Enhance............Your Luck

"Do you feel lucky?"

It’s not just one of my favorite Clint Eastwood quotes; it’s also an important question each one of us should ask ourselves. Turns out luck, like much in life, has a lot to do with our beliefs and the energy and attitude we project. The luckier we feel and believe we are, the luckier we are.
A great article in Men’s Health Magazine by Matthew Teague, which features the latest research from British psychologist Richard Wiseman, author of the Luck Factor , explains that there is a lot more to luck than coincidence or chance. In fact, there are reasons why some people are luckier than others and there are ways each one of us can enhance our luck - right now - today.
So before you play Lotto or walk into your big sales meeting read these tips, based on Wiseman’s research, to enhance your luck.

1. Make the Most of Random Opportunities - Strike up conversations with strangers. Be open to meeting new people. Ask people where they are from. When you are on an airplane or bus, talk to the people next to you. I often do this and it’s amazing how many wonderful relationships that have developed as a result. I met my wife as she was walking by my restaurant 14 years ago. I took a chance by saying hello and it was the best decision I ever made. Pay attention, be aware and open to new possibilities.

2. Act on Lucky Hunches - Trust your gut and your heart. Never ignore your intuition. We all have heard stories of people who avoided an accident or a dangerous situation because of a gut feeling. Lucky people also use their gut to make business decisions, purchase a home, pick a husband or spouse and choose a school. Unlucky people ignore their gut. Lucky people follow it. Trusting your gut is trusting in God's voice that whispers in your ear.

3. Expect Good Fortune - Lucky people expect positive results and so that is what they get. It boils down to the power of belief. So much of luck and success is believing that good things are going to happen. What we put our attention on starts to show up more in our life. Lucky people expect that great things will happen when they talk to a stranger. They expect to find a quarter on the ground. They expect to find a parking space. They expect their clients to say "Yes." They expect tomorrow to be even better than today. And by expecting success lucky people attract more of it.

4. Turn Bad Luck into Good - Lucky people turn misfortune into fortune. They believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of their negative experiences. They turn obstacles and adversities into growth and learning opportunities and use bad luck to make positive changes. Lucky people experience hardships and adversity like everyone else but they turn dead ends into detours and bad experiences into good outcomes.

Do you believe in luck? What does luck mean to you?