BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

How To Make Your Own Luck

Following
This article is more than 10 years old.

It's Friday the 13th, and for millions of people, that feels unlucky.  Donna Henes, a woman who blogs at HufPo and describes herself as "Urban shaman, eco-ceremonialist, ritual expert and consultant," notes that fear of the number 13 and of Friday the 13th specifically, are the most common superstitions in most of the western world.

Oddly, I've always thought of Friday the 13th as a lucky day - good things have historically happened for me on this day.  So today has me reflecting on the concept of luck in general. In thinking about this, I decided to look up the actual definition (from dictionary.com):

Luck: a : a force that brings good fortune or adversity b : the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual

I've noticed that people have all kinds of relationships with this 'force' we call luck.  Some people use luck as an excuse for not achieving the life they want ('Some people just have all the luck,' or 'Yeah, I've always been a magnet for bad luck').  Some people use it as a way to be modest ('Oh, I was just lucky').  Some people take it very seriously, and do or don't do things based on whether or not they're 'lucky' (supposedly, Winston Churchill considered 13 a very unlucky number, and would never sit in a sit in a seat or stay in a room numbered 13). Some people don't think about luck much one way or the other.

I think your (one's) relationship with the idea of luck depends on what you believe about where the control of your life lies. Do you believe you are primarily responsible for your own fate, or do you believe that your life is determined primarily by forces beyond your control (or even understanding)?

People who are in the forces-outside-your control camp tend to label those forces 'luck.'  The main problem I see with this is that it makes you a victim of circumstance. If you decide that you didn't get a job you wanted, or find a great partner, or finish your college degree because 'you have bad luck,' it really takes you off the hook (What could I do? The universe has it in for me). But it also takes away all your power; if it's not in your control, why would you try to figure out what's not working and do something different?  It makes success much less likely.

I'm in the other, I-am-the-captain-of-my-fate camp when it comes to luck (no surprise to those of you who know me). Now, of course, sometimes you are at the effect of circumstances beyond your control - other people's agendas, the economy, runaway buses, etc. - but even in those situations you're in control of your response to the circumstances.  My favorite quote about luck is from Branch Rickey, a really interesting guy who was one of the seminal figure in American baseball.

"Luck is the residue of design."

- Branch Rickey

What this sentence implies is that those people we call 'lucky' are simply those who are better able to recognize and take advantage of circumstances around them because they have a 'design,' a plan. I completely agree.  It's the ROL (return on luck) principle that Collins and Morton uncovered and explain so thoroughly in Great By Choice.

I've seen it in both my personal and professional life.  For instance, my business partner Jeff and I spend a good deal of time continuing to get clearer and clear about the kind of business we want to have: how we can be valuable to our clients, how we'll work together to do that, the kind of people we want on our team, how we want to balance growth and excellence, etc. etc.  So when a person or a client or an opportunity presents itself, it's relatively easy for us to tell whether or not it will support the achievement of our vision.  It may look as though we've been lucky - but I can see that our 'luck is the residue of design'.  And that the better and more complete our design, the luckier we seem.

The beauty of all this (and it was the thing I found most heartening about Great by Choice), is that is implies that - for the most part - you can make your own luck. And today of all days, that's a good thing to remember.

_____________

Look for Erika's new book, Leading So People Will Follow, coming in October from Jossey-Bass.

Follow Erika on Twitter @erikaandersen.

find out how Erika and her colleagues work with clients - explore Proteus.