Business & Career Luck

[Published in Manila Bulletin last Feb. 14, 2010]

Have you ever met someone who seems to have the Midas Touch? You know who I mean---those people who enjoy bountiful blessings in business, career and life. They walk through life effortlessly and appear to have everything go their way. They exude light auras and happy spirits. And you can sense just by being with them that they are indeed lucky or blessed with good fortune.

In comparison, there are also people who are often down on their luck. They seem to carry heavy burdens on their shoulders. And even though they play by the rules and they put in a lot of effort in everything that they do, they can’t seem to get that lucky break. They struggle through life with discontent and sometimes even experience never-ending catastrophes one after another. It almost seems as if a dark cloud constantly hovers above them. As a result, their energies get depleted and they feel defeated.

Now let me ask you, which group do you belong to? Do you believe that you are a lucky person? Or have you experienced a string of bad events lately that make you think otherwise? Do you even believe in luck in the first place? And if so, would you like to increase your luck in business, career or life in general?

In the spirit of the Chinese New Year, allow me to give you some insights on how you can increase your luck this year. I’m not a geomancer or a feng shui expert, so I’m not going to be talking about zodiac signs and charms. Instead, from a trainer’s point of view, let me share with you attitudinal and behavioral advice that can make you luckier this year and the years to come. I do consider myself a lucky person and I’d like to share with you things that I have learned on the subject of luck.

First, let us try to understand what luck is. There are different definitions and philosophical thoughts about this subject, but let’s simplify it. For me, Luck is Good Fortune, whether you work hard for it or not. There are three types of luck:

Heavenly Luck. This is luck that you cannot control such as when, where and which family and social class you were born into as well as your genetic make-up.

Earthly Luck. This refers to environmental and elemental influences in your life or how harmonious you are with your surroundings. This is where feng shui fits in. When you are in harmony with the earth, life gets better.

Manly Luck. This is luck that you create for yourself through the choices that you make, how you develop yourself as a person, how you live your life, your values and attitude. Your thoughts, feelings and actions day in and day out directly affects your life and your luck.

Since Manly Luck is the one that we have control over, that’s what we’ll talk about today. Without further ado, here’s how you can increase your manly luck:

Attitude of Thanksgiving.
Being lucky is not about the absence of problems or bad events. Lucky people do have problems, some of which are greater than you can imagine. The difference between lucky and unlucky people is how they look at these occurrences. Lucky people tend to accept problems as bumps on the road. Rather than have a “woe to me” attitude, they tend to look at problems as blessings in disguise. Once they see the light, they become thankful for their life and the blessings that they already have. They live life with gratitude. When the Ondoy tragedy happened last year, a friend of mine got stuck on the road and took refuge on a gas station’s rooftop while his car got washed away. He never complained or whined about it because he felt other people had it worse.

Self-Prophecy & the Law of Attraction
My mother insisted and trained me to smile always. She believed that smiling increases your luck and I totally agree with her. This may sound basic but not a lot of people understand that when you sincerely smile (the pure happy kind of smile) and give goodwill, the world smiles back at you often with a dose of luck with it. Similarly, if you believe good things will happen to you, the world will connive to make it happen for you. But if you think in a negative way, for instance believing that “whenever I earn money, an emergency happens and takes it away”. Guess what?! That will happen. Be very careful with what you put in your head, as it has a way of manifesting itself as real.

The Choices that You Make
Now if you have positive thoughts, a pure heart and a light happy spirit, you will attract more people in your life. But you also have to make the right choices and ensure that you attract the right kinds of people. There are people who will bring you up and give you peace and prosperity; there are those who can drag you down and give you misery, even if they are good people. So choose to be with people who are lucky and blessed as their success can rub on you. Your choices in life will rule your destiny so strive to make the right choices every day.

Right Place, Right time
If you want to increase your business and career luck, you’ve got to get out there. Seek exposure and network. Many lucky people got their breaks because they were out there meeting people and finding opportunities. With our busy lives, there are meetings or social events that we would much rather pass up as the lure of our comfy beds seems more appealing than having to hobnob with strangers. But more often than not, being in the right place at the right time happens away from your bed. Sometimes, you just have to be present to get that big break.

When Preparation Meets Opportunity
There is no such thing as overnight success. Most people who seem to have become rich or famous overnight, had to work hard and carry their share of trials for several years. They have developed themselves constantly, so much so that when the opportunity knocked, they were ready, open and quick enough to act on the opportunity. For luck really happens when preparation meets opportunity, and if your mind is open and wise enough to spot it when it comes.

Are there things that are preventing you from getting lucky? Take the time and effort to think it through, it’s worth it. Having luck makes life easier and it feels good. Believe that you can create your own good fortune, you deserve it. Good Luck and Happy Chinese New Year to you!

Jhoanna O. Gan-So is president of Businessmaker Academy and the managing director for HR Club Philippines. Her company conducts seminars on Business Management, Human Resource, Sales and Marketing Courses. They have also recently launched the INSTANT HR TOOLKIT, a service that provides HR practitioners with over 100 ready-to-use downloadable, customizable and printable HR manuals, contract, letters forms and templates. To know more about HR seminars that they offer, you may visit www.businessmaker-academy.com or call (632)6874645. To know more about the Instant HR Toolkit, you may visit www.hrclubphilippines.com. You may email your comments and questions to: mbworklife@gmail.com