Successful People Make Their Own Luck

A while back I wrote about a book called The Luck Factor by Richard Wiseman who claims that you can learn to be lucky. In fact, Dr. Wiseman even lists five steps for learning to be lucky.

First, don't assume there is nothing you can do about any situation. Make the decision to take control. Second, do something now. Third, make a list of various options. Be creative. Brainstorm. Come up with as many ideas as you can. Fourth, decide how you will move forward. Consider every possible alternative. Fifth, take action. Be prepared to adapt your action as the future unfolds.

Richard Wiseman calls this a prescription for learning to be luck.

I call it committing to taking personal responsibility for creating a successful life and career. Every one of the five steps above is a manifestation of your willingness to commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career.

Let's look at them again with my perspective.

First, deciding that you can control a situation is the first step in controlling it. It's like throwing a mental switch that puts you in charge and demonstrates your commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and success.

Second, the mere act of doing something moves you forward. You may not be successful the first -- or even second or third time -- but the fact that you try and keep trying is another manifestation of your commitment to taking responsibility for your life and career.

Third, thinking through your options puts you in control. Often at first it may seem that your options are limited. However, if you take the time to review everything you can do in a given situation, you'll be able to come up some good ideas for helping you get on top of any situation you face.

Fourth, choose and option, put it into play and see what happens. If it doesn't work, choose another one. If that doesn't work, choose another one. In this way, you are not only being systematic about creating your own success, you are demonstrating the resilience common to people who commit to taking personal responsibility for their success.

Fifth, be adaptable. What works at first may no longer work as you move forward. If you're committed to taking personal responsibility for yourself and your success, you'll change with the times. You won't sit back and bemoan the fact that things have changed. You'll be in charge, changing with the times -- and even causing the times to change.

The common sense point here is simple. Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. You can demonstrate your commitment to taking personal responsibility for you success by doing five things. 1) Decide you are in control. 2) Do something to show yourself you are in control. 3) Think through all of your options in a given situation. 4) Choose an option and act. If it doesn't work, choose another option. 5) Be adaptable. Change with the times. In The Luck Factor, Richard Wiseman calls these five steps a method for learning to be lucky. I say they are a recipe for demonstrating your commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and career.