Making Your Own Good Luck
As a solopreneur it would be easy for me to continually focus inwardly, not noticing the energetic world around me. As an entrepreneur or leader in your company, the same is true for you. Your inward might be into your business, or into your industry, or into your profession. All of those examples interfere with you becoming your best.
I started to write “I’m lucky that…” but that wouldn’t be entirely true. I’ve made most of my luck, both the good and the bad. The same is true for you. Each individual makes their own luck. Even the lottery winners had to buy a ticket.
This morning I had the pleasure of a 90-minute zoom meeting with some of the brightest people in the English-speaking world. I’ve actually met two of them face-to-face; the others I know only electronically. But each of them impacts my life each time we talk. And I theirs.
That international group is a subset of the collection of very wise thinkers that have become an important part of my life. I am committed to building and maintaining those relationships to further develop myself as a human being. Talk about unfinished work!
The luck of knowing those people emanated from a willingness to reach out in what would be uncomfortable scenarios for many. The upside / downside calculation is fairly easy for me. Downside: I am rejected; Upside: I get to know some amazing people, as well as some who are perhaps not as amazing as they appear on the surface,
Are you reaching out to others who can help you achieve your personal mission? Are you reaching out to others whom you can help?
When I worked in the corporate world as an employee, I held the stupid belief that I was paid to focus completely internally on company issues, not realizing that by connecting with others I could better help my employer. I even chose to not attend an event honoring me as one of the five most important women in purchasing. How short sighted of me!
Have you canceled participation in conferences, high-level education, or developing relationships with great people outside your industry? Why? Whether you are two years from retirement and don’t want to “waste” the company’s money, or there are budget cutbacks that you want to support, how does it help the organization for you to confine your thinking to what you already know?
Even if your personal mission is to spread your love of poetry written by monks who took a vow of silence, you need to learn from others to make it a reality.
I love to have my thinking challenged, in both content and process. The group I talked with this morning is great at doing both, often indirectly. Just listening to them helps me think better.
What is limiting your thinking on matters of importance to you? What is slowing you down? What are you doing to create your own good luck?
I encourage you to think of 5 people you know somewhat who could help you overcome those obstacles, merely by being more in your life. You may find a few of those are people you interact with regularly, but with whom you do not dive into anything of value.
Make your own good luck. It’s much easier and more fun than living a life filled with self-induced bad luck.
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