photo credit: orangachang

Question: Why are YOU successful?

People who believe good events have permanent causes try even harder after they succeed. People who see temporary reasons for good events may give up when they succeed, believing success was a fluke.

— Martin E.P. Seligman

Back in the years when I was a hiring-manager I often invited prospective sales people to tell me about one of their successes; and then I asked them what they attributed that success to… and about fell out of my chair when, time after time, they would tell me, “just lucky I guess…”

Huh? I mean, aside from forfeiting the obvious opportunity to brag, if they truly weren’t aware of what led to their success, how in the world could I expect them to do it again on our sales team?

How’d You Get So Lucky?

Though no longer employed as a sales manager, I still think there’s merit in looking back over recent successes in order to identify sources of your good outcomes.  Understanding what works (and what doesn’t work) is vital to improving our future performance.

Oftentimes, when I find myself stumbling on a path I’ve previously navigated with ease, I can trace my difficulties back to the omission of time-tested actions – things I did in the past but somehow forgot to do in the present, things that apparently contributed to my success, or lack thereof.  But I’d not given them their due and then I’d forgotten to remember to do them.  So I guess that means I agree with William Stafford who said:

If you have things right in your life but do not know why, you are just lucky, and you will not move in the little ways that encourage good fortune.

Do Ya Feel Lucky?

I know what you’re thinking. “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

— from the movie Dirty Harry

Before you reveal your answer to “Do ya feel lucky?” here’s a test – indulge me and take three minutes to watch this YouTube video clip:

(I hope you took the time – there’s at least one LOL and several OMGs in there to wow you.) Now, decide: which those folks were “just lucky” and which earned their luck through hard work, preparation and professionalism? And then ask yourself, how closely do your judgments of them mirror your knee-jerk judgments of your own “luck”?

Chris Brogan is a man who KNOWS his luck isn’t a fluke, he knows where his luck comes from…his own hard work! Here’s what he has to say about “just lucky I guess”:

In this Kitchen Table Talks video, I just want to address all the nice folks who call me lucky, or who think I’m just sitting around being handed my lot in life. “Lucky” is absolutely what I am. Here’s what I do to earn my luck:

• Write a blog post or two a day.
• Write a newsletter every week.
• Comment and connect with others daily.
• Answer and send hundreds of emails daily.
• Read voraciously.
• Work with the best clients I can find.
• Reach into new markets weekly.
• Travel extensively.

Do you think, if he really believed he was “just lucky”, he’d work so hard and so consistently?  Not likely.  He works hard because he believes his success derives from his own actions.  IF he thought otherwise, most likely he’d give up sooner, try less diligently and then, guess what, he wouldn’t be “just lucky” any more… he’d be SOL [sh*t out of luck] instead.  I encourage you (and me) to make our own luck just as Brogan does… believe in it, work for it, expect it.  (And, by the way, SAVOR it!)

Turns Out Luck Is a D-I-Y Proposition

You aren’t born lucky; you make your own luck, it’s a do-it-yourself deal.  According to research cited by Richard Wiseman, author of The Luck Factor, “lucky people’s expectations of winning were more than twice that of unlucky people.” (!!!!)  He explains:

Lucky people generate their own good fortune via four basic principles.

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

So next time you’re:

• Entertaining and leveraging new ideas and new options
• Networking with friends, family, business associates and strangers
• Paying attention to your “best guesses”
• Beginning a new venture
• Bucking yourself up for the next endeavor

Do it with an expectation of success, and refuse to dwell on misfortune. (Plan for misfortune but don’t dwell on it.)

Please know that you are not masquerading as PollyAnna.  You’re simply inviting your “luck” to join you in your quest for good fortune.  Take your cue from Walt Whitman:

Henceforth I ask not good fortune. I myself am good fortune.

I ask you again: Do ya’ feel lucky?  Well, do ya’?