How to Make Your Own Luck

Do you feel lucky? Do you punk? I'm just kidding. But surprisingly, that is the topic that we are talking about today. I'm Jana Henman and today we are discussing all about luck. How do you create your own? How come some people are more lucky than others? A lot of people chalk it up to chance when in reality it's a blend of awareness, belief, and the right mental state. There's more to luck than what we think. There's an element of synchronicity in there somewhere. You know, right place, right time, right people? A lot of people think luck is a simple lightning strike. And synchronicity is just a cool coincidence. But what if both are trainable and repeatable in our lives? Luck is typically defined as success or failure that's brought about by chance. But in practice, it's being open and present and ready to receive. Psychologist Richard Wisman, a professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, spent over a decade studying more than 400 individuals who self-identified as either lucky or unlucky. He looked at their behaviors, mindsets, daily habits, and their emotional patterns. What did he find? Lucky people are more open to opportunities. They follow their intuition. They expect good fortune and they turn negative outcomes into positive ones. In short, their luck wasn't random. It was behaviorable, trainable, and repeatable. He even created a luck school where he trained people to become more luckier in their lives. The results, most participants reported a significant increase in life satisfaction, optimism, and yes, more lucky outcomes. So yeah, luck is less about rolling the dice and more about mindset and right actions. So that brings us to synchronicity. What is that all about? Carl Young coined the term in a way to describe meaningful coincidences that we experience in our lives. For example, you think of someone and they text you. You feel pulled to stop randomly at this new shop you've never visited and you land a new client. You might let go of something emotionally and then a new opportunity comes in. In short, synchronicity is not magic. It is resonance. And it happens when your inner mental and emotional state kind of lines up with your outward reality. And here's the kicker. You create the conditions for synchronicity. And you do that by the way you think, you feel, and how you show up. Author and speaker Anita Morjani says, "Synchronicities are signs from the universe showing us that we are in alignment with our path. When we are being true to ourselves, the universe mirrors that truth back to us." So for those of you who have never heard of Anita Morjani, she wrote an international best-selling book called Dying to Be Me. And surprisingly, it was her first book that was ever published. and now it's available in all these different countries. Great book, by the way. The book chronicles her death experience. She actually died of cancer and she remembers dying and in the book she talks about uh her experience after death. And when she came back to life, because she chose to, uh, all the chemo and radiation that she was being put through just to make sure the cancer wasn't there anymore, she didn't experience any side effects from it. I love this book because one of my main takeaways is that she talks about synchronicity, how we all have emotions inside of us, and our emotions are letting us know whether we're on track or off track of what it is that we're wanting to experience. And when you are on track and you're lining up with your again your outward reality, these little synchronicities start happening. As it turns out, science is a piece of the puzzle, but it's not the whole puzzle. And keep in mind, synchronicity is not about controlling timing. It's about being in harmony with whatever unfolds or what you want to unfold. And you can create the right conditions for synchronicity in the way you think, you feel, and the way that you show up dayto-day, moment to moment. When you are prepared, open, and present, that's when it kicks in. We're talking about your skill set, your mindset, your readiness. You're present. You're not zoned out. You're here and now, and you're open to opportunities. In other words, you're expecting goodness without gripping onto it too tight. And when you do this, you activate your RAS system or your recticular activating system within your brain. That's the part of your brain that's constantly scanning your environment for information that you think is relevant. And again, asking the right questions makes all the difference. I wonder what amazing opportunity is going to find me today. What would it take for me to have the most amazing day ever? How awesome would it be if I pulled right up to the office and I had a front row parking spot? Thinking these kinds of thoughts and asking these kinds of questions when you're open and present and ready, that activates that RAS system. And bonus points, if you ask your brain questions you actually want the answers to, your brain will again sift through the endless sea of information and pick out those bits that reflect what it is that you want to experience. So, here are a few habits that can help boost both luck and synchronicity. One, soft asking, setting intentions without pressure. Don't beg. Don't demand. Just kind of gently lean into what it is that you want to experience. And let your body and mind kind of orient itself to that. Another one, act on micro curiosities. whatever little nudge you get. Hey, I think I'm going to text this friend I haven't spoken to in a while. Or, hey, that book's been sitting on my shelf and I I've been wanting to read it and I kind of feel like I want to just even if it's just one page, follow those micro nudges. Send the text. Stay at that event just a couple minutes longer. These micro moves create the collision points for synchronicities to meet up. If you want something great, but don't choke the outcome, right? You have to be kind of loose with it. In a few videos ago, I was talking about um you know when you're in school and you have a crush on that one boy and all the girls have a crush on him and he's cool and he's calm and he's collected and he really just doesn't care about anything. He kind of sits back and yeah, that'd be nice to have, but I don't need it. That's the energy that creates and moves worlds. In other words, number three, ditch the grip. Desperation repels, East attracts. Have you ever met someone at an event or maybe you're out dating and they just have this energy of like, I want you, I need you, I must have you, I do anything for you, and a few minutes later you're like, oh gosh, I don't I don't want to be anywhere around this person. That's kind of what desperation feels like, right? But if you're again that cool, calm, leanback kid who he knows everyone wants him, but he's like, "If I get this thing that I want, great. If not, I'll live. I'll be fine." For some reason, more of those good things go to him. Next one, ask beautiful questions. Instead of asking, "How come things never go my way?" ask, "What unexpected blessing is coming my way today?" Instead of asking, "How come people in this town drive like maniacs?" Instead, ask, "What would it take for me to arrive at my destination in a cool, calm, and safe space pace?" And number five, treat small winds like signs. You got to make a big deal out of even the smallest things. Someone bought you a coffee. Great. Someone you don't know complimented you unexpectedly. Awesome. Stumbled into a perfect parking spot right up in front of where you wanted to be. Fantastic. I do this funny thing with my husband. Um, it just happened uh two nights ago. We were driving to meet up with a group of friends at this very, very busy restaurant. We pull into the parking lot and there are no parking spaces. There's people driving around and then right up front, right by the door, a parking space opens up and I always turn and joke to him, "Oh yeah, sorry. I called ahead and told them to save that spot for us." And he laughs and he probably thinks that this is all silly, but for me, I'm like, "No, that happens a lot more than you might realize." I say it to him all the time. Every time we're driving someplace and it looks like there's no parking spaces and there's always one up front, I say, "Oh yeah, I called ahead. I let them know that we were coming, so they saved that spot for us." It's a joke. It's fun. It's light. But hey, it works. And it might not seem like a big deal, but it kind of is. You know, the more you focus on it and the more you celebrate it, the more you're going to get of that. the more you're training your brain to pick out those small wins and it will happen more frequently for you. Coming back to Dr. Wisman, his studies show that lucky people are more relaxed and open. This makes them more open to experiencing opportunities and chances. Other studies found that if someone believes in luck, it can actually improve their performance. In one, golfers who felt like they had a lucky golf ball often outperformed those who just thought it was a regular old golf ball. They performed significantly better. And you can look up Dr. Weissman on YouTube. There's a bunch of videos on him. Final thoughts, luck isn't just luck, and synchronicities are not random. They are the natural byproducts of openness, availability, and internal alignment. Train your brain, trust your gut, tune into life, and watch what starts randomly showing up. And if you want to see if this really works for you, challenge yourself. Give yourself a 30-day challenge. And I would always recommend starting small. You don't want to start, I mean, maybe you could start a 30-day challenge and say, "I want to win the power ball." That's fine, and it could work for you. But if you notice any resistant in your thoughts or your emotions whenever you think or say something like that, maybe start small first, okay? And it could be something like getting a free cup of coffee or getting a compliment from a random stranger. Every day for 30 days, just take a few minutes and say, "What would it take for me to experience a compliment from a stranger? How can I get a free cup of coffee today?" And just kind of sit with it for a little bit every day. and then train your brain a couple times throughout the day to look for it. You know, maybe you're in a coffee shop and the person in front of you gets a free cup of coffee. Awesome. That's evidence that you're training your brain. Your brain's like information like this. And you say, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm looking for." And the brain goes, "Ah, okay. Well, I'm going to start looking for more instances like that." Well, thank you so much for tuning in. Remember to like, follow, subscribe, follow us on all of our social channels, and sign up for our newsletter. I'm Jana Henman and I will see you next time. [Music]