Can You Improve Your Luck?

In all phases of life, we may ask, do people make their own luck? Well, the answer to this question is positive. In other words, every person is responsible for all the things that happened in his life. Being lucky is one of those things that can be attributed to a person's capability to decide well.

Can you improve your luck and if so, how? I believe that in many ways, we can. There are ways in improving our luck in life.

• Say Yes and Go for No!

There are a lot of people talking about the importance of "saying no" to things these days. But billionaire Richard Branson prides himself in saying yes and has been quoted; "If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes, then learn how to do it later."

You must be open to opportunities and take them. Often, your luck will improve along with the number of chances you take.

1. If there's a training class in your industry, sign up for it.

2. If someone influential asks you to join a new group, do it.

3. If there's a new social platform to get it on, try it.

4. If there's an opportunity to meet someone, take it.

Say yes to the things that will put you places for "luck" to happen.

Start to go for no. Everyone loves the sound of the word YES... it’s so positive, so empowering. And then there’s “NO!” For most people, NO is just the opposite: negative… draining… the antithesis of yes. But what if that could change?

The relationship you have with the word NO… what you think and feel when you hear it, and what you do afterward as a result... is THE single most important factor in determining the level of success you will achieve in your life. That’s why despite having a great product, service, or opportunity to offer, so many people fail to succeed in business... and in life.

But it doesn't have to be that way. A simple change in attitude and perspective could transform you from someone who is slowed down by failure and rejection into someone who is actually energized by it.

If it's true that your luck will improve along with the number of chances you take, sometimes you need to be the one to create those chances. That means asking,

1. Ask if you could join a special group that could really help you.

2. Ask if you could get a few minutes from a mentor or an expert in your group.

3. Figure out what would be an amazing opportunity and then ask for it.

The worst thing that happens is, they say no, and you're back to where you started.

• Change your Unlucky Mindset

A few years ago, I had just stepped into the line at the post office a minute before they closed. I went there for a postal ID application. At that moment, a guy got in line behind me and the employee told him they were closed and not taking any more customers. To which the guy shouted, "Story of my life!"

So when things go bad for that guy, he doesn't learn from it or brush it off, he declares it as his life story. And worse, he affirmed his bad luck out loud, allowing it to seep into his subconscious mind. ( And probably for the rest of us to feel sorry for him.)

Avoid phrases like, "with my luck...." and then visualizing the negative scenario. That's not helpful for your mindset in any way. Our brain is powerful. There's no good reason to be giving it images of the things you don't want.

Look for the things where you are lucky and be grateful. When you don't catch a break, don't play the victim. Victims don't loom for luck. They look for the stuff that's going wrong and that is a fast way to get even unluckier.

• Create a ROL

I know most users here on this platform have heard ROI or Return of Investment. Then consider ROL, Return on Luck. It is a phrase coined by author Jim Collins in his book, "Great by Choice." He studied the role of luck in the success of companies and found that great companies didn't have any more luck than average companies but they did capitalize on both their good and bad luck.

How can you create a ROL? Capitalize on your good luck. Don't slow down or get lazy when things are good. Get creative when problems arise and keep moving forward.

As Brian Tracy said, “I've found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances, Be more active, Show up more often.” So, show up!

Make connections. Build relationships. Work hard. Stay focused on the behaviors you know must happen every day and guess what? You will create ROL.

And before you know it, you'll consider yourself to be lucky.