Think Lucky

Luck is often used as an explanation for faith and superstition.

Lucky symbols can be found around the world represented by everything from animals, to botanical to inanimate objects.

In Buddhism, followers do not believe in luck but in karma.

They believe that all things happen as a result of a cause, either material or spiritual.

The Japanese have seven lucky gods while the Hindus follow a meticulous prayer procedure to induce the Hindu gods to bestow money and future luck during Diwali or the festival of lights.

Do you believe in luck? Or is luck preparation meeting opportunity?

People who spot and seize opportunities are different. They are often more open to life's little challenges and as a result, see opportunities that others miss.

They seem to brush off disappointments and launch themselves towards the next fortunate circumstance.

As a result, I believe they are happier and more likely to reach their goals.

Psychologists are looking to see why these people always seem to find incredible opportunities.

Can their insights help us all lead luckier lives? I think so.

Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.  ~R.E. Shay

Shallow men believe in luck.  Strong men believe in cause and effect.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Luck plays a large role in love and work. Are we more like pinballs bouncing around a machine or are we captains at the wheel of life?

Here are some factors that play an important role in finding luck in our lives:

Serendipity

Chance can be a factor in shaping the paths we choose in life. People who take advantage of happenstance have competence, self-confidence, and the ability to take risks.

Usually, these people have a strong support system.

People who consider themselves lucky usually encounter fortuitous situations because they tend to meet lots of people in their daily interactions and usually don't have negative emotions like anxiety and fear.

Make Your Chance

Opportunity seems to smile on people who have a more relaxed approach to life.

They are goal-oriented but don't worry too much about the details. These people believe that once they have targeted the goal, there are many different ways to get there.

This requires an openness to life's challenges as well as the ability to be flexible.

Exploring new ways of doing things can lead to increases in good fortune.

Saying Yes to Opportunities

When you are looking for life's opportunities they seem to show up all the time. This in itself can cause anxiety because you can overcome it by making a choice.

People who embrace opportunities tend to be more fearless about trying something new.

Having a good outcome will increase the belief that we are capable of accomplishing whatever it is that we set out to do.

This can also fuel our desire for future risk-taking.

If we are going to embrace opportunities we need to turn off the negative mind that tells us we are not experienced enough to do that job or not attractive enough to get the love of our life.

It also doesn't help that we may have loved ones that don't support our goals. Just remember that our minds and our loved ones don't always tell the truth.

Acknowledge their concerns and listen to your own intuition. Trust yourself and don't wait until all the negative emotions disappear, because if you do, you will never get anywhere.

After all, what's the worst that can happen?

The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.  ~Harry Golden

The only sure thing about luck is that it will change.  ~Wilson Mizner

Are some birth signs luckier than others? There is some scientific evidence that certain health conditions and even personality traits are linked to birth months.

It is believed that subtle influences on the fetal brain such as sleep and wake cycles and the prevalence of viruses differ from season to season.

Some temperaments are even linked to luckiness. In a British study, it was found that people who are born between March and August believe themselves to be luckier, on average, than those born in the colder months of September through February.

It seems that summer babies grow up to be more open-minded and less neurotic than winter babes.

May is the luckiest month of all, so if you want a fortunate kid, try to get lucky in August!

Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.  ~William Shakespeare

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” – Henry Ford

Failure is an opportunity for learning. Many successful business people are also failed businesspeople.

The key factor is that they didn't get discouraged by the failure and go on to find other fortuitous moments that will lead them to their goal.

There are many benefits to seizing opportunities. For one thing, it increases our day-to-day happiness by bringing variety into our lives.

One of the great things about getting older is having the courage to do something that we were afraid to do when we were younger.

Just remember, that if some opportunities slip away, there are always new ones coming along.

Famous Failures

Michael Jordan - The most famous name in basketball was actually cut from his high school basketball team.

John Wayne - Before his successful acting career he was rejected from the United States Naval Academy.

Steven Spielberg - This household name dropped out of high school and applied to attend film school three times but was unsuccessful due to his C grade average.

Beethoven - His music teacher once told him that he was a hopeless composer.

Babe Ruth - This baseball legend struck out 1,330 times.

Soichiro Honda - The founder of Honda was turned down for an engineering job by Toyota after World War Two.

Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita - These two were the founders of Sony, but one of their first products was an electric rice cooker. They only sold 100 or so of these cookers because they tended to burn rice rather than cook it.

John Grisham - This best-selling novelist’s first novel was rejected by sixteen agents and twelve publishing houses.

Everything in life is luck.  ~Donald Trump

Luck has a peculiar habit of favoring those who don't depend on it.  ~Author Unknown