Do you feel lucky?

Mar 1

By Liz Hatcher, Women to Women Network

I certainly do. I also believe we create our own luck and seeing that the “luckiest” day of the year is on March 17, this month is the perfect time to talk about how you can create your own luck. Here’s a hint: You are the pot of gold you are looking for.

How to “get lucky”...

Be social. The more you engage with others, the more opportunities you will discover. New ideas, new collaborations, new solutions, new partnerships, new clients. You get the idea.

Plan for success. Visualize where you want to be in six months, a year, two years, and beyond. List your big goals and the smaller goals that will help you get there. Now make a plan and get moving.

Share your luck with others. You know the saying: What goes around comes around. So be a giver. Share your expertise, your connections, your time. Help out when and where you can. Good deeds are often returned and sometimes at just the right moment to move your business forward.

Be open to the possible. Keep an open mind, be curious and explore new ideas and opportunities to do things differently. Sometimes luck is a simple matter of recognizing an opportunity when it comes along. You can’t do that with blinders on.

Believe in your own luck. What we believe about ourselves is what we manifest. So mind your thoughts. Keep a positive outlook, know you are capable of great things, believe in yourself, your strengths, your knowledge, and your experience. You have gotten yourself this far, just think how far you could go.

Accept “bad luck.” Setbacks happen. It’s inevitable; no one is perfect and we don’t always get things right. But that’s part of the process and also when we do our best learning. So when something goes south, or life hands you lemons, it’s ok to be upset for a moment, but don’t get stuck. Pick yourself up, get help if you need it, and do what you need to do to keep moving forward.

Know your power. Recognize what you have the power to control and what you don’t. Focus on what you can control. If you wait around for things out of your control that may or may not come to pass, it will take you a lot longer to get where you want to go and you risk not getting there at all.

Expect the unexpected. Life has a funny way of throwing us curve balls at the most inopportune times—both good and bad. So prepare yourself for the ups and downs. Have contingency plans and be prepared for the disruptions, because they will happen.

Go get it! In other words, work for it. Successful people aren’t lucky. They have worked hard to get where they are. Luck doesn’t just happen, you have to make it happen.

Luck is inside of you. It starts with your mindset and it grows from your actions. And here’s another hint: Good luck begets more good luck.