Luck isn’t RANDOM…

You are so lucky… I hear it all the time. From people who perhaps look at you and admire you and some may even be a little jealous, but all have one common wish – to have lady luck smile on them so they can be like you. To you I say, luck is not random; it is about doing things that create an impression that you are someone worth helping and deserving good rewards. It is about placing yourself in the path of good fortune, then turning to God for help and guidance.

You need prayer, honesty and hard work to bring luck your way – you can’t just do nothing and expect lady luck to come knocking – it doesn’t happen that way. I believe I am lucky because God has bestowed on me so many favours and this is why I praise and thank Him every day. You too can be lucky. Here are a few tips to those who wish for nothing but luck.

Believe that you are lucky.People who consider themselves lucky tend to recall positive events from their past – my first job at the Nation newspapers; finding an apartment at Nairobi West that I called home in my bachelor days; meeting the man who would later become my husband. These are among many past positive events that still bring a smile to my face when I recall them and say to myself – wasn’t I lucky!

Those who consider themselves unlucky tend to dwell on the negative (the job they didn’t get, the guy they didn’t catch, the home they didn’t buy).  I have had so many missed opportunities in my life but you know what, they don’t feature anywhere in my present life or my future plans – not that degree programme I so much wanted to pursue but didn’t get in, instead I landed at the School of  Journalism; or that plot next to my house that was offered to me but was slow to act. In my current life, this is history. Full stop. I have what many would call selective memory – I recall the bright side of my past and this outlook creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Try doing that if you want to attract luck.

Cultivate the impression that life is easy for you. No one needs to know how hard you work or how many setbacks you have faced. I try not to show the world the burden on my shoulders unless they can become part of lightening the burden. That’s me – you won’t tell when I am having a bad day because I will not show it. The smile you see on this page is me, no matter what challenges I am going through. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a mechanism of resolving challenges – I do, but they need not become your problem unnecessarily. If you become a “no-problem personality” – someone who makes things look easy and always comes through – you will be perceived as a huge asset not just at work, but in the family and amongst friends.

Majority of people want to deal with people who are not complicated and can deliver results because you will simplify their lives. And the more you do that, the more they will want to have you around because you will not be part of their problem, which means you will be at the top of their minds when opportunities arise. Nobody wants to be around complicated people – those who always complain – if they have a cold, they want the whole world to know, if they have a small argument with their spouse, the whole office will know, if they have financial issue, they will borrow from right, left and centre. Don’t bring your problems to other people because they too have their own problems to deal with.

Crank up your charisma a notch or two. If you project a ‘can-do’ spirit, a sense of vitality and a blend of enthusiasm and interest in other people, you will naturally attract luck. Why? Because by exuding warmth and energy, not only will you make other people feel good, but also leave a lasting positive impression. People want to be around charismatic people, and they want to help them because people like to root for winners. I just love being around positive people who never say ‘never’ or ‘can’t be done’. Look around you, you will notice these are people who seem so lucky – everything they touch turns to gold, or so you think.

Hang out with lucky people. By associating with positive people, you will not only burnish your positive personality, but you will also surround yourself with people who can motivate and help you. Plus, you can witness all the little things that positive people do to set themselves up for luck – whether it is networking, going to the right places, reading the right books or being prayerful. If you borrow their strategies, you will be helping good fortunes smile upon you often.

So next time you look at me or any other person and think they are lucky, think again. By taking these steps, you will gain a more upbeat outlook, a feeling that every day could be your lucky day and that even if things do go badly, you can learn from the experience and move forward. To be successful, you have to be smart, talented and a hard worker, but luck is the element people often overlook. Luck is about stimulating opportunities and knowing how to capitalise on them. Luck requires involvement – your personal  involvement.

emathu@parents.co.ke