From Chance to Choice: Unravelling Luck in Career Success

Luck is an elusive concept. As Richard Branson famously says, ‘Luck is one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated factors in life.’

We have seen successful business titans attributing their success to luck.

Warren Buffett said, ‘I am just lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.’

Bill Gates said, ‘I was lucky to be a young person when the digital revolution was just getting under way, and my Microsoft colleagues and I had the chance to help shape it.’

Elon Musk wrote on twitter, ‘Luck is the greatest superpower.’

On the other hand, we have seen candidates blaming their bad luck for their missed sales targets, setbacks, or stalled careers.

What is ‘luck’ really?

Richard Wiseman has spent eight years researching into ‘luck’. In one of his experiments, he gave his control group of lucky and unlucky people a newspaper and asked them to count the number of photographs it contained. On average, lucky people took much less time completing the task. As they could spot a half-page message in type on the second page of the newspaper, ‘STOP COUNTING- THERE ARE 43 PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS NEWSPAPER.’ Unlucky people also missed out on the second huge message placed half-way through the newspaper, ‘STOP COUNTING, TELL THE EXPERIMENTER YOU HAVE SEEN THIS AND WIN $100.’

Together with a range of other tests, Wiseman’s research concludes that luck is not innate, but rather a product of these four traits/ habits:  

1.       Lucky people notice and act upon chance opportunities in their lives.

2.       Lucky people trust and rely on their instincts.

3.       Lucky people expect good fortune.

4.       Lucky people transform their bad luck into good fortune.

Luckily, Wiseman identified that luck is not predestined. We can work on our chance to becoming luckier.

On becoming ‘lucky’: how you can cultivate a winning mindset

While ‘luck’ might play a role in some instances, it is essential to remember that our mindset and behaviour significantly influence our experiences in life. We cannot control every external factor, but we can shape our attitudes and actions to increase our chances of success. Adapted from Wiseman’s research output, here are some actionable items that can help cultivate a ‘lucky’ mindset:

1.      How to notice and act upon chance opportunities in lives:

·         Build and maintain a strong ‘network of luck’. Think twice when you turn down a party invitation.

·         Develop a relaxed attitude towards life. 

·         Say yes to new experiences in their life. Just as entering a lottery, you have got to be in to win!

2.      How to trust and rely on your instincts:

·         Practise meditation and clearing your mind from time to time.

3.      How to cultivate an optimistic outlook on life:

·         Practise affirmation in the morning convincing yourself you are a lucky person.

·         Unlucky people struggle to even get started, set attainable goals to motivate yourself into action.

4.      How to transform bad luck into good fortune:

·         Ask yourself if unlucky event really matters.

·         Change your perspective to see the silver lining of bad incidents.

·         Compare yourself with those who are less fortunate. Practise gratitude by listing out what you are thankful for.

Embracing opportunities as a means to a fulfilling career

Lucky people expect themselves to be lucky and expectations make a great difference as to whether we try something, how hard we persist in the face of failure, how we interact with others and how others interact with us.

By adopting a ‘lucky’ mindset through optimism, openness, and persistence, anyone can enhance their chances of career success. So, take control of your destiny and watch as opportunities align in your favour.

Just as Kromboltz, a famous career counsellor, advocates, ‘Serendipity is not serendipitous. Serendipity is ubiquitous!’ Chances are there when we are ready to grab them.