Summary: "Luck is not a magical ability or a gift from the gods. Instead, it is a state of mind―a way of thinking and behaving." The Luck Factor, page 165 We all know someone whose card is always drawn in the raffle, who gets tickets to the hot show, whose car never breaks down and whose marriage is bliss. And we know their opposites, too. Whether superstitious or not, most folks believe that luck is a mysterious force of the universe. Either mostly good things happen to you as you go through life, or mostly bad things happen. That's true, as far as it goes. But most of us believe there's nothing we can do about it. And Dr. Richard Wiseman is here to tell you that's wrong. Luck, it turns out, can be changed. It can be controlled. Luck is a skill you can learn and a tool you can apply in business, in life. Golden Egg Luck is Not a Mysterious Force of the Universe But a Characteristic You Can Develop "[T]his book presents that most elusive of holy grails―a scientifically proven way to understand, control, and increase our luck." The Luck Factor, page xiii In a fantastic experiment using the UK National Lottery and following rigorous scientific process, Wiseman and his team proved to the satisfaction of the British government that in truly random events, luck is truly random. Proven. Scientifically. Luck, as a mysterious force of the universe, bestowing blessings and curses on pre-chosen winners and losers does not exist. Well, h'ray. What is it, then? One response on the questionnaire used in the lottery experiment intrigued the team, leading to a brilliant insight: though "lucky" people didn't win more than others, their expectation of winning was more than twice that of unlucky people. Perhaps, Wiseman thought, how people think affects their luck? Now, some of you are thinking, yeah, obviously. Bear in mind, this is not anecdotal evidence. This is the first serious scientific research into something we've had no scientific evidence for prior to Wiseman's work. Some of us assumed luck was just our own intelligence and hard work. Wiseman set out to prove it, conclusively. After years of research through thousands of case studies, he verified 4 principles which are fundamental indicators of luck. GEM # 1 The Four Principles of Luck "[O]ver the next few years I concentrated my research efforts on understanding the different ways in which lucky and unlucky people thought and behaved." The Luck Factor, page 26 Once you accept that luck is a skill, the next step is to get an overview of its characteristics. Moving immediately from abstract to concrete, Wiseman describes four principles (with 12 sub-principles) which we can observe in our own lives and in the people around us. Descriptions of his research and anecdotal examples take the mystery out of luck. Prove to yourself that luck is determined by our actions. As you read these, notice that they're neither ethereal nor mysterious. Consider your own luck, or that friend who's a classic example of luck, good or bad. Doesn't their personality reflect these characteristics—or their lack? Principle One: Maximize Your Chance Opportunities Lucky people create, notice and act upon the chance opportunities in their lives. They're relaxed, open to new things, and maintain contact with a broad network of friends and associates. Principle Two: Listen To Your Lucky Hunches Lucky people not only trust their intuition, those gut hunches, they work to boost their intuition. Principle Three: Expect Good Fortune Expectations drive our actions. Lucky people persevere when things are tough, so they're more likely to succeed. They create better relationships by expecting good from those they interact with. Principle Four: Turn Your Bad Luck Into Good Bad things happen to lucky people, too. They react by expecting, and working toward, a positive outcome. They don't dwell on the negative, but find something positive in any situation.
