You make your own luck? COOL!

[crispini]

You Make Your Own Luck
Posted by Alan Bellows on April 3rd, 2006 at 8:57 pm

Some individuals seem to have an inexplicable abundance of good fortune. They are successful in matters of love, in their careers, in their finances, and in leading happy and meaningful lives. Yet these people don't seem to work particularly hard, nor do they posses extraordinary intelligence or other gifts. Of course there are also the natural opposites of the superfortunate; people who repeatedly fail despite their efforts and talents.

As is true with so many human problems, people tend deal with this difficult-to-quantify inequality by giving it a name– "luck"– and then disclaiming any responsibility for how much of it they are apportioned. Luck is considered by many to be a force of nature, coming and going as inevitably as the tide. But Richard Wiseman, a professor at Britain's University of Hertfordshire, has conducted some experiments which indicate to him that we have a lot more influence on our own good fortune than we realize.

(snip)

Professor Wiseman's newspaper test illustrated that people who feel lucky do indeed differ from those who do not, but not due to to some outside force. The lucky individuals were paying more attention to their surroundings, which made them more likely to notice the message in the newspaper. During his long study on the nature of luck, he has found that "lucky" individuals usually posses many intersecting qualities, including extroverted personalities, a lack of anxiety, open-mindedness, and optimism. Each of these play an important role in one's luck production.

The essence of luck is opportunity, so it follows that the more opportunities one encounters and the more receptive one is to those opportunities, the "luckier" one is.

more...

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=483#more-483

WOW. Great article! Well worth reading the whole thing. Agree / disagree?

[zanne]

1. This is just a guess, but...

Is Professsor Wiseman a Libertarian?

[mdmc]

2. hmmm

i don't agree with the premise as I think some people are actually luckier then others. I guess you could be "lucky" to be anxiety free and extroverted.

[rpgamerd00d]

3. "Luck" is when "Preparation" meets "Opportunity"

Never forget that.

[rucky]

5. Doesn't an RPG-er's fate depend on the dice? n/t

[rpgamerd00d]

7. Dice simulate chance. :)

[rucky]

4. Attitude is everything.

some people are fortunate, but still have a negative outlook.

Other people are less fortunate, but have a more positive attitude, and are generally happier.

[hlthe2b]

6. Well, as one who is finding it hard to feel optomistic lately...

I'll bookmark this for later perusal. I do believe state of mind/self-fulfilling prophesy has a lot to do with what happens to you, but I can't say I've learned to master "mind over matter."

[titoresque]

8. Read Wayne Dyers "The Power of Intention"

It's a great book! And teaches you to apply this way of thinking into all aspects of life.

http://www.drwaynedyer.com/

[zanne]

13. And Wayne Dyers is just raking it in...

He's "creating his own luck" by writing books about making billions about being "optimistic". It reminds me of those "informercials" about how to make thousands of dollars a week just working at home on your computer. Somebody is making more than thousands a week...the people who sell the infomercials!

[titoresque]

18. Have you even read any of Wayne Dyers

work? I bet not. If you had you'd be recommending them yourself.

[renate]

21. have you read Esther and Jerry Hicks' two latest books?

If you haven't, hie yourself to the nearest bookstore pronto--if you like Wayne Dyer (and I do too), you will LOVE these.

I totally get what zanne was saying. Wayne Dyer totally hauls in the bucks and in that way is a little reminiscent of TV preachers. He's also a very inspiring writer, but I can see how his extreme wealth would get in the way of learning from him with an open mind (although really, one of the things he talks about is abundance, and I wouldn't really believe in the abundance teachings of somebody who lives in a trailer down by the river). The Hickses live very modestly, presumably by choice, so that might be a better place for some people to start--and I certainly recommend their books 100% wholeheartedly.

[atommom]

9. I'm sure there is some truth to this, but I wouldn't take it too far

because I think it could easily lead to blaming the poor and unlucky for their unluckiness. Also not sure about the cause and effect relationship between the happy, extraverted behavior and the luck. I'd expect that those who have experienced better luck in life are already more likely to feel relaxed and happy. So is their subsequent good luck a result of their attitude, or just their continuing pattern of fortunate experiences (which could be due to other factors entirely)?

[Coyote_Bandit]

10. Ah, yes

The power of positive thinking expressed through a self-deterministic viewpoint.

Yes, we can choose much of our attitude, behavior and approach to life. Yes, some of those choices make us happier, more successful, more resourceful and better able to respond to challenges than others. But it does not make us luckier in games of chance.

In other words, you are just as likely to have a serious accident, or get cancer, or lose your job - you'll just have a better attitude and cope a little better.

Is there anything new about this? All I'm seeing is repackaged warm fuzzies....

edit for spelling....

[crispini]

11. Hum, yes, the Amazon review of the book has a good point.

The main difficulty with this claim is that at no point in his book does Wiseman present any sort of objective test for `luck'. Rather, his subjects classify themselves as `lucky' or `unlucky' (and he simply takes their word for it) or else they are classified by him as such based on their own subjective evaluation of the degree to which they share certain characteristics with people who see themselves as either `lucky' or `unlucky'. Since the `four principles' are based on data about people who feel lucky, rather than people who are lucky in some objective sense, the only honest claim that could be made based on Wiseman's research is that some people who follow his `four principles' might begin to think of themselves as luckier.

Still, though, I do like his four principles.

[atommom]

14. So optimistic people give optimistic answers when asked whether

they are "lucky." I agree, the four principles could be valuable, but it would be hard to put them to the test.

[Coyote_Bandit]

16. They are valid generalizations

But there is nothing new about these particular principles. Just repackaged warm fuzzies.

I know fundies that can express all the same ideas in some fairly obnoxious religious terms: God wants us to prosper. He will provide opportunities and the Holy Spirit will reveal those opportunities - we must be flexible and willing to pursue them. Expect a miracle. And know that God works everything together for good.

Same basic stuff - just Christified.

[treestar]

12. Sounds like that 80s era motivational stuff

It has some validity but does not cover all of the concept of luck. And it only applies to middle class people.

[Jim Warren]

15. Pretty good article

Better than some of this type I've seen, but it speaks to the world of privilege.

Malcolm Forbes was asked, at a talk he gave to a group of recent MBA grads, what he thought was the most important consideration for success in business. His reply: Pick your father.

There is a nasty "lot in life" question that doesn't go away. Ask any refugee.

[TlalocW]

17. I never wish anyone "Good Luck"

Because hypothetically, there's is probably only a finite amount, and if I did wish that on someone, there would be less for me. :)

TlalocW

[renate]

20. I know you weren't one of the ones dumping on Wayne Dyer, but

That's actually the EXACT opposite of what he says. In fact, one of the secrets to an abundant life is to be genuinely joyful for another person's good fortune, if for no other reason than to see them as proof that the universe is abundant and good.

(Truth to tell, he's actually not my favorite of these teachers to listen to. I love his books but his tapes drive me straight up the wall.)

[blonndee]

19. How very Horatio Algeresque. nt