Calm Cash

Have you heard someone say “he was just born lucky”. Today we will talk about the science of luck, optimism, mindset and ways you can change your luck to create more opportunity in your life. Spoiler alert…you can!

Professor Wiseman is an innovative psychologist from England whose field of study is luck. For over 17 years he has studied extraordinary men and women who were amazingly accomplished in their fields compared to us “average” joes.  Through extensive research and experimentation, Professor Wiseman was able to prove that  "lucky" people see more opportunities directly influencing their overall success. My favorite experiment he did is called the Newspaper Experiment. He put a group of lucky and unlucky people together and gave them a newspaper. For our younger listeners, if you don’t know what that is, google what is a newspaper? He asked those in the test to count the number of pictures inside.

On average, the unlucky people took about 2 minutes to count page-by-page all the pictures. The lucky cohort took just a few seconds. How is that possible? Well on page 2 of the newspaper in very large type was the following sentence “Stop Counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper”. The lucky group saw it and stopped right away. The unlucky kept on counting. Just for fun, Dr. Wiseman placed a second set of large text halfway through the newspaper that said “Stop Counting, Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $250”. The unlucky group missed this opportunity because they were still counting photographs. They just didn’t see this opportunity right in front of their face.

The reality is that people aren’t born lucky. And luck isn’t random. Your thoughts and behaviors drive the good or bad things that happen day to day. What Wiseman found is that we generate our own luck and capitalize on opportunities that are in the world through 4 basic principles:

1. Lucky people are skilled at noticing or creating opportunities (like we saw in the newspaper experiment)

2. Lucky people listen to their intuition…said differently, they trust their gut

3. Lucky people have positive mindsets and expectations that help shape their successes

4. Lucky people show incredible resilience so when they encounter “bad luck” or negative experiences they can turn it into good

The most interesting thing to me is that Richard Wiseman then setup a luck school to see if he could teach the unlucky people to be luckier and see more opportunities. After 30 days, 80% of the attendees felt happier, more satisfied with their lives and careers and reported to be luckier.

If you want to boost your luck, here are two easy ideas from Wiseman’s luck school that we can all do. The first principle is all about noticing opportunity and lucky things that happen to us. He suggests keeping a luck diary. At the end of each day, spend a couple of moments writing down the positive and lucky things that happened.  Another way to boost your luck is to check your routine. If you are stuck in a rut and doing the same things and seeing the same people every day, you could be missing out. The research found that lucky people are open to and try new experiences. This makes them meet new people, see new opportunities to make relationships but to also make money and we like that on Calm Cash.  Ultimately the lucky people take more risks which creates more upside for big success. So if you feel like you’re in a rut with your routine, mix is up and see what happens. Sit in a different place at work. Take the train instead of driving into work. Eat at new restaurants. Maybe you will add a lot more entries to your luck diary and find personal and financial opportunities along the way.

Just remember, you make your own luck and your own success

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Start your New Year's Resolutions for your money with Calm Cash to learn how emotions cloud our financial decision making, ways we can manage our emotional state with Box Breathing and Calm Breathing and get some quick tips on saving for a rainy day.   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/calmcash/message

Do you ever stress out about money?  You're not alone!

Calm Cash explores strategies to manage stress, boost optimism and grow resilience while helping you turn your money dreams into reality. Subscribe now to find a happier life and a healthier wallet.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/calmcash/message

Do you ever stress out about money?  You're not alone!

Calm Cash explores strategies to manage stress, boost optimism and grow resilience while helping you turn your money dreams into reality. Subscribe now to find a happier life and a healthier wallet.

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/calmcash/message