When I look back at the last 45 years, I feel the greatest factor in
any success I have had, as a university student, diplomat or
businessman, has come mainly from being lucky.
When Napoleon was asked if he preferred courageous generals or
brilliant generals, he replied neither. He preferred lucky generals.
So, how do you get lucky?
These are seven habits that brought me luck.
1) Be adventurous but do not bet the farm.
Every thing that I achieved came from taking risks. I left the
comfort of my hometown university to study abroad. I confronted my boss
on something that really mattered to me. I quit the company and started
out on my own. I lent money to a supplier against very little security,
and on and on. These were the moves that brought me the greatest
rewards. But in all cases, I could afford to lose. I was not going to be
exiled to Elba if I lost. I did not always develop a business plan, or
do a detailed ROI analysis. I followed my gut feel, but I knew that I
could cope with failure.
2) Start by trusting people.
You cannot do it alone. You will only achieve your goals with the
help of others: friends and family, colleagues, employers and employees,
suppliers and customers. If you are suspicious by nature, or if you
like to do everything yourself, your chances of getting lucky are
diminished. Because it’s usually others that bring you luck.
3) Play your strong cards.
Know your strengths and try to use them. Know your weakness and try
to avoid having to use them. Don’t pretend to have strengths that you
don’t have. You can develop strengths and overcome weaknesses. But make
sure you identify your specific skills, aptitudes, knowledge, and
contacts and use them wherever you can. This will increase you chances
of getting lucky.
4) Give more than you take.
If you want to attract lucky people to your campaign, be prepared to
give. You need to go the extra mile for others without worrying too much
about keeping score. In my experience the old saying “what goes around
comes around” is definitely true in business and in life, and “it”
comes around when you least expect it, believe me.
5) Get and stay fit.
I am not referring to only to physical fitness. I mean your overall
mental, physical and psychological well being. Eat right and stay
active. Keep learning and improving yourself. Look on the bright side.
Not everything is going to go your way. Believe in your chances of
success, even in the face of difficulties. Never deal with tough
problems at night when you are tired. Health and energy will bring you
luck, and the strength to rebound from reverses.
6) Be a good communicator.
You have to communicate who you are and what you want. Work on your
language skills. I mean your use of words, your ability to speak and
write clearly and simply but forcefully. If you have the time, learn
another language. Knowing many languages has greatly increased my luck
and business opportunities. In our global village, the importance of
languages will only increase. Japanese is now the biggest blogging
language on the web!
7) Be true to your craft and trade.
An accountant can write a good business plan and do the ROI analysis,
but is unlikely to make a good shoemaker. Every start-up, every
enterprise, every venture, is based on a craft or specialized field of
knowledge. Be true to the Hippocratic Oath of your chosen field of
activity. People will know if you are for real and then you will start
to get lucky.
Give luck a chance to happen! Practice these seven habits. You can
start as a student or any time you want, but there are no guarantees.
Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, who has had his own
company in the international trade of forest products for over 20
years. Steve founded The Linguist Institute Ltd. in 2002 to develop a new approach to language learning using the web. The new LingQ
system for learning multiple languages is now available in Beta. Steve
speaks nine languages fluently and is currently learning Russian using
LingQ. Steve maintains a blog on language learning.
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