Monday, March 10, 2008

The Luck Factor

Dr. Richard Wiseman wrote a book called The Luck Factor. In it, he outlines four essential principles of luck and believes you can increase luck in your life. In the next few weeks I'll share with you the four principles.

Before we do that, let's look at the power of luck and what Dr. Wiseman's research showed people think (the book says the survey was of a wide range of people, but doesn't give specifics in numbers). 50% of the people he surveyed believe they are lucky, 14% believe they are unlucky, and 36% believe they are neither lucky nor unlucky. Both lucky and unlucky people showed incredible consistency in their experiences of good and bad luck. They also had a tendency to believe that their good or bad luck was simply by chance.

The book goes on to show that luck is not chance at all. There is a very specific mindset that lucky people share as well as a common mindset that unlucky people share. I ask you again, are you lucky? Do your life experiences show a life of good times, prosperity, and ease? Tell me what you think and ponder the two quotes below.

If an unlucky man sold umbrellas, it would stop raining; if he sold candles, the sun would never set; and if he made coffins, people would stop dying. -- Yiddish Saying

Throw a lucky man in the sea and he will come up with a fish in his mouth. -- Arab Proverb

No comments: