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Getting Lucky on Your Way to the Top

  Do you feel lucky? 
  Originally uploaded by salgada.

You can work hard, become an expert in your field, make great connections, be likeable, attractive, authenic, disciplined, and determined.

But probably the most elusive and sought after ingredient in success is the quality of "luckiness".

We all know people who seem to lead charmed lives, and their excessive good fortune is sometimes perplexing to folks who take more than their fair share of battering against fate's brutal shores.

The million dollar question is--if you don't consider yourself lucky, is there any way you can manipulate the stars?

Dr. Richard Wiseman, head of psychology research at the University of Hertfordshire in England and author of the book "The Luck Factor" says that although some people definitely appear to be more fortunate than others, people aren't born lucky.

Dr. Wiseman says that folks who seem to lead charmed lives are simply unconsciously following 4 essential principles that we all can learn:

Principle One: Maximize Chance Opportunities
Lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing and acting upon chance opportunities. They do this in various ways, including networking, adopting a relaxed attitude to life and by being open to new experiences.

Principle Two: Listening to Lucky Hunches
Lucky people make effective decisions by listening to their intuition and gut feelings. In addition, they take steps to actively boost their intuitive abilities by, for example, meditating and clearing their mind of other thoughts.

Principle Three: Expect Good Fortune
Lucky people are certain that the future is going to be full of good fortune. These expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies by helping lucky people persist in the face of failure, and shape their interactions with others in a positive way.

Principle Four: Turn Bad Luck to Good
Lucky people employ various psychological techniques to cope with, and often even thrive upon, the ill fortune that comes their way. For example, they spontaneously imagine how things could have been worse, do not dwell on the ill fortune, and take control of the situation.

Dr. Wiseman's research is empowering, and I can totally see what he's saying, but there are some people who seem to be kissed with luck that goes beyond what these 4 principles encompass. One example is Andy and his media magnet self.

*Strip Tease Meme--the choice of photo for this post was inspired by Gavin's post about procrastination over at Servant of Chaos. I think we should all try to work images of strip teases into our blogs as often as we can ;-). Perhaps this could be a new meme...You tag 5 other bloggers and they must figure out a way to naturally work a photo of someone doing a strip tease into one of their regular posts. I love that! I wonder if anyone would play...

Looking for the good news

  079 hug 
  Originally uploaded by >=> Mãhi Teshneh.

If news is not really news unless it is bad news, it may be difficult to claim we are an informed nation.” -Norman Cousins, editor of Saturday Review

If you truly believe that the good in the world outweighs the bad, then the news is definitely depressing and not an accurate reflection of how the world is.

I was thinking, "What if there was a news outlet that focussed solely on reporting  good news? I wonder how that would change people's perceptions, their moods, and their assumptions about what folks in other parts of the world are like."

I found out that there is actually a site like that. It's called the Good News Network International, and I tell you, reading about the best aspects of humanity makes me feel good.

Perhaps a media-fast isn't necessary. Sometimes it helps just to listen to a different source.

What color is your iPottie?

As Seth points out,

Every person is a marketer, and anyone crazy enough and passionate enough to start something is definitely a marketer. It's not great programming that turns one Net company into a success while another flounders. More often than not, it's about how good a job the amateur running the marketing and design did.

But let me tell you, it's not easy being that amateur who's in charge of the marketing and design for his or her own small biz.

It's a bit nerve racking having that kind of pressure and competing in an area where the learning curve is incredibly steep (and where not performing up to par leaves your business dead in the water).

But desperation leads to a hunger for knowledge, and a hunger for knowledge leads to a quest for what works. I wanted to share with you a couple of things I came across on my daily quest that made me think:

Glen over at Problogger talks about why 37Signals writes an amazing blog:

In this blog the software company’s founders spend most of their time writing about the 37Signals mantra: great web software is simple, fast and elegant. 

But what makes their writing so compelling is that they hardly ever write about software.

Huh?

That’s right - What makes their writing great is that they are able to take pieces of seemingly unrelated topics and link them to their mantra, like how comics relate to web design. Or film concepts and branding.  They know how to breathe life into a concept, to let the viewer see an idea in a different light.

And then over at the 37Signals blog, Matt talks about Worth1000.com's recent contest where they asked participants to parody Apple by creating designs for non-exististent Apple products (hence the iPotti :-)).

Matt asks:

If someone was going to make fun of your company, how would they do it? (And if there’s no answer, is that a sign you’re lacking a defined point of view?)

That's a very insightful question Matt, and I wonder how many of us small biz owners would answer it.

Apple is an extreme example of a company that is so focussed in their mantra (design, design, design!), that it's easy to parody them. They've done with their products what 37Signals has done with the writing on their blog--everything they produce is an expression of their mantra.

Something to think about:

What is your mantra? Have you established one yet?

If someone were going to parody your company, how would they do it?