As we celebrate St Patrick’s Day on Monday, March 17, you may be wishing for some Irish luck to put more green in your pocket or just add more Guinness to your glass. They say the Irish are born lucky, but if you and your ancestors don’t hail from the Emerald Isle, don’t give up. This could still be your lucky day as Paycom has prepared these seven tips for creating your own luck-filled destiny.
1. Be Open to Opportunity
If you want to be one of the people who is at the right place at the right time, you first have to show up. Whether you’re looking for a job opportunity or new relationship, you might just have to get out of your comfort zone. Be versatile and hungry to meet new people and try new things. Keep an open mind so you can recognize opportunity when you see it. If you are too focused on looking for something else, you might miss out on your lucky break.
2. Be Prepared
Louis Pasteur said it best, “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” Will you know what to do with a lucky opportunity when you find it? If you spend more time hoping than preparing, you won’t be equipped to make the most of the opportunities that come your way. Know what your goals are and work diligently toward your success. Acquire the skills and experience you need to excel and learn everything you can about whatever it is you’re striving toward. This includes potential obstacles and threats to your success, which will help you handle any surprise setbacks with ease. When luck strikes, you want to get the biggest return you can, which will only happen if you’re committed to the work and sacrifices success of any type demands.
3. Be Kind
When you help others, you help yourself. You can make more friends in a month showing interest in other people than you can in a year trying to get people interested in you. Investing in others with a generosity of time and spirit creates good karma and brings reciprocal encouragement. Building a loyal and authentic network of friends is necessary in life and business. Success often is related to whom you know, and people will remember you by how you made them feel. You never know when that lucky break may reside in the hands of a current or past customer, co-worker, employee or romantic relationship. A pay-it-forward attitude attracts all kinds of opportunity.
4. Be Fearless
A passive mindset is a luck detractor. It allows other people and forces to shape your life, which is an inexcusable reason to fail. New challenges can raise uncertain outcomes, which can make us uncomfortable, but you get no value from not challenging yourself. If you’re going to make a mistake, make it out of ambition and courage, not fear. Push yourself to speak in public, attend a networking event, move across the country or do whatever it is that is holding you back from the opportunities you desire.
5. Expect Good Fortune
When you focus on what you don’t have, it precludes you from seeing the possibilities. Optimism begets opportunity because it enables you to see what can be and maximizes your ability to profit from chance. Lucky people are more relaxed and open; they keep a positive attitude despite the odds. When you believe good fortune will find you, it’s a lot easier to recognize it when it does.
6. Trust Your Gut
When you know what you want and you’re prepared for success, you can be confident in your ability to spot the right opportunities when they come along. Having the capacity to clear your mind and quickly process your options will enable you to act expeditiously to avoid opportunity passing you by.
7. Be Resilient
Be bold, be tireless and be resilient. Lucky people don’t dwell on their failures. They see the positive sides of their misfortunes and learn from their mistakes. When setbacks happen, be grateful for the lesson and consider it another stepping stone on the pathway to success.
Creating your own luck isn’t an exact science or an elusive dream. It’s a combination of determination, preparation and positive attitude that empowers us to see the possibilities before us and bravely open the doors of opportunity that await.