We’ve all heard the first rule of bootstrapping and self-sufficiency: you make your own luck.
Other versions of this include “the harder I work, the luckier I get” and “luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity.”
The point is there are opportunities that we can’t seem to explain but truly come out of nowhere to help us along our way. In romance, in business, in life, we’ve all benefited from seemingly random acts of kindness, generosity, and fortuitous good choices.
James Altucher is a bit of a hot mess when you first see him and read about his journey. His curly, overgrown hair makes him look a little crazy. And his rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-
But he has figured some things out now that he is 48, and has managed to write about them in a somewhat manic, but engaging style.
He has a formula for improving your luck. It’s a 4-part daily practice that goes like this:
- Physical – Get moving to get healthy. Do some form of exercise. Break a sweat each day for at least 10 minutes a day. If you can breathe easy when your body is in pain then it’s easier to breathe during difficult situations.
- Emotional – If someone is a drag, cut them out. If someone lifts you up, bring them closer. Energy leaks out of you if someone is draining you. And you never owe anyone an explanation. Explaining is draining.
- Mental – Every day write down ideas. The “idea muscle” atrophies if you don’t use it. Just like walking. If you don’t use your legs for a week, they atrophy. You need to exercise the idea muscle. It takes about 3-6 months to build up once it atrophies.
- Spiritual – Some think spirituality automatically means God or religion, but it doesn’t. Pray, meditate, be grateful, forgive – in whatever language and method you prefer.
Does this really work? Altucher points to highs and lows in his life that are directly correlated to his daily practice of the above. Smiles come easier, ideas flow faster, and people show up to help.
More love, more money, more health – more luck – soon follow.
Improving your luck is possible. And betting on yourself is the first step.
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