I recently read an article on How To Make Your Own Luck, By Daniel H. Pink. In the article he highlights the work of Richard Wiseman, head of the psychology research department at the University of Hertfordshire in England. There, Wiseman and his colleagues have conducted studies for more than a decade on what makes some people lucky and others not.

What luck! Pretty fascinating stuff, right?

Wiseman’s research showed that luck was not due to “kismet, karma, or coincidence. Instead he says; “… lucky folks, without even knowing it think and behave in ways that create good fortune in their lives.”

The writer goes on to say that; “Wiseman found that lucky people are particularly open to the possibility. For example; Why do some people always seem to find fortune? It’s not dumb luck. Unlike everyone else, they see it. Most people are just not open to what’s around them,” Wiseman says. “That’s the key to it.”

He has a theory and he’s sticking to it.

Research has shown that theirs a correlation between feeling lucky and being lucky. Lucky people generate their own good fortune. They are attuned at creating and noticing opportunities, they listen to their intuition, they have positive expectations, and take a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.

In a nutshell, your thoughts create the luck in your life. If you think you’re going to be a lucky person then chances are you’re going to experience lots of good fortune. If you think you’re an unlucky person then you’re probably going to experience ill-fortune. Luck isn’t something that happens to you. It’s something that you create.

Lucky people are prepared to work hard. To create their good luck. On the flip side, unlucky people are trusting destiny and fate. They believe that it’s something that happens to them, and therefore why bother putting in any effort.

When it comes to creating your own luck, a big part of it is how you see yourself and the world. Lucky people attract others. They are positive. They see opportunities, and they make the most of them. When bad things happen, they are resilient, they bounce back.

Unlucky people are fatalistic. They are convinced that they are going to experience bad luck, and hence if they believe that to be true, they won’t put in the effort and therefore it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

According to Richard Wiseman, there are four principles that can create good fortune in both your life and career:

1. Maximize Chance Opportunities

Lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing, and acting upon chance opportunities. They do this in various ways, which include building and maintaining a strong network, adopting a relaxed attitude to life, and being open to new experiences.

2. Listen To Your Lucky Hunches

Lucky people make effective decisions by listening to their intuition and gut feelings. They also take steps to actively boost their intuitive abilities — for example, by meditating and clearing their mind of other thoughts.

3. Expect Good Fortune

Lucky people are certain that the future will be bright. Over time, that expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because it helps lucky people persist in the face of failure and positively shapes their interactions with other people.

4. Turn Bad Luck Into Good

Lucky people employ various psychological techniques to cope with, and even thrive upon, the ill fortune that comes their way. For example, they spontaneously imagine how things could have been worse, they don’t dwell on the ill fortune, and they take control of the situation.

This reminds me of the book; The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale.

You might just say; “I made Luck do it” rather than “Luck made me do it!”