked tightly into our covers.
How it could have been worse:
1. We were both sick today. But we had all afternoon and evening to relax and recover.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
The drawback is that the job is quite a drive south from where we currently live. We currently live a short drive north from where I work, so we're looking for a place to live further south for a more equal drive.
How I was Lucky:
1. Gas prices dropped several times today, while we were looking at houses.
2. We saw a few houses that were surprisingly good for us as far as location goes.
3. When Belle's cousin walked into our bedroom this morning, we were both tucked tightly into our covers.
How it could have been worse:
1. We were both sick today. But we had all afternoon and evening to relax and recover.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Day 8
How I was Lucky:
1. An old client called in for some service on a tiny account. Since the last time he spoke with a member of our firm, he has acquired a large need for our services.
2. Belle's autistic cousin spent the night, and she picked some excellent movies to watch.
3. Belle's aunt sent a coupon and money for pizza as well.
How it could have been worse:
1. There was a long line at the pizza place, but it didn't rain until after I picked up our pizzas and was on the way home.
2. Tiny Dog got loose and bee-lined for another dog while I was bringing the pizzas inside, but the other dog and her owner were both friendly.
3. Belle's cousin kept us up a lot later than we wanted to stay up, but at least she did it using the new Batman movies.
Was anyone else lucky today?
1. An old client called in for some service on a tiny account. Since the last time he spoke with a member of our firm, he has acquired a large need for our services.
2. Belle's autistic cousin spent the night, and she picked some excellent movies to watch.
3. Belle's aunt sent a coupon and money for pizza as well.
How it could have been worse:
1. There was a long line at the pizza place, but it didn't rain until after I picked up our pizzas and was on the way home.
2. Tiny Dog got loose and bee-lined for another dog while I was bringing the pizzas inside, but the other dog and her owner were both friendly.
3. Belle's cousin kept us up a lot later than we wanted to stay up, but at least she did it using the new Batman movies.
Was anyone else lucky today?
Thursday, May 19, 2011
One Week In!
We're officially a week into this blog! It's only been a week, but I feel luckier already. I don't think that it has anything to do with life being better or worse in and of itself. Just the exercise of counting our blessings and thinking about how the bad isn't really that bad has already helped change my perception. Since I've started listing the lucky things in life, I find myself keeping track all day of the good. It's more on the forefront of my mind, and easier to return to when I lose it. I've not even been remembering a lot of the bad stuff that's happened.
For example, one of my partners was upset with me at work. He shared several critical comments with me after a minor blunder. Typically, something like that will start a negative cycle in my thoughts. I've often ended up feeling hopeless, dwelt on my faults or errors, and wasted a lot of valuable time and energy worrying about an event that I can't change before I came up with a plan to fix the defective habit and moved on.
This seems to be working and I'm very excited.
Here's seven bits of luck, just to keep it on an roll.
How I was Lucky:
1. I learned that the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie comes out tonight. How lucky is that? I completely lost track of time, so it's almost as if I didn't have to wait at all!
2. Two people called in at work asking to start the process of becoming a client here. I always count myself lucky when parts of the business cycle happen on their own.
3. I happened upon a bouquet of roses for Belle at the grocery store. Most of the roses were a bit shady, but I happened to glance at the diamond in the rough.
4. Gas dropped a few more cents per gallon.
5. We found an abundance of amazing houses that we'd like to look at.
6. Missouri is now a Long-Term Care Partnership state and didn't change any of the requirements for qualifying policies. This is fantastic news for my clients and thus fantastic news for me since all their policies already conform to the state rules. All the necessary changes can be made with a few signatures.
7. I'm most lucky to have married Belle. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful person in my life.
How it could have been worse:
1. Belle isn't feeling well and went to the doctor. They're not 100% sure yet but they think that it's something antibiotics will clear up. The good news is that they've ruled out catastrophic things like cancer.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
For example, one of my partners was upset with me at work. He shared several critical comments with me after a minor blunder. Typically, something like that will start a negative cycle in my thoughts. I've often ended up feeling hopeless, dwelt on my faults or errors, and wasted a lot of valuable time and energy worrying about an event that I can't change before I came up with a plan to fix the defective habit and moved on.
This seems to be working and I'm very excited.
Here's seven bits of luck, just to keep it on an roll.
How I was Lucky:
1. I learned that the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie comes out tonight. How lucky is that? I completely lost track of time, so it's almost as if I didn't have to wait at all!
2. Two people called in at work asking to start the process of becoming a client here. I always count myself lucky when parts of the business cycle happen on their own.
3. I happened upon a bouquet of roses for Belle at the grocery store. Most of the roses were a bit shady, but I happened to glance at the diamond in the rough.
4. Gas dropped a few more cents per gallon.
5. We found an abundance of amazing houses that we'd like to look at.
6. Missouri is now a Long-Term Care Partnership state and didn't change any of the requirements for qualifying policies. This is fantastic news for my clients and thus fantastic news for me since all their policies already conform to the state rules. All the necessary changes can be made with a few signatures.
7. I'm most lucky to have married Belle. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful person in my life.
How it could have been worse:
1. Belle isn't feeling well and went to the doctor. They're not 100% sure yet but they think that it's something antibiotics will clear up. The good news is that they've ruled out catastrophic things like cancer.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Day 6
How I was Lucky:
1. It's as if gas prices were attached to a rock.
2. We beat the Houston Astros at the baseball game. Anytime we beat the pants off of Texas is good luck in my book.
3. The president of my company bought me a huge, salted pretzel.
4. My wife made me lucky.
How it could have been worse:
1. We could have only scored three times as many runs as the Astros.
2. We got stuck in bad traffic on the way to the game. But it could have been worse. We could have been sitting in a car with no air conditioning and a broken radio, in the dead middle of summer after eating a whole bag of bran muffins. Instead, we were in a party bus with good music, good company, and choice beverages.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
1. It's as if gas prices were attached to a rock.
2. We beat the Houston Astros at the baseball game. Anytime we beat the pants off of Texas is good luck in my book.
3. The president of my company bought me a huge, salted pretzel.
4. My wife made me lucky.
How it could have been worse:
1. We could have only scored three times as many runs as the Astros.
2. We got stuck in bad traffic on the way to the game. But it could have been worse. We could have been sitting in a car with no air conditioning and a broken radio, in the dead middle of summer after eating a whole bag of bran muffins. Instead, we were in a party bus with good music, good company, and choice beverages.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Day 5
How I was Lucky:
1. Gas dropped in price yet again.
2. One of my big ideas was recommended in a training meeting.
How it could have been worse:
1. Something bad could have happened today. That's how it could have been worse. All good luck!
How was everyone else lucky today? For that matter, what happened that could have been a lot worse?
1. Gas dropped in price yet again.
2. One of my big ideas was recommended in a training meeting.
How it could have been worse:
1. Something bad could have happened today. That's how it could have been worse. All good luck!
How was everyone else lucky today? For that matter, what happened that could have been a lot worse?
Monday, May 16, 2011
Day 4
How I was Lucky:
1. Gas dropped in price again.
2. I hit all green lights on the way to work.
3. There was an entire leftover pizza from our meeting. I got to bring it home for dinner. Free pizza is always good for me!
4. We heard back about homeowner's insurance - it'll probably be a lot lower than we've been calculating. This is good news.
How it could have been worse:
1. We found out that the plastic cage is not recommended for gerbils, because they have a tendency to chew out of them. But it's returnable, and this morning Gerbil-Dog hadn't escaped.
How was everyone else lucky today? For that matter, what happened that could have been a lot worse?
1. Gas dropped in price again.
2. I hit all green lights on the way to work.
3. There was an entire leftover pizza from our meeting. I got to bring it home for dinner. Free pizza is always good for me!
4. We heard back about homeowner's insurance - it'll probably be a lot lower than we've been calculating. This is good news.
How it could have been worse:
1. We found out that the plastic cage is not recommended for gerbils, because they have a tendency to chew out of them. But it's returnable, and this morning Gerbil-Dog hadn't escaped.
How was everyone else lucky today? For that matter, what happened that could have been a lot worse?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Day 3 Lucky List
Today was a super lucky day. Belle also helped me recognize a good chunk of our luck for the day.
How I was Lucky:
1. Free gerbil! We've been looking into getting a small rodent as a pet, such as a hamster or a gerbil. Today, we happened to find an adorable and highly social gerbil with a messed up paw. We adopted him at no cost!
2. We also got habitat supplies and food at clearance prices!
3. We might be able to get out of our lease without penalty. Belle starts a new job in August that's 90 minutes from here. We just signed a lease at the beginning of March, but it'll be so much better if she doesn't have to drive 3 hours each day for work.
4. We hit a lot of green lights yesterday.
5. Tiny Dog seems to think that the gerbil is actually a very small dog confined to a cage. Gerbil-Dog doesn't seem phased with her at all.
How it could have been worse:
Nothing bad happened yesterday. But Belle did have to remind me to be open to new situations. I have a tendency to think things over, which is fine. But it drives her up the wall that I'm sometimes a little to taken aback by a new opportunity to actually take advantage of it. This happened with the gerbil. Once I relaxed and made the decision, I thought about how I felt about it. Getting the pet felt good. So I went with it.
I've not made a lot of decisions intuitively for a long time. I've been impulsive and made some poor decisions before and I'm still trying to find that happy medium between total impulsiveness and paralysis. Yesterday was a good step in the right direction.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
How I was Lucky:
1. Free gerbil! We've been looking into getting a small rodent as a pet, such as a hamster or a gerbil. Today, we happened to find an adorable and highly social gerbil with a messed up paw. We adopted him at no cost!
2. We also got habitat supplies and food at clearance prices!
3. We might be able to get out of our lease without penalty. Belle starts a new job in August that's 90 minutes from here. We just signed a lease at the beginning of March, but it'll be so much better if she doesn't have to drive 3 hours each day for work.
4. We hit a lot of green lights yesterday.
5. Tiny Dog seems to think that the gerbil is actually a very small dog confined to a cage. Gerbil-Dog doesn't seem phased with her at all.
How it could have been worse:
Nothing bad happened yesterday. But Belle did have to remind me to be open to new situations. I have a tendency to think things over, which is fine. But it drives her up the wall that I'm sometimes a little to taken aback by a new opportunity to actually take advantage of it. This happened with the gerbil. Once I relaxed and made the decision, I thought about how I felt about it. Getting the pet felt good. So I went with it.
I've not made a lot of decisions intuitively for a long time. I've been impulsive and made some poor decisions before and I'm still trying to find that happy medium between total impulsiveness and paralysis. Yesterday was a good step in the right direction.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Day 2 Lucky List
How I was Lucky:
1. The couple we invited over was great. I think we've found some new friends!
2. We slept in today!
How it could have been worse:
1. Belle almost forgot something on the way to one of her parties, but I found it and called her before she was too far away.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
1. The couple we invited over was great. I think we've found some new friends!
2. We slept in today!
How it could have been worse:
1. Belle almost forgot something on the way to one of her parties, but I found it and called her before she was too far away.
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
Friday, May 13, 2011
Day 1 Lucky List
How I was Lucky:
1. It's Friday the 13th. Things just seem to go right on these days.
2. I got a parking spot right by the door I prefer.
3. I signed on a new client today from another state. But the licensing fees were a lot lower than I expected them to be, so bonus!
4. Gas dropped 7 cents per gallon today!
5. We met another couple at a store. They sound pretty neat, so we've invited them over for games tomorrow night. We've never done anything like that before and it's exciting!
How it could have been worse:
1. I slept through my alarm, but I woke up on my own in time for us to grab a quick shower, have breakfast, and make lunch before we left.
2. Blogger was initially down when I tried to start this blog. Amusing, since a blog about luck was delayed because of site problems on Friday the 13th. But it came back up!
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
1. It's Friday the 13th. Things just seem to go right on these days.
2. I got a parking spot right by the door I prefer.
3. I signed on a new client today from another state. But the licensing fees were a lot lower than I expected them to be, so bonus!
4. Gas dropped 7 cents per gallon today!
5. We met another couple at a store. They sound pretty neat, so we've invited them over for games tomorrow night. We've never done anything like that before and it's exciting!
How it could have been worse:
1. I slept through my alarm, but I woke up on my own in time for us to grab a quick shower, have breakfast, and make lunch before we left.
2. Blogger was initially down when I tried to start this blog. Amusing, since a blog about luck was delayed because of site problems on Friday the 13th. But it came back up!
How were you lucky today? How were you fortunate that things could be much worse?
365 Days of Luck
My name is Dmitri, and this blog is about the pursuit of good luck. I have a wife named Belle and a Sheltie named Tiny Dog. I love to read, spend time with my wife, play games, travel, and I work in the financial services industry. I love life. I wouldn't classify myself as chronically unlucky, but I could certainly be luckier than I am.
It seems to me that luck is largely based on Perception and the Law of Large numbers. Maintain a positive outlook (so you keep going and recognize your opportunities) and then make sure that you have enough encounters that chance works in your favor.
The pursuit of good luck is important to me for a few reasons. One is my job. I work in a business that practically requires good luck to reach the level of success that I want. Second is my social life. I've not "had a lot of luck" meeting people socially in the last few years outside of my wife. I'd like to be more socially lucky. Third, I'd like to be able to find the good from the bad in life. I think this will improve my quality of life and dramatically reduce my stress levels.
I've read The Luck Factor by Dr. Richard Wiseman and meandered around his website. His book first describes the traits of the lucky, and continues to provide suggestions and exercises to practice becoming lucky. The four main traits of the lucky are:
1. A strong social/business network. Lucky people routinely encounter chance opportunities and meet people that improve their life.
2. Making good decisions based on intuition. They don't necessarily understand why.
3. Their people's dreams, goals, and expectations routinely pan out.
4. An ability to turn even bad luck into good fortune.
This, in turn, means that there are several areas in your life to work upon.
I'm going to begin by working on some of the exercises that Dr. Wiseman suggested. First off, I'm going to try to enhance my perception of my blessings. Simply put, I'm going keep track of my good luck and post about it every day for the next year.
Second, I am going to "Fix" my luck by making all unlucky situations into a lucky situation. For example, if I get in a fender bender, I'll say, "We were lucky that nobody got hurt!" Instead of dwelling on my bad fortune, I will make it a practice to dwell on the positive spin. I will also evaluate each situation and brainstorm constructive ways to avoid the bad situation in the future.
Third, I am going to play the lucky networking games. These involve meeting a new person at random every week as well as connecting with someone that I haven't heard from in a long time every week.
I will do these things for the next 365 days. Will anyone else join me? What are your thoughts on luck?
It seems to me that luck is largely based on Perception and the Law of Large numbers. Maintain a positive outlook (so you keep going and recognize your opportunities) and then make sure that you have enough encounters that chance works in your favor.
The pursuit of good luck is important to me for a few reasons. One is my job. I work in a business that practically requires good luck to reach the level of success that I want. Second is my social life. I've not "had a lot of luck" meeting people socially in the last few years outside of my wife. I'd like to be more socially lucky. Third, I'd like to be able to find the good from the bad in life. I think this will improve my quality of life and dramatically reduce my stress levels.
I've read The Luck Factor by Dr. Richard Wiseman and meandered around his website. His book first describes the traits of the lucky, and continues to provide suggestions and exercises to practice becoming lucky. The four main traits of the lucky are:
1. A strong social/business network. Lucky people routinely encounter chance opportunities and meet people that improve their life.
2. Making good decisions based on intuition. They don't necessarily understand why.
3. Their people's dreams, goals, and expectations routinely pan out.
4. An ability to turn even bad luck into good fortune.
This, in turn, means that there are several areas in your life to work upon.
I'm going to begin by working on some of the exercises that Dr. Wiseman suggested. First off, I'm going to try to enhance my perception of my blessings. Simply put, I'm going keep track of my good luck and post about it every day for the next year.
Second, I am going to "Fix" my luck by making all unlucky situations into a lucky situation. For example, if I get in a fender bender, I'll say, "We were lucky that nobody got hurt!" Instead of dwelling on my bad fortune, I will make it a practice to dwell on the positive spin. I will also evaluate each situation and brainstorm constructive ways to avoid the bad situation in the future.
Third, I am going to play the lucky networking games. These involve meeting a new person at random every week as well as connecting with someone that I haven't heard from in a long time every week.
I will do these things for the next 365 days. Will anyone else join me? What are your thoughts on luck?
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