Create Your Own Luck

“Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness.”nnI don’t know who made that statement. But whoever said it, I agree.nnI've often heard people talking about how so-and-so is so lucky (as if to emphasize that they themselves are not lucky). I think what's really happening is the complainers aren't “working themselves into luck.” If you want to be lucky, prepare for something big.nnDeveloping your talents requires work, and work creates luck. Having this attitude toward success is a great way to set yourself on a rewarding course for your life.nnThere was a lot of talk for a while about venting your frustrations and anxieties and how it might be healthy to get them off your chest. To a point, yes, but to an exaggerated degree, no. I read an article recently about how complaining, without doing anything about it, is actually detrimental to physical and mental well-being.nnWith the advent of blogging and all the other sorts of opinion-gushing venues available to everyone now, people are spending way too much time harping on negative themes. The emphasis is out of balance, and the negative focus doesn't help the situation.nnDon't dwell so much on a problem that you've exhausted yourself before you can even entertain a solution. It just doesn't make sense. It takes brainpower and energy to think positively and creatively - and to see creatively and positively. Going negative is the easy way, the lazy way. Use your brainpower to focus on positives and solutions instead, and your own mindset will help create your own luck.nnShakespeare put it this way, in a famous quote from Julius Caesar:nn“The fault is not in our stars, dear Brutus, but in ourselves.”nnThat's a clear message. We are responsible for ourselves. We are responsible for our own luck. What an empowering thought! If you see responsibility as a bum deal, then you are not seeing it for what it really is - a great opportunity.nnLet's say you're facing some big challenge today. I can tell you right now you've got a lot of company. What will separate you from the complaining crowd will be how you choose to look at your situation. If you believe you are in control of it - and you are - you will know exactly who to look for when you need help: yourself. You could be your greatest discovery yet for success, luck, power, and happiness.nnWhen I encountered enormous financial challenges back in the 1990s, I was mature enough to assume responsibility and know that the problem was mine. I knew it wouldn't do any good to blame other people. That would be a waste of time, and that's one kind of loss I don't like. Time is something that cannot be replaced. If you find yourself slipping into the blaming others mode, get out of it quickly.nnGive luck the chance it needs to play itself out in your life. No one can do it for you. As soon as you discover that luck is yours to create, you'll be thinking and seeing things in a whole new way. So work hard, have fun, and good luck.