Introduction

Sometimes you get lucky, and find a way where you can truely do the things you like in work... But why does luck always seem to be distributed unevenly, and does it always land with the same people...

Here is a message for you: it does not! You can get lucky once by accident, but getting lucky multiple times seems to be quite impossible (not considering statistical anomylies).

So I decided to write a post with some lessons learned from my personal experience...

Be more receptive to luck

Let us begin with the first quote

“If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door” - Milton Berle

Simple, is it not; the reason some people are more lucky then others, is because they are willing to see the opportunities....

I will give you 3 more quotes to tickle your motivation on changing life, work, and all other things related to carbon-based lifeforms:

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading."
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be”

- Lao Tzu

Here is the thing: people always want something, but are afraid to get out of their current comfort zone. If you really want it: stop making excuses and just do it! Ask yourself: what is the worst thing that could happen? Usually things are not that bad, and you can almost always find a plan B...

Millions of opportunities might fly by, but people tend to always find an excuse and somehow assume the worst-case scenario will happen so they talk themselves out of it...

This brings us to the next part...

Be willing to leave your comfort zone

This is hard for most of the people I meet, but is essential in my opinion. I will mention a quote from Ashton Kutcher - yes, Ashton Kutcher, quoting him is definately out of my comfort zone ;) -:

 

"I'm continually trying to make choices that put me against my own comfort zone. As long as you're uncomfortable, it means you're growing."
Ashton Kutcher 

 

People always ask me how I manage to keep up and do so much interesting things and jobs... Well, that's easy: I spend time doing new things, way out of my comfort zone, so people consult me about those new things - makes sense, does it not?

This also implies you have to make sacrifices, because you doing new things might imply that you have to be able to sacrifice other things... Which brings me to the next part:

Get your priorities straight

"But I need to pay my bills" - almost everybody when we talk about this

Do you really need to have all the latest/biggest/best/most expensive/coolest phone/stereo/car/house/clothing/... Do you really need to go on a trip to an expensive hotel 3 times a year?

You might, or you might not... What you do is all about choices. While you are working you cannot spend time with your kids, for example... While you are earning hard cash for that new car, you probably can not spend that time on some new tech you would like to learn about...

Also, most people tend to forget why they started doing things, but just seem to be wandering on the road, always going forward, without evaluating where they wanted to go in the first place.

Do not be afraid of failure, but consider it part of the process

Failure is a part of life; accept that big plans will fail, but learn from your failure. There is a difference between a failure and a mistake: read Seth's blog article on it. Do this now!!!

Here is an English proverb that you should remember:

“Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”

Most people do not succeed at once... They might forget to tell you that, but there are usually a huge pile of failures before becoming succesfull. The important part is that it is a process, where you learn from your mistakes, so you do not make the same mistake another time....

 

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure."  -- Bill Cosby 

 

Another great quote which points out that you should accept it and go with the flow....

Last but not least

"Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life. " - Omar Khayyam

This is easily forgotten: most people are so tied up with their target, that they do not appreciate the current situation.

Whenever I am in a situation where some things seem to be "unlucky" and I take a step back to reflect, I usually find out that it is only a small part that I am unlucky with, so I act until it changes.

That's it for a Saturday night 30min brain dump. Later folks!