The-Luck-Factor

byDr.richardWiseman2whatyoucan’tdowithitPleasedon’tletthematerialgotowastebynotmakingitapartofyourworld.Additionally,pleasedon’trepublish,sell,orofferthematerialfromyourwebsitewithoutpriorwrittenpermissionfromMaxPitchMedia,Inc.(Pleasefeelfreetolinktoitanytime:theluckfactor.com–we’llloveyouforit)Finally,pleasedon’talterthematerialinanywayoruseitasafoundationfora“for-hire”presentationwithoutpriorwrittenpermissionfromMaxPitchMedia,Inc.ThismaterialisproducedbyMaxPitchMedia,Inc.inpartnershipwithMiramaxBooksandDr.RichardWiseman(authorofTheLuckFactor).Dr.Wisemancanbereachedthroughhiswebsite,richardwiseman.com.whatyoucandowithitYoucandownload,print,andreadthematerial.Youcanforwarditbyemailtocolleagues,resellers,customers,friends,andfamilymembers.Youcanevenmailthemaprintedcopyifyouneedtoslowthingsdownabit.MaxPitchMedia,Inc.2500GaskinsRoadRichmond,[e-mail]anunravelyearsofstriving,whileamomentofgoodluckcanleadtosuc-cessandhappiness.Luckhasthepowertotransformtheimprobableintothepos-sible;tomakethedifferencebetweenlifeanddeath,rewardandruin,happinessanddespair.Psychologistshavestudiedhowourlivesareaffectedbyourintelligence,personality,genes,appearance,andup-bringing.Measuringintelligenceandcategorizingpeople’spersonalitiesisrel-ativelystraightforward,buthowdoyouquantifyluckandcontrolchance?Ibe-ganbycarryingoutasurveytodiscoverthepercentageofpeoplewhoconsideredthemselvesluckyorunlucky,andwheth-erpeople’slucktendedtobeconcentrat-edinoneortwoareasoftheirlivesorspreadacrossmanydifferentareas.thepowerofluckAbridgedfromTheLuckFactorbyDr.RichardWiseman2Withagroupofstudents,IvisitedthecenterofLondonatdifferenttimesoverthecourseofaweekandaskedalargenumberofrandomlychosenshop-persabouttheroleofluckintheirlives.Thesurveyrevealedthat50percentofpeopleindicatedtheyhadbeenconsistentlyluckyand14percentsaidtheyhadbeenconsistentlyunlucky.Therewasaverystrongtendencyforpeoplewhosaidtheyhadbeenluckyinoneareaoftheirlivestoindicatetheyhadalsobeenluckyinseveralothers.Thesamewastrueforun-luckypeople.Thereweretoomanypeopleconsistentlyexperienc-inggoodandbadluckforitalltobechance.Instead,theremustbesomethingcausingthingstoworkoutconsistentlywellforsomepeopleandconsistentlybadlyforothers.Iconductedscientificresearchwithagroupof400exceptionallyluckyandunluckypeoplefromallwalksoflife.Theyoungestwasaneighteen-year-oldstudent,theoldestwasaneighty-four-year-oldretiredaccoun-tant.Iconductedlengthyinterviewswithmanyofthemandaskedotherstokeepdiaries.Somewereinvitedtomylaboratorytotakepartinexperiments,andotherscompletedcomplicatedpsychologicalquestionnaires.Thisresearchrevealedfourmaindifferencesbe-tweenthelivesofluckyandunluckypeople:Luckypeopleconsistentlyencounterchanceopportunitiesandmeetpeoplewhohaveaverybeneficialeffectontheirlives.Incontrast,unluckypeoplerarelyhavethesesortsofexperiences,ortheymeetpeoplewhohaveanegativeeffectontheirlives.Luckypeoplehaveanabilitytoturntheirbadluckintogoodfortune.Unluckypeoplelackthisabilityandtheirbadluckcausesnothingbutupsetandruin.Luckypeople’sdreams,ambitions,andgoalshaveanuncannyknackofcomingtrue.Unluckypeoplearetheexactopposite.Luckypeoplemakegooddecisionswithoutknowingwhy.Unluckypeople’sdecisionstendtoresultinfailureanddespair.34Doluckyandunluckypeopleapproachlifeinthesameway,andifnot,weredifferentviewpointsresponsibleforcreatingthepositiveandnegativeeventsintheirlives?Often,ourexpectationsmakeadifferenceinwhetherwetrysomething,howhardwepersistinthefaceoffailure,howweinteractwithothers,andhowothersinteractwithus.Iconcentratedmyresearcheffortsonunderstandingthedifferentwaysinwhichluckyandunluckypeoplethoughtandbehaved.PrincipleOne:MakeYourLuckLuckypeoplecreate,noticeandactuponthechanceopportunitiesintheirlives.Thewayluckypeoplethinkandbehavemakesthemfarmorelikelythanotherstocreate,notice,andactuponchanceopportunitiesintheirlives.Peoplewhotendtothinkandbehaveinthesamewayaresaidtohavethesamepersonality.Icomparedthepersonalitiesofluckyandunluckypeopleonthefivedimensionsofpersonality:agreeableness,conscientiousness,extro-version,neuroticism,andopenness.Agreeablenessisameasureofthedegreetowhichsomeoneissympathetictowardothersandwillingtohelpthem.Luckypeoplescorednohigheronagree-ablenessthanunluckypeople.Conscientiousnessisameasureofthedegreetowhichapersonisself-disciplined,strong-willed,anddetermined.Therewasverylittledifferenceintheconscientiousnessscoresofluckyandunluckypeople.Thegroupsdid,however,obtainverydifferentscoresontheremainingthreepersonalitydimensions–extrover-sion,neuroticismandopenness.Thedifferencesexplainedwhyluckypeopleconstantlyencounterchanceopportuni-tiesintheirliveswhileunluckypeopledonot.At211degrees,waterishot.At212degrees,itboils.Andwithboilingwater,comessteam.Andwithsteam,youcanpoweratrain.Oneextradegreecanmakeallthedifference.212ºtheextradegree™ismorethananinspiringbook.Itplacesasingularfocusontheessentialfundamentalofeffort--theprimaryfundamentalthatfeedsallothers.Itspurposeistoins