Photo by: Kondwani Williams
The word luck is often spoken with such exclusivity — as if there’s a Good Luck Club that requires a particular type of DNA and a collection of the finest array of charms in order to join. Having been extremely “lucky” for most of my life, I can attest to the concept of “good luck” being very real. How it is attained, however, has been misleadingly distorted.
I have been strategically setting myself up to be lucky for quite some time now, no rabbit’s foot or special DNA required. We must create our own luck. In other words, the cards themselves aren’t lucky, we bring luck to the cards by how we play the game; life is no different. How are you dealing with the cards that life has been handing to you?
We have likely all heard or read somewhere that our thoughts shape the course of our lives and I don’t doubt it for a second, positive thinking is extremely important to living a successful, content life. This notion, however, is quite vague and missing a key element essential to your luck — purposeful action! Let us look at four simple ways you can jump-start your luck today:
Say Thank You.
Many of us wait until the holidays roll around to begin giving thanks for the many blessings already in our lives. Lucky individuals (I call us Luckies) know that gratitude is essential to increasing the positive happenstances that occur in our lives. We always have something to be thankful for. The genuine smile given by a complete stranger. The hug given by your child. The vacant parking bay found right outside of your job. The smell and sound of the rain that lifted your mood. The shoes you’ve have your eyes on now discounted. These are all moments when you need to say “thank you.” Once we begin acknowledging the smaller lucky breaks that happen daily, the bigger blessings come so quickly.
Your Action Step: Grab a journal (it doesn’t have to be fancy, any book with blank pages would do) and write down five very specific things that happen each day that you are thankful for. I find the more specific we get, the quicker we begin feeling our luck pouring in.
Work On That Personality.
When was the last time you’ve done something to build your character? We often set weight loss goals, financial goals, career goals, but how often do we actually set a goal to improve who we are as human beings? Luckies understand the importance of personality enhancement; we know that our likeability gets us places. We therefore aim to work on parts of our character that need tweaking. Let’s face it, no one is perfect. We could all benefit from making a conscious effort to become better listeners, more compassionate, more humble, more patient, etc.
Your Action Step: Take an honest look at who you are as a person and pick one area that you would like to improve — then make the decision to change. Read books, watch videos and attend seminars on the topic, then put into practice that which is learnt. When you are comfortable with your progress, pick another area. It’s a continual process; the great news is that it is quite enjoyable and it doesn’t take long for you to begin reaping the rewards.
Give Back.
We each have something to give and when we help out those in sincere need, it keeps our own lives in perspective. We begin to notice just how lucky we already are to be able to assist, and the contentment that comes with that thought is true bliss. The principal of causality — the idea that what you do now comes back to you at a future date — often makes giving back a no-brainer. With the aforementioned in mind, however, when we give of our time, efforts, knowledge and/or money to assist another in need, it is truly a beautiful thing and the luck that comes as a result is simply an additional bonus.
Your Action Step: Help someone out today (and each day going forward). It doesn’t have to be difficult and can be very fulfilling. There are so many ways we can give back, but here are some examples to get you started:
- Offer to read to a child you know (or babysit for an hour to give the parents a break)
- Give a genuine smile to a complete stranger and offer a sincere compliment
- Buy a soup and bottle of water and hand it to a homeless individual you pass by
- Take an older relative out for dinner
- Call up a friend and lend a listening ear
- Give a neighbor a hand in the yard
Get to Work.
We often know what we should be doing, it’s the lack of action that halts our progress. What good, however, is a ton of useful information that goes unused? Time to roll up those sleeves and get to work future Luckie, your luck depends on it! If good luck doesn’t find us, we must go out and find it. Following each of the action steps above is a great start, and sticking with them is where you will find true value.
Your Action Steps: Make a conscious decision to be in control of your own luck from here on out. Practice saying “thank you” for your many smaller blessings, work on strengthening your character and give back on a daily basis.
Now grab a piece of paper and pen and write down your biggest goal at the moment. Once this is done I want you to take one baby step today (not tomorrow) to get you a little closer to your goal set. Each day going forward, take another, then another. Make up your mind to stick to it until it’s achieved. You see, with this mindset you cannot lose.
To provide you with an example, if your goal is to save $10,000.00, open up an account and put $100.00 in — you are now one percent closer to achieving your goal than you were yesterday. Remember, many small steps eventually equate to a giant leap so do not give up. Once you start taking calculated action steps, luck will find you.
You now have four “lucky” tools in your arsenal, will you use them?
Want even more tips and tricks to jump-start your luck in life?
Be sure to check out Gaynete’s best-selling book Lucky Code : A Guide for Winning at Life on Amazon. Also, head on over to www.Gaynete.com and signup to become an official Goal Chaser. You’ll receive weekly tips, tricks and motivation from the Goal Chasing Life Catalyst herself to get you closer to your biggest goals.
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