By Steve Gillman
Most of us know lucky people, those who seem to lived a charmed life. They may not even be all that smart, and yet they seem to almost stumble into good situations. Opportunities open up for them, things are "handed" to them. Perhaps they win in the stock market, find a dream job, or get married to their ideal spouse.
Then there are the unlucky people. Maybe you know a few of these as well. Some of them may even be very intelligent or well educated, and yet they're unlucky in love, lose money on investments, miss opportunities, and have unexpected bad things happen.
You might be somewhere between these two extremes. You have some good luck, and you have your share of "bad luck" as well. But have you ever tried to learn how to be one of the lucky people?
Generally there are two approaches to the idea of luck. Some think it is a random or mysterious thing that we have no control over, while others say it doesn't exist, that what we call luck is hard work, or a lazy way to explain cause and effect. Yet we all see that some people have easier successes, whether we call it luck or not. What both approaches tend to miss is the obvious question: How can you become one of these "lucky people?"
The answer to that starts with avoiding that mistake right there. Stop arguing about definitions. It's more profitable to make good things happen. Does it really matter if you earn the title of "lucky" even though you feel that "luck" had nothing to do with it? The bottom line is that good results are good results, whatever they are called.
One Thing Lucky People Do Differently
There are many things that lucky people do differently, and there is even serious research that demonstrates this. It has been shown that people who are identified as lucky smile more often, for example. And among those who are superstitious (entirely unnecessary for luck), the research shows lucky people have more positive beliefs, like crossing the fingers, while those who avoid black cats and fear the number thirteen have less luck.
Of all the many things that lucky people do differently, though, perhaps one of the most effective is simply asking for things. How many of us don't ever ask for a nicer table in a restaurant, or ask for a raise at work. Doing so doesn't guarantee anything, but asking certainly increases the odds of receiving. It's safe to say that you'll get more raises and nice tables in life if you ask.
For example, in his book, "Screw It - Let's Do It," Richard Branson tells the story of how he bought a $3,000,000 pound island for $180,000. That's just 7% of the asking price, by the way. Here's the short version of how he did it: He asked. I imagine there were those who would have loved to get the island for twice what he paid, since that would still be an 86% discount. But they probably never made the offer, embarrassed to ask for such a low price.
As a young man I bought my first house by advertising. I put a small ad in the paper saying I was looking for a small home with a small down payment and seller financing. I got a call and soon bought my first home. Ask and you shall receive, as the saying goes.
So are there lucky people? Yes, and if you want to be one of them, consider the following three premises:
1. "Lucky" people are those who have more happy surprises and good situations in their lives.
2. Their good luck is a result of the way they think and act.
3. You can become one of them by learning and applying certain principles (like the one above.)
Copyright Steve Gillman. Learn specific ways to Get Lucky right now at: http://www.GoodLuckSecrets.com
Article Source: http://www.free-articles-zone.com
Are There Lucky People?
Happiness - How To Get It In Three Easy Steps
Happiness - everyone wants it, everyone dreams of having it, but for most of us, happiness just seems like an impossible dream. In the world of today, when everything is so fast-paced and stressful, how can happiness ever be achieved? And while it may be all right for those who have money and can buy their way into being happy, for most everybody else it just seems like life is destined to be miserable. With all these disadvantages, how can happiness ever be possible?
Well to begin with, it is no more difficult to become happy in the modern world than it has ever been. And the good news is that happiness can start from where you are, whatever the circumstances. It doesn't matter if you have no money, once you start getting happiness by applying these Three Easy Steps, everything else will follow, including prosperity.
Step One: The first thing you must consider is that no one else can be relied on to make you happy. Yes it might happen, but ultimately your own happiness has to come from within you. So start for yourself, and don't wait for other people. Also it is important that you don't take too much notice of the opinions of others. Once you have decided for yourself what makes you happy, then go with that, whatever other people say. We don't mean that you should be arrogant, but you should be self-reliant.
Step Two: This leads on to the next step, which is to spend some time deciding what makes you happy. If you think carefully about this, you may find that what you come up with is different to what other people may expect of you. Think about those things in your life which make you happy, but also about those things that are not currently around you in your life but which you would like to have. It does not have to be only objects that you think about, it can be ideas, or relationships, anything you choose.
Step Three: Once you have made a good long list of what makes you happy, then focus all your attention on those things or ideas or people. As you give them your attention more and more, you will find that they begin to figure more importantly in your life. As this happens, you will certainly find that more opportunities arise for you to be happy.
The important thing is not to allow other people to drag you down to their own miserable level. This is a characteristic of negative people, they have a need for someone else to share their miserable outlook on life.
Think for yourself, decide what makes you happy, and then focus all your attention on that. There you have the Three Easy Steps to happiness!
Do You Want Happiness?
Whatever you focus on, you will attract more of it.
So if you want to be happy, then be happy.
Most of us wait for something to come along that will make us happy - we say, yes I'll be happy then, when that thing happens, but until that time, no I'm not happy.
This is doing things the wrong way round.
You need to get happy first, then you will start to find more and more stuff to be happy about. Why not try it? It can't do any harm to just try it.
Maybe you don't see much to be happy about. Well OK, just focus on that little thing that there is, and keep your focus on that for as long as you can. It won't be long before you begin to see a lot more to be happy about.
Go on, try it now...
