One sentence take-away: “Luck is what you make it” or “We make our own luck”
In one experiment, Wiseman planted a specific number of photographs in a newspaper and asked both types of people (those who considered themselves to be “lucky” or “unlucky”) to count how many were hidden within the pages. It took the unlucky people an average of 2 minutes while only 2 seconds for the lucky group.
Why?
Because on the second page in a major headline he wrote “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper.” The unlucky people focused so heavily on the task at hand—rather than approaching the situation more openly—that they missed the message completely, as well as a second one further in which offered £250 if they stopped counting to redeem their prize.
Wiseman’s research has determined that unlucky people are generally more tense and that anxiety works against one’s ability to notice the unexpected. He also noted that lucky people tend to exhibit four main characteristics that seem to create the luck they experience:
1. They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities
2. They make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition
3. They create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations
4. They adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good
The good news is that Wiseman has also proven that you can train yourself to be lucky. Lucky people can become luckier, and unlucky people can catch up to those who seem to have better experiences.
via If you’re reading this, you’re lucky < Steven Kovar.