13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck

by Ashwin Sanghi

The impact bias is our tendency to greatly overestimate the intensity and extent of our emotional reactions. The net result of this bias? We expect failures to be more painful than they actually are, so we fear them more than we need to.

it is possible to overcome fear and shyness. By doing so, we become much more capable of seizing opportunities.

It is often fear or shyness that prevents us from seizing the moment; from setting sail at the precise moment when the tide is just right.

The Monte Carlo Fallacy (or Gambler’s Fallacy) is the mistaken belief that if something happens more frequently than normal during some period, then it will happen less frequently in the future, presumably as a means of balancing nature. So if someone tossing a coin got six consecutive heads, one is lulled into believing that the next result will be a tail. The truth is that the odds haven’t changed. The odds of the next toss are still 50:50. The problem with the Monte Carlo Fallacy is that someone who has had a spate of good luck automatically tends to believe that his next venture will be unlucky or vice-versa. In effect, the Monte Carlo Fallacy reinforces irrational behaviour.

One of the results of conquering fear and gaining confidence is improved communication skills.

Confidence does not come from being right, but from not fearing to be wrong.

Good communication not only helps us respond better to opportunities, it can even create opportunities.

Today, we live in an age of short attention spans. A recent study showed that the average browser in a bookshop spends eight seconds on the front cover and fifteen seconds on the back cover of a book that he/she picks up. Most readers do not get past page eighteen of the average book. How does an author get noticed in such times? Much as we want to believe that books are not judged by their covers, the truth is: they often are. A good cover improves the odds of your book reaching the billing counter. The cover design is the communication of an emotion. Getting it right is vital to clinching the sale. This particular book’s cover was designed and redesigned over twenty times.

‘A speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject matter but short enough to hold the audience’s attention.’

‘Easy reading is damn hard writing.’

The power of information is often undervalued. Simply staying informed increases the chances of opportunities coming to our attention.

Being aware of what is happening around us, listening to informed individuals, keeping track of the news and reading books is a crucial part of the opportunity flow.

Lucky people notice things. They hang on to ideas. They absorb stuff. They’re curious about things that catch their attention.

Lucky individuals are not only nice—polite, humble and considerate—but are also intuitively aware of the power of karma. They understand that the greater the positive deeds they put out in the universe, the better the chances of their attracting good luck.

it is a proven fact that being nice results in increased dopamine levels, which provide a natural ‘high’. These happy hormones make us much more positive and enable us to look at new opportunities with the right attitude. In effect, being nice not only makes others happy, it also makes us happy. And being happy and positive about life is a key factor in attracting luck.

‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but will never forget how you made them feel.’

‘The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.’

Hundreds of small actions add up to niceness. Returning a phone call; behaving courteously with one’s colleagues and subordinates; remembering a birthday; praising a subordinate’s effort, overlooking minor deficiencies… The list is rather long. Sometimes it simply involves doing what is ‘right’ rather than what is ‘required’.

‘Many people don’t recognize that so much business can be generated from positive deeds and actions,’

Niceness increases the probability that opportunities would be thrown your way by your network. Being nice not only results in positive word of mouth; it also ensures that someone else’s door remains open for you in future.

Humility is also one of the key reasons why some people are able to cultivate relationships better than others.

An inflated ego often prevents us from asking questions that we believe ‘sound stupid’. The problem is that not asking those questions means that we are shutting out potential opportunities.

‘What goes around comes around’ is based on a deeper karmic theory that the more one gives, the more one gets. One should never discount the value of karma.

that there is value in positive

reinforcement and in being nice. But more importantly, if we can’t find something good in other people’s work, how can we expect others to find something good in ours? Generosity in spirit and actions is a key element in furthering opportunities.

‘Always give without remembering and always receive without forgetting.’

In effect, if an opportunity coincides with one’s passion, the odds of making it remunerative are significantly higher. This is because one’s desire to succeed at one’s passion is far greater than one’s desire to succeed at anything else.

‘When your desire for wisdom is as great as your desire to breathe, you will find wisdom.’

Passion is like the need for air. When one is passionate about something, one will do everything possible to make it happen. Confucius astutely observed, ‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.’

one needs to be willing to unlearn in order to learn. One needs to unclutter in order to be capable of receiving from the cosmic.

‘Most people are trained to be preservers. It is great to be a preserver. But for us, whoever has to create has to destroy. Without destroying, you cannot create anything new. That is also the law of nature. Look at the seasons. Everything gets destroyed to create something new. But unfortunately, business does not take any cues from nature. None of the business schools take anything from nature. One cannot go against the flow of nature.

An absence of preconditioning and training is often a big advantage, because it allows you to remain fresh and innovative. Unlearning is simply the ability to rid oneself of preconditioning.

Education often provides one with a network of friends and alumni that can increase the opportunities that come your way. It also helps get the proverbial foot-in-the-door when it comes to recruitment opportunities.

It has rightly been said that planning can never be a substitute for initiative or judgment. But initiative and judgment requires free time. It is planning that frees up one’s time. This includes planning one’s finances, one’s strategic goals and one’s time.

Lucky people leverage preparation, planning, prioritization and potential. By doing so, they increase their ability to create opportunities or react and respond to them.

the best way of remembering all thirteen principles to good luck is by using the mnemonic Causing Ripple.

These thirteen attitudes and approaches are by no means exhaustive. However, I believe they are the most common traits of people who eventually succeed in getting lucky. When we examine the lives of lucky people, we may find one or more attitudes or approaches missing.

The measure of human intelligence (or ‘smarts’) is known as Intelligence Quotient or IQ.

IQ is simply the ratio of your mental age to your chronological age. IQ stays quite stable throughout your life, so it is unlikely that a teenager with an average IQ can become an Einstein in later years.

IQ is of little value in managing people, situations or relationships—critical factors in one’s success. In that sense, IQ is a poor predictor of success.

Emotional Quotient is a measure of one’s ability to sense, understand and effectively apply the power and acumen of emotions to facilitate high levels of collaboration and productivity.

The five key drivers of EQ are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. It is not difficult to understand why EQ components play a more important role than IQ as one progresses in life.

Developing a professional plan to strengthen your weak areas can (and does) improve your EQ.

LQ is possibly the unknown variable that explains why some people are successful and others, probably with equally high IQs and EQs are not.

‘Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.’

all human needs (or desires) can be lumped into nine basic categories: 1. Subsistence, e.g. food, shelter, clothing 2. Protection, e.g. social security or health insurance 3. Affection, e.g. friendships, family relationships, marriage 4. Understanding, e.g. education, reasoning, meditation 5. Participation, e.g. associations, community, neighbourhood, church or temple 6. Leisure, e.g. holidays, parties, sports 7. Creation, e.g. business growth, writing, music composition, art 8. Identity, e.g. self-esteem, public profile 9. Freedom, e.g. dissent, autonomy

It has been said that success is about having what you want, but happiness is about wanting what you have. In effect, the fourteenth step for good luck is this: Lucky people are those who are able to see how lucky they are. In effect, truly lucky people are able to count and appreciate their blessings. This realization is the most important step to bloody good luck! You may not be doing too well at work, but still have a loving family and good health. Shouldn’t you count those as blessings? You may have tripped on the road and skinned you knee but there was no traffic. Shouldn’t you be happy that your life was in no danger? Lucky people not only implement the thirteen steps to attract good luck. They are also able to objectively appreciate what they already have.