Press On — Are you lucky or unlucky?
Clint Eastwood always had great lines as Dirty Harry. One of my favorites is when he explained the power of his .44-magnum handgun to the criminal lying on the sidewalk reaching for a gun. Harry told the guy he wasn”t certain if he had fired five shots or six. He proceeded to inform the crook that he should ask himself, “Do I feel lucky?” Then he punctuated it with, “Well, do ya, punk?”
Well, I”m not Dirty Harry, but I would encourage you to ask yourself, “Do I feel lucky.” Why, you ask? It”s because Dr. Richard Wiseman, author of the book “The Luck Factor” wrote, “Lucky people meet their perfect partners, achieve their lifelong ambitions and live a happy and meaningful life.”
I approached the concept of luck differently before I read Wiseman”s book. Like many people probably view it, I thought luck was totally a matter of happenstance. I assumed that in some instances I would be lucky and sometimes I would be unlucky and there was nothing I could do about the outcomes.
Dr. Wiseman, based upon years of research into the subject of luck, believes, “People are not born lucky. Instead, lucky people are, without realizing it, creating their own good luck through their mental attitudes and behavior.” Over a long period of time, Wiseman has conducted numerous experiments that utilize people who consider themselves to be unlucky in life and others who consider themselves to have been lucky their entire life.
In one of his experiments he set up a situation where the subjects were to walk into a caf? and order a cup of coffee. The scene was set so that everyone experienced the same situation. There was a $5 bill placed on the sidewalk in front of the caf? and there was a lone customer in the caf?. The other customer was an actor playing the role of an influential businessman. In almost every case in which a self-proclaimed unlucky person was sent into the caf?, they failed to see and pick up the money on the sidewalk and did not strike up a conversation with the other customer. Almost every self-viewed lucky person picked up the money and chatted with the businessman.
While Wiseman made it very clear that there is no difference in intelligence levels between many of his lucky and unlucky subjects, the obvious difference is how they perceive themselves, their outward perception of the world and how they interact with others.
Through his study of luck, Wiseman has devised four principles of luck and 12 sub-principles. Principle one is to “Maximize your chance opportunities.” An example of this is as simple as not being able to win the lottery if you don”t buy a ticket. Networking is important, too. You never know what partnership or job opportunity might evolve from a conversation with a stranger.
Principle two is “Listen to your lucky hunches.” We all get a good or bad vibe about most things in life. Principle three is “Expect good fortune.” The power of optimism has been proven for centuries. Principle four is “Turn your bad luck into good.” Some of Wiseman”s lucky people had their greatest success out of what most people would have considered bad luck.
Mark Komada, one of my racquetball partners, always tells me that we all have the power to be positive every day. He”s right. And, I think we can use that positive outlook to make ourselves luckier.
Gary Dickson is the editor and publisher of the Record-Bee. Call him at 263-5636, ext. 24. E-mail him at gdickson@record-bee.com.
