Make Your Own Luck

"Even a tortoise will arrive at its destination if it's moving."
(Isaac C. Mwiya)

http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/video/small-suburban-home-with-for-sale-sign-on-lawn-stock-video-footage/393-1

My husband's great Aunt Doris had an idea.  "Let's take a walk and go house hunting," she said to her husband, Uncle Ernst.  He did not want to budge, however.  As a German immigrant, he was trying to find work at Stelco, but to no avail.  But Doris persisted until Ernst finally relented.  They set out on their walk in downtown Hamilton and came upon Liberty Street.  As luck would have it, one of the houses was for sale.  The owner happened to be out front.  He and Uncle Ernst struck up a conversation.  It turned out he was quitting his job at Stelco and moving back to Scotland.  Ernst explained how he had been trying to get a job there but had no luck.  The Scottish man promised to put in the good word at Stelco for Ernst.  All he had to do was show up on Monday.  Sure enough, on Monday Ernst went to Stelco where he got a job.  He and Doris bought the house on Liberty Street.  

What would have happened if Ernst had have stayed on the couch that day?  They say that successful people make their own luck.  They don't wait for things to happen.  They make a decision and act.  Business Insider outlines five characteristics about good luck (http://www.businessinsider.com/how-rich-people-make-their-own-luck-2016-2):

1.  Luck hides outside comfort zones.

An open mind and a curious mind is more receptive to possibilities.  

2.  Luck hides inside positivity.

You must see opportunities in order to embrace them.  Problem solving requires creativity and insight.  "Positivity is the fertilizer in which good luck grows."

3.  Luck hides behind courage.

You must take risks.  'Courage is not the absence of fear but the pursuit of something while in the throes of it."  Cultivate the habit of taking educated risks.

4.  Luck hides inside new relationships.  

In order to meet the right person at the right time, you must go out and find him or her.

5.  Luck hides inside intuition.

Intuition is when your subconscious communicates with your conscious.  

http://jmcustomfitness.com/make-your-own-luck/

Practise Positive Thinking

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:  but a broken spirit drieth the bones." (Proverbs 17:22)

"You are the driver of your bus," says one blogger.  "Fuel your ride with positive energy."  Positivity produces energy.  It increases your faith in your abilities.  It inspires others to be positive.  It boosts your mood and your immune system, making you a happier and healthier individual.  

How do you become a more positive person?  You make a conscious choice to think positive thoughts.  When negative thoughts enter your head, you replace them with positive ones.  You repeat daily affirmations to reassure yourself.  You visualize a positive outcome.  

Get in the habit of smiling and laughing on a daily basis.  Help others unselfishly and feel good about yourself.  Practise an attitude of gratitude; count your blessings, especially the small ones.  Surround yourself with positive people.  Remain open to change and to learning.  

Be a winner.  Vince Lombardi, a former football coach, says:  "Get in the habit of winning."  He used to focus on not just winning regular season games, but also pre-season games to get his team in the habit of winning.  A winner gets accustomed to thinking like a winner, of expecting a positive outcome.

In 1932, Minister Norman Vincent Peale arrived in New York City to a position at the Marble Collegiate Church.  He faced a big problem from the start, however:  its pews were almost empty. Undeterred, Dr. Peale starting practising positive thinking, envisioning a full church every week. Over time, his strategy brought hundreds of parishioners into his church, boosting its membership from 600 to 5,000.  Dr. Peale remained at Marble Collegiate Church for 52 years.

In 1952, Dr. Peale wrote the infamous book, The Power of Positive Thinking at http://www.amazon.ca/Discovering-Positive-Thinking-Norman-Vincent/dp/8122204120.  The publication was so well received by the public that it remained on the bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks, was translated into 15 languages and sold 5 million copies.  The world hungers for a positive message.  

Source:  www.successconsciousness.com

Note:  For more information about The Power of Positive Thinking, read my post at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/04/power-of-positive-thinking.html.

Marble Collegiate Church courtesy http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/MarbleCollegiate.html.