Are You Feeling Lucky?
Reboot Your Brain
By Jon Bradshaw
I KNEW I WAS IN TROUBLE. It was just past 11:30 p.m. on a dark, bitterly cold, mid-winter evening in 1998. Black cabs rushed by, and small flakes of snow began to fall around me. I was standing in Earls Court Road, West London, having spent much of the day in the well-known exhibition center and, while I forget the name of the exhibition I’d attended, I do remember that I’d spent the few hours since I’d left in an excellent pub, a fact not entirely unrelated to the predicament in which I found myself. Upon leaving, I’d met friends and, in the traditional English way, as the good times flowed so did the warm beer.
The resulting state I found myself in—which I shall politely describe as slightly worse for wear—had resulted in me losing quite a few personal possessions, including my train ticket home. In itself this was not the end of the world but, as I approached the ATM to withdraw some cash I realized that, having only just received my bank card, I’d yet to be sent its security (PIN) number, a fact that rendered the card useless (and 12 years ago we could not simply pay at an unattended ticket machine), so with the tube station unmanned and the last train leaving in 12 minutes, I genuinely had no idea how I’d negotiate the 70-mile journey home.
What happened next is related without exaggeration or poetic licence. As I stood there the ATM, which I assure you did not have a human within 10 feet of it, lit up, emitted a high-pitched beep and proceeded to slowly and methodically discharge a crisp £20 note that duly hung there waiting to be claimed. Now, as an Englishman, you’ll recognize that I had to honor my in-built sense of fair play and honesty so, rather than seizing this godsend and racing to the tube station, I waited rather sheepishly for several minutes to see if anyone claimed it. No one did and so, with a ticket costing less than £15, it was with much relief that two hours later I found myself at home sipping a much-needed mug of tea.
While unusual, this is one of numerous true stories that relate to luck and the effect it has had on my life. As a teenager I picked up the nickname “Mr. Horseshoe,” which related to the charmed life I seemed to lead, that saw me enjoy large and frequent aspects of good fortune, a situation that continues to this day.
Take a moment to consider luck and the role it has played in your life thus far. Do you believe in luck, and if so, do you consider yourself lucky? Are you superstitious? Do you play the lottery? Do you have a lucky charm? Perhaps you believe in karma and think everything, lucky or not, happens for a reason?
Professor Richard Wiseman runs the Psychology Department at the University of Hertfordshire (U.K.) and is a popular author and broadcaster. His book, The Luck Factor, contains results from years of scientific study and lists principals which, if followed, he claims can significantly improve our luck. His four main principals get subdivided into 12 sub-principals, but in essence they broadly offer the following observations: Lucky people create, notice and act upon opportunity; are generally more relaxed and open minded to new experiences; notice and act upon their intuition; expect luck to happen; have exceptionally positive mindsets; and learn from their bad luck.
While any claims that these are fail-safe ways of improving your luck seem wide of the mark—surely they just show behavioral traits of people who already consider themselves lucky—they do form a pretty positive mindset in which to start a new year (and if anyone gets lucky due to them, even better).
As for me, recently my luck seems to have run out—the private jet I bought with some of my lottery winnings developed a fault yesterday, resulting in the cancellation of my monthly weekend trip to the Caribbean. Forced to spend a few days at my country residence instead, my driver fell ill, and the Rolls Royce got a puncture! So much for Mr. Horseshoe...
I wish you a happy, safe and lucky start to 2010. One+
JON BRADSHAW presents and trains internationally on a variety of subjects in the field of human behavior and performance. He is also director of business development for IMEX, the European Meetings and Events Exhibition and can be can be contacted via www.equinoxmotivation.com.