Comments on: Ten Tactics for Improving Your Luck

By: Craft Stew

Craft Stew — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:34:02 +0000

I love all your articles, but this is the best general article you’ve written in a long time.

I especially liked the part about holding to extra money. Keeping a few extra dollars in your pocket is so easy, but you’d be surprised at how long it took for me to learn to do it.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:26:04 +0000

Another way to improve your luck (and save money) is not to do stupid things like speeding, tail gating, running red lights, not stopping before turning right on red. A good driving record with no moving violations means your car insurance is cheaper, you don’t waste money on traffic tickets, you don’t lose precious time in court, and you and your passengers are safer. Also you won’t show up on the TV show “Speeders” looking like a fool or worse! A friend of mine used to say, The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

By: sk

sk — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:15:28 +0000

You say not to expect anything in return for helping people, but what if you are in the situation where you constantly help people even to your own detriment…. yet when you could do with a hand no one is around.

By: Andy @ Retire at 40

Andy @ Retire at 40 — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:32:28 +0000

For me, items 1 (carry a notepad) and 6 (help others) are the most important. I followed up item one by talking about Ideas and Actioning Them since I think it is hugely important. And as you say, it's not about getting all the luck or even improving it, it's all about sheer hard work and determination ... so if that's about creating your own luck, then a few of us here will have tonnes of it! :-)

By: merikari

merikari — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:58:11 +0000

If you want to read more about “luck”, check out The Luck Factor by Richard Wiseman. He studied people who considered themselfs very lucky or unlucky. Interesting read, and some of his conclusions are similar to the ones expressed in this article.

By: shahrul azwad

shahrul azwad — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:21:29 +0000

My views on comment no. 24;

There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert. This is not what the article is all about. I would be easier if talking to strangers comes naturally. I agree on the benefit when “you know people who know people”, but it was never my motive for meeting new people. I enjoy meeting people but there were also times when I just want to sit by the corner during a party.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:47:47 +0000

Regarding comment 12 and your idea about writing everything down, I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts on a process to organize all of the notes, and also ensure follow-through. This is where I always tend to drop the ball.

By: Nicola

Nicola — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:43:56 +0000

It all sounds utterly exhausting to me. Why shouldn’t you sit back and be quiet in a group situation? What’s wrong with being an introvert? Why not be spiky and irritable sometimes?

Generally I love reading your blog but I’m not keen on this post.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:15:01 +0000

Thanks for the post, Trent! You are an awesome writer.

I like the notebook suggestion. Also, I have been caught without cash many times when I needed it.

I don’t think you meant to say “the opportunity to buy a dozen ears of delicious Peaches…” You may want to switch around the words “Cream sweet Corn” and “peaches”.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:04:22 +0000

I’ve found the social suggestions all quite useful. Many of my jobs have been the result of networking—maybe not to land the job itself, but to get in the position where I’m interviewing. Just mentioning our need for it on my blog got us an excellent and inexpensive computer which was exactly what we were looking for.

Then networking with other web designers/coders and bloggers has really helped me find resources for both. And I hope I’ve helped them in return (or paid it back to others).

I don’t know whether I’m naturally lucky or not, but my luck always seems to get better when I have friends and connections.

By: Egirl

Egirl — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:06:37 +0000

Excellent post today — thank you!

By: getagrip

getagrip — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:48:58 +0000

Over the years we’ve saved a lot by number 10 mixed with patience, particularly if you don’t need to have the absolute newest item out there and you don’t need it this week. People upgrade all the time be it TVs, surround sound systems, appliances, furniture, not to mention when folks combine households getting married, or reduce because they’re downsizing, etc. The greater bulk of our furnishings are often from “hey, heard you were looking for X, I’ve got X. You want it, you haul it.” Half the time I show up and there’s more (especially if someone is downsizing or combining households). “You want this end table with the couch? I don’t need it. How about these lamps? I was just going to trash them.” What kills me, is half the time the items we get from friends are better quality than I’d be willing to spend to buy new!

By: financial reflections

financial reflections — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:33:46 +0000

I love (and live) the notebook idea. It’s been a remarkable help to me in doing creative work, or just getting a list of action items down. I often fold a 8.5×11 sheet in half and just start writing, especially for action items. Once the items are done, the list goes away. Then I’ll find one I left lying around and see what I did (or didn’t) do on the list. It’s very eye opening.

By: bluey

bluey — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:56:47 +0000

Trent – I’ve been reading your blog for almost a year now and I think this may be my favourite post ever. Well done! My mother always told me “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” and you’ve written a great list of ways to be prepared!

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:39:51 +0000

Thanks for the great article and advice, Trent!! I am going to start carrying a notebook in my purse…and just maybe I will join the local moms group my friend has been trying to push me into joining.

By: shahrul azwad

shahrul azwad — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:33:11 +0000

Right on the spot!

I’ve read somewhere, “Luck is opportunity meets preparation”.

By: Carlos

Carlos — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:05:23 +0000

Nice article, Trent.

By: Aaron Stroud

Aaron Stroud — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:56:33 +0000

How’s that old saying go…Luck favors the prepared?

@NED, I’ve run into the same problem. I try to take some time every day or two to transfer my handwritten thoughts to the computer. I use two electronic filing cabinets—a folder for writing ideas and a folder for resources/references.

If my thought/resource/etc falls into a pre-existing category, I just file it in the appropriate folder. Otherwise, I create a new folder. Since I’m on a Mac, I could tag each file with meta data too, but this system seems to be working well.

The key is to make time to transfer data to the computer and to then make time to follow up on the copied information.

By: NED

NED — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:23:56 +0000

Btw, i like Benjamin’s quoteworthy post. To paraphrase Virgil,

Paratus fortuna iuvat

By: NED

NED — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:14:43 +0000

Love this post, though I am curious as to when and how you organize your ideas after scribbling them down into your notebook.

Personally I have always carried a notepad (actually i carry a hipster “PDA” made from scrap paper). I find that at the end of the day, i find several pages worth of scribbled notes written helter skelter all over. It irks me that sometimes great ideas will fall through the cracks because i have no system to organize those ideas and file them. Any suggestions?