The Secret of Luck: Why Some People Have All the Luck

Posted by Alex in Science & Tech on December 29, 2008 at 2:26 pm

Why do some people have all the luck while others are perpetually unlucky? Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire was determined to get to the scientific bottom of the phenomenon of luck, and what he discovered may surprise you:

I placed advertisements in national newspapers asking for people who felt consistently lucky or unlucky to contact me.

Hundreds of extraordinary men and women volunteered for my research and over the years, have been interviewed by me. I have monitored their lives and had them take part in experiments. The results reveal that although these people have almost no insight into the causes of their luck, their thoughts and behaviour are responsible for much of their good and bad fortune. Take the case of seemingly chance opportunities. Lucky people consistently encounter such opportunities, whereas unlucky people do not.

I carried out a simple experiment to discover whether this was due to differences in their ability to spot such opportunities. I gave both lucky and unlucky people a newspaper, and asked them to look through it and tell me how many photographs were inside. I had secretly placed a large message halfway through the newspaper saying: ‘Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $50′.

This message took up half of the page and was written in type that was more than two inches high. It was staring everyone straight in the face, but the unlucky people tended to miss it and the lucky people tended to spot it.

Unlucky people are generally more tense than lucky people, and this anxiety disrupts their ability to notice the unexpected.

Link | Richard Wiseman’s official website | His book: The Luck Factor

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Tags: luck, lucky, Richard Wiseman, social experiment

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COMMENT

205 comments to "The Secret of Luck: Why Some People Have All the Luck"

Edward
December 29th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

Fortune favors the bold.

While it is better to be lucky than good, being both is best.

Sometimes, the luckiest person is just the best scorekeeper.
andrew
December 29th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
this guys just had a great interview on Skeptics Guide to the Universe: http://www.theskepticsguide.org/skepticsguide/podcastinfo.asp?pid=178
GailW
December 29th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I'm glad somebody finally took the scientific approach to figuring this out! (I think attitude has TON to do with it as well)
sigh
December 29th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Oh no, you just revealed "The Secret" now they won't make money off of their BS that surrounds an obvious fact.
liphttam1
December 29th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Lucky people are happy so they get better opperotunities right?
Justin
December 29th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
So lucky people are less tense and better able to notice and respond to good fortune and opportunity. Makes sense to me. Looking back all those people I know who consider themselves unlucky are rather high strung.
Evilbeagle
December 29th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
This makes perfect sense. There really is no such thing as "luck", other than what we make of the world around us. Bad things happen to everyone, but it's how those things are handled, and what is learned from them that makes a difference. It is no surprise that tense people, who tend to have a negative view of the world, are "unlucky".

A positive outlook goes a lot further than people imagine.
DaveL
December 29th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
When we're hiring, we put all the resumes in a pile and then immediately throw half of them out because we don't want unlucky people working for us.
Vagabond
December 29th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Nice quoting, Eddie. Who said that?

“I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”
Thomas Jefferson

“Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.”
Langston Coleman

“Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.”
Earl Wilson

“The day you decide to do it is your lucky day”
Japanese Proverb

“Being deeply learned and skilled, being well trained and using well spoken words; This is good luck”
Buddha

"Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do you see a trend? Work hard, get educated, be kind, and you will have all the luck you need.
Gary
December 29th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
So, where do I collect my $50?
donna
December 30th, 2008 at 2:44 am
I think he's just trying to sell his book...
Mahinder
December 30th, 2008 at 4:16 am
Tired old chestnuts are fine, but ponder for a moment those who get educated, work hard, and show kindness to all, who nevertheless have a hard way to go and little to show for it. Interestingly, these same people tend to be a good deal less smug than their more famous counterparts. Coincidence?
just a guy
December 30th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
lol @DaveL

This study is a microcosm of something I've always believed: While reality is objective, a person's subjectivity greatly effect their own 'realities'. So, a person expecting crappiness will experience it more often (because they are looking for it and will ignore non-crappiness), even to a subconcious level. And vice-versa.

That being said, it IS difficult to change the way you think and percieve. But if you work at it, you'd be suprised how much happier you end up!
Melanie
December 30th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I was fully expecting it to be based upon ones perception of events. I think in the end we are all equally "lucky" but some of us just don't see it.
kevin
December 30th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Luck is what you have before you doubt!
The second you doubt yourself... all luck is gone!
Gary
December 30th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I used to be very lucky til I hit 50. For the last ten years I've been very unlucky. Same guy, same attitude. I don't get it.
jeffery
December 30th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I feel that if you are confident luck will follow.
It is important to set goals today for tomorrow.
I have been bless with the gift, so my luck continues.
Jenn
December 30th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I feel lucky when I feel good, feel unlucky when things just go crappy however lucky or unlucky there is no way I would miss an ad for 50 bucks. I need money!
Danny M
December 30th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Before my birthday March 02, 2006 I made a resolution to make a paradigm shift in my life, within 2 weeks, by accident, I met someone online, using Vampirella's famous picture as her identity. In short, I thought this person looked familiar and struck a conversation. The woman and I had an easy conversation with no constraints, I was swept by her intelligence and my luck of her being on this web site in an exploratory mode and me scouring for a connection. This woman, wound up becoming my best friend, my one great love and quite simply "My Everything." We have both read and re-read our first conversation archived from a yahoo IM. Our conversation was simplistic and generic, but I felt like I found my new religon. This is coupled with luck and the ability to identify luck by having an awareness of being aware of being aware...

Danny
lovekisswomankiss
December 30th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
feel good, feel unlucky when things just go crappy however lucky or unlucky there is no way I would miss
Beau Carpenter
December 30th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Great study I must say but I feel you are only scratching at the surface of luck.
To me wouldn't luck be something like why do we live in a developed country and eat while millions of other go hungry?
How do you measure something that is far beyond are power? Why do you think the bullet hits one and misses the other? Do honestly think the bullet cares if you are tense or relaxed or not?
Don't belittle luck. Only one out of a million when the jackpot and that my friend makes you very very lucky..and rich.

Sincerely,
Beau Carpenter
Lisa
December 30th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
I believe luck or lack of it is all due to the law of attraction. Simply said, if you believe you are lucky, then you attract luck, if you believe you are unlucky, then you do not attract luck, and attrack things that are not lucky.
Edg1
December 30th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Some people in my experience are really just unlucky in all things. Living here in Reno I see it all the time. You can literaly feel the negativity from them coming in waves when they get near you.
oh just **** yourself
December 30th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
that's unfair that lucky people get lucky because they see oppurtunities better. what about all of those unlucky people that never seem to catch a break just because of their attitude.
Frank C
December 30th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I know plenty of people that always seem to be down on their luck. I've noticed one common element: they have busy minds and active subconscious thinking, so much so that they cannot see life's moments clearly. They miss opportunities. They make selfish choices. They are stuck in the swampy morass of their minds.

Another common element is patience. Patient people are awake, aware and mindful. They see things as they really are and fit right in. Success is aligning oneself with what is so. Unlucky people are always in conflict with people, places and events. Their thinking makes it so.

Lastly, "lucky" people seem to wait on a "higher power" if you will. They have learned the secret of abandoning selfishness to a higher Self. They seem to know what to say and do at the right moment when given the cue. This is spiritual maturity.

For the unlucky:"If I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all"

For the lucky "As a man thinketh, so is he."
Mark C.
December 30th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
If you haven't read the new Malcolm Gladwell book, Outliers, you all should. He discusses the many reasons why some people are successful. I won't do his book justice, so check it out when you get a chance.
Diane
December 30th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
The luckiest people that I know have had rich daddys
to get them a wonderful start in life. They don't
have to worry about making a living. Their work is
also their play.
good day, good sir
December 30th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Ok, seems to make sence,
but what about luck having to do with say...Poker? or Lottery?
Susan
December 30th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Hogwash! I bought 100 raffle tickets and someone else bought 10. Three of theirs were picked, none of mine were...Was that because I was tense??? I think there is such a thing as just being lucky.
haha
December 30th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
wow that makes total bullshit know people give everything and get nothing know people that give nothing and get everything and vise versa tense or not things happen that cant be seen or stopped all the insight preperation in the world can be blown to hell buy chance and thats documented fact of lots peoples lives tense my ass
Don from NY
December 30th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Aristotle said luck is when the other fellow gets hit with the arrow.
kefka
December 30th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
This study is complete bogus. If a plane crashes into my neighbor's house instead of mine, thats luck. Not being able to notice a large phrase in a newspaper that will award you free money means you have bad perception and bad observational skills, not bad luck. I can't believe everyone is taking this seriously, lmao!
corn bread red
December 30th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
when I start to feel unlucky, I just watch the news. Always someone with more Badluck than me.

Red.
Dandy
December 30th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I thought it was funny that he placed an ad in order to find lucky or unlucky people and then used the same methodology to test whether they were lucky or unlucky and the unlucky people missed the test item which was also an ad in a publication.

I wish this post had elaborated on the reasoning beyond the single sentence at the end.
thejet
December 30th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I think luck is a bonus after all your effort have been done. It's a gifts from God.
Fritz
December 30th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
should I email you my address to collect the $50?
MACHINDER
December 30th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I DONT BELIVE IN LUCK.ITS ALL IN YOUR HEAD
Renner
December 30th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Amazingly insightful. When my favorite car was totaled in a three car accident (an SUV shoved my car into the SUV in front of me at a stoplight), I was mortified. However, I acknowledged the odd fact that had I not been there at that time, the SUV ahead of me (full of young parents) would likely have been pushed into the busy intersection, and things could have been significantly worse. As it is, no one was seriously injured.

Flip the coin....

My ex, ever the "Negative Nancy", instead of silently glad at my misfortune of losing my only transportation (which I expected), openly sulked because 'she has all the luck!' To this day, I'm perplexed! LoL
George
December 30th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Learn to be a possitive person, luck will find You..
Bella
December 30th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
I think everybody gets luck sometime in their life, so you just have to be patient
labradorsrock
December 30th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Typically, the biggest SOB has the largest golden horse shoe up his back end.
babsbrats
December 30th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
what about the people that continually win at casinos or state lottery's, while there are others that could spend money all day long and not win anything?
Bella
December 30th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
hey labradorsrock
Eddy Roesdiono
December 30th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I'd been waiting for such scientific explanation of luck. I consider myself as an unlucky person. When I have to choose one thing out of two, I always go to the less favorable one. And here's my description of luck: a lucky person is someone who receives opportunities approaching them in an easy way which come one after another, again and again. An unlucky person is someone who receives a couple of opportunities on the same time in which he/she can only naturally take one. And those opportunities won't be back for quite some time although he/she tries hard to get one. The latter is where I am, I think.
LEXIE
December 30th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I do not think any one is lucky I think they are fortunate as a Irish curse.
corn bread red
December 30th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Also, I feel very lucky when I get up and their is No Snow To shovel,Plow, or Clean up. That is Lucky
Red
Bella
December 30th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
hey people
self esteem wizard
December 30th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I like the saying "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." I think the harder you work the more focused you are. The more focused you are the more likely to see when opportunity comes, therefore the luckier you will be.
When you are so involved in something mentally, you can not even see anything else, but the things related to your thinking. And that's how you attract "luck" into your life.
vic
December 30th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
i wouldnt say this makes perfect sense as i have viewed the world in a positive way through out my whole life and it still did not increase my luck. i think it has to do with the type of person you are and where you are basically started from like your heritage and all that and how their lucky was.
Clyde
December 30th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Research conducted "over the years" produces a lame, 6-paragraph article? The results of which hinge on a newspaper ad? This has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. I hope this guy gets a real life, a real job, and does some real research.
gerry
December 30th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
I knew a guy who, playing the games on a lark and irregularly, twice won $10,000 on lottery scratch-off tickets. Others play regularly and don't win. Explain to me how this theory about luck has anything to do with the above facts.
bunny97
December 30th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
I thought that this topic was cool
tony
December 30th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
i get a spoonful of luck everyday you can too all thanks to Lucky Charms, they're magically Delicious!
wearmanyhats
December 30th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Some people are just plain lucky. I know because my mother was lucky. She could bet on horses and win every time, while the rest of us won only one out of three. She would go to the Casino and win several hundred on nickel and quarter slots while the rest of us spent our twenty bucks and then sat and drank coffee. We were both happy for her luck and disgusted with our lack of it every time. Luck exists. She is living proof.
Roger56
December 30th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Random events are just that. Some people catch the breaks, it is what it is. One of my three brothers is incredibly lucky, and he's managed to blow more opportunities than I could count. I'm not lucky; I've accepted it; and the opportunities I've had, I've earned. Things are what they are, deal with it.
Kim
December 30th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I believe that to an extent luck has to do with attitude, but not always. Take the example of... me: I was robbed at gunpoint on a beach trip, I got my apartment door kicked in while I was sleeping alone, my car has gotten broken into at least 5 times, I had a carbon monoxide leak in my apt and the whole building almost died, I was with my friend when SHE caught 35 acres of a mountain on fire and we BOTH got a year's probation, and in the past 380 days I have lost my great uncle, two great aunts, my grandmother, my uncle, my aunt, my childhood cat, my bunny, and the day before my aunt's funeral we got news that another great uncle was in the hospital. Not to mention various other atrocities that have happened to me both in my childhood and adulthood that I don't care to share in public. I guess you could say I have good luck because I've lived through all these things and I try to be fairly optimistic, but come on! In my case, it's hard to believe I don't have "bad luck". I've always had a positive outlook on life and think that everything happens for a reason, but it's beginning to get ridiculous. I'd like this guy to study me and see the results!
Dee
December 30th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Huh.................and he went to school for this, eh?
labradorsrock
December 30th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
There is no such thing as lucky and unlucky. It is people who purchase books such as, "The Luck Factor" that waste their money and then say, "I am not lucky" when they have NO money left.

It is the author of "The Luck Factor" who is lucky because he has brainwash people into purchasing his junk.
Moshe
December 30th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
OMG, you must be the one who discovered ADHD.
One of the conclusions must be that the second place reward for being unlucky wouild be that they are also the ones who make all the great discoveries.
As the first place reward, don't forget to gift the lucky ones some pom-poms. What, that makes no sense? The ditz, aka cheerleader, is always lucky.
Did you control for blood sugar level? ...or for the presence of herbs, or nosenbleeds, ot needlepoints?
Bad humor is not targeted at you fella, it's just that I am so unlucky that I do not see the light?
ana
December 30th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
its called law of attraction
J.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Luck and destiny is like a cell phone it basically works whenever it wants to.
emmanuelh
December 30th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Vagabond, the 9th comment, says it all. But then luck like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Solid marriage, good family values and sons and daughter who are succesful in their own rights are the benchmarks by which I define myself as lucky.
Mort Smity
December 30th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
This article about lucky people is TOTAL bullshit.
corn bread red
December 30th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Kim, You are lucky to be here.
Red
andres
December 30th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
being lucky and unlucky is just part of your brain telling you . the brain is a mysterious thing it works in very wierd ways. always take in things in a positive way!!!!!!
Tira
December 30th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
My personal take on being lucky is: Always keep an open mind (free of biased thoughts) whatever you do & wherever you go. Hear out other people's point of view good or bad, then make a personal judgement of what works best for you. Lucky or unlucky, listen to your gut-feel. If it's a mistake, just learn from it and dont' repeat it. Sounds too simple?
Chris
December 30th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Isn't he the same guy who tried to study and determine what was the funniest joke ever told? He told the joke that his findings indicated was the funniest ever told, it was completely LAME and Lewis Black ripped him a new one. This was all on the History Channel.
Andrea
December 30th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Nope. I don't believe it. Sorry. I'm a very positive thinking person and have the worse luck! In work related contests where my chances were so good at winning that even co-workers were telling me "it's in the bag" I'd still lose. It's become a light-hearted joke at my house whenever we play board games, games of chance, that no one has to worry about me beating them because I always lose. I'm not a sore loser at all by no means. I'm just saying that even with a positive attitude, you can still be unlucky.
Feeling Lucky
December 30th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
It does seem to make sense that high-strung(unlucky) people would miss out on certain opportunities, which is why they feel unlucky. It does appear on the surface that people who think they are lucky, truly are lucky.
However this study does seem to support the idea that lucky people are able to more clearly see opportunities that are presented to them.

From now on, I am a lucky person.
James H.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
62 comments and not a single person questions the legitimacy of this experiment. This guy didn't test people's luck; he tested his subjects' abilities of observation and attention to detail.
Frank Burns
December 30th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
I've had the worst year and a half of my life. I lost everything and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I used to be lucky but it has run out I think. I don't want to live another day.
carl green
December 30th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
just one word for u r. wiseman,...u r an absolute schmuck...really..u r !!!
sk
December 30th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
False! Each one of them was lucky to be in an experiment that offers 50 dollars. This experiment tests discipline and alertness instead of luck. Those with more anxiety have a harder time focusing, but that is common knowledge.
joe
December 30th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
its true people who are lucky have good natured behavioural character in general and very kind, net facial appearance of patience.It involves self descipline, good education that parents instell them while they were young to adulthood.The unlucky ones results to the way around cycle in life unlucky which sometime hard to fathom. Thats why in this very earth of ours theres always imperfection that only God knows can explain the path of life we follow that its already existed that we people call it discoveries that its been existed before human beings created. Our life always full of parity until we die.
jim oneill
December 30th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
This still does not explain random chance luck, ie. the woiman in Florida who has won the state lottery THREE TIMES!, card players, dice etc. Why does this occur?
GodIsAGirl
December 30th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
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jim yuncker
December 30th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
luck is the residue of design......John Wooden
Chris
December 30th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
"Unlucky people are generally more tense than lucky people"....well, no shit....should it be the other way around?.....of course not! "This anxiety disrupts their ability to notice the unexpected." Who says that's what did it? What if they notice everything around them and all they see is bullshit? Sure that causes anxiety...but it has nothing to do with luck. This guy jumped to a super huge conclusion. What ever!
Diane
December 30th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Okay, I don't care what anyone says, some people are just born under a lucky star. My husband is the luckiest person I have ever met. Everything he touches seems to turn to gold, even to the point where it's a joke within the family. One time he was going to a large (400 people) gathering where there was a drawing for $500. He asked before he left home that night what we should spend the money on once he won and we actually figured that out. And of course of all the names to be drawn that night, guess who won that $500?? Yes! Him! And now our youngest daughter seems to have that same luck. I have a great, upbeat attitude and have a good life but I truly think that some people have a real lucky streak!
Robbie
December 30th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Yeah, I am one of those unlucky people, and yeah, I have a bad attitude- I figured I have earned it after all of my bad luck, but maybe, just maybe, if only ONE GOOD thing would happen to those of us with consistently bad luck, we wouldn't have such a lousy attitude! Until then, I will stay the way I am, thank you very much!!
As for the ad in the newspaper- those of us "unlucky" people didn't miss the ad- we ignored it- because WE are the type of people who don't win anything and we are smart enough to realize a scam when we see it! Negative? Yes. Honest? Yes. Reality? Yes. We may be unlucky, but we are also intelligent enough to know better!
Jeannie
December 30th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
If your mind is not open to possibilities, your mind will not see them. Simple as that. It has nothing to do with 'the secret'. This is a basic fact. Try to open your mind to other possibilities and you will see the difference. Stop being so cynical. Skepticism is ok, but cynicism is the sign of a closed mind. It's no wonder you're not lucky! Why are people so disturbed by hearing that your mind is more powerful than you think? I don't understand that type of thinking. Think positively, and you may see some changes. What you think the world is, is what the world will give you. Think about it...
Dominic
December 30th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Looks like about 80% of you guys are "lucky." I wonder how many "unlucky" people dismissed this article as garbage without even giving it a look. At least the "unlucky" ones that posted something here are willing to put forth the energy to hate the rest of us properly.
Jeannie
December 30th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
To Robbie,
You chose to ignore the ad, and so you lost out on $50! Imagine if you will, that you stop ignoring things. Think about embracing instead of ignoring. You are choosing to be like this, no one else is making you negative. It's your choice. If you choose to ignore, then yes, you are unlucky in that aspect because you choose not to take the chance. Why not take the chance instead of ignoring it? I don't understand that logic?
MandyR1978
December 30th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Perhaps people are tense because they have bad luck, not the other way around. Just a possibility. Getting consistently kicked in the teeth by Lady Luck does not make for a relaxed, low key person. Whereas a person who can just breeze along with good fortune is, well, happy go...lucky!
Steelers
December 30th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Some are born brilliant or with incredible skills to play piano or golf at a very early age. Then again some are born Duds and some others blind or mute. Is this some kind of luck too?
Jordan Laugeni
December 30th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
What about ppl that enter the lottery and win or enter a raffle wat does being tense hafta do wit that
senni
December 30th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
ayy! they did let out the "secret" more people need to look into it......luck or not its all how you think of it. you know your lucky ..(positive frquency)...know ur unlucky(negative energy)....if you know "the secret" then u know what i'm talking about..
question email me jes_francillette@yahoo.com
XBox
December 30th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
The unlucky people: "But the experiment was intended to have people count the images...!" The unlucky people were too busy counting the images, while the lucky people were looking at other things, as well. So, lesson: Don't be so serious and uptight.
show
December 30th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
It is all good.
Jeannie
December 30th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Let me just say that we ALL have the ability to make our lives what it is. If you expect the worst of life, you will most likely get the worst of life! It's time to make a change and turn around your thinking and try to start to think that you are a well deserving individual who is deserving of a good life. WHy think you are only destined for failure? That type of thinking can only lead to failure... don't you get it guys?
Steven
December 30th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
If I had my say I would think the people born on even years would be the lucky ones and the ones born on the odd years would be the unlucky ones. Like me I was born 1949 and I am VERY UNLUCKY.
max
December 30th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
There's a difference between luck and success. I do however believe there is a link between luck and happiness. If you have inner happiness you see the things that happen in your favor and the opportunities around you, and feel lucky. Success however is how you measure where the bar has been placed and whether you have adchieved it. It varies by person. We all know people who are successful but not happy
Robbie
December 30th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
To Jeannie-
Have you ever thought that maybe those of us who are unlucky have previously embraced things and it didn't make any difference? How do you know that the $50 wasn't a scam- and you ended up losing $200 in the process? That would be the type of luck I have- doesn't matter what I do. So what did I really lose? Nothing. As someone stated, if you get kicked in the teeth enough, you do become defensive and cynical, so why keep trying when nothing ever changes? I have come to that point in my life where I no longer embrace things- there is no reason to. It makes more sense for me to protect myself- whether it be my wallet, my mentality or my heart- than to take a "chance" at luck! Believe me, if you had enough bad luck come your way, you would feel the same. 'Nuff said!
Tira
December 30th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Hmm, maybe just maybe, those who didn't get to see the $50 half page ad, had clouded vision due to uncleaned glasses or lenses! If you can't spot anything good or worthwhile, you will simply continue not to see it.
Cristina
December 30th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Simply explained and yet so obviously true. I always find the 4 or 5 leaf clovers just because I am looking for them. They are always there just like any opportunity for those that know and persist in finding what they want or what they look for. I guess I am one of the luckiest people in this world. My favorite event was many years ago when the day I decided I needed a world atlas I received a post card in the mail inviting me to open a new bank account and receive a free and very beautiful hard covered atlas. I did just that and got my book and a
new bank account. I still have both.
Luis G
December 30th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I have been lucky in love and in having talent. Unlucky with money. Any opportunity to make an advancement in money related ventures always fails or is hampered by something unforeseen. I want to go back to school so what happens my car breaks down. I can't get a job despite all my qualification. I am being interviewed by people I wouldn't have hired when I ran a company.
I am a great guitarist but I get very few jobs despite satisfied customers who rave about me. It seems if it involves the opportunity to get ahead financially I have no luck at all. Then again I feel luck is like driving a car and not holding the steering wheel,Then expecting to get to your destination.
ron regina
December 30th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I have been buying lotto tickets with the same numbers the last 20 years and never have won.where is the attitude .why have some people won 2 and 3 times.Luck is just random being in the right place at the right time.nothing to do with anything else.
Robbie
December 30th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Steven:
I was born in a even year- and I am very unlucky, so that theory doesn't work either. I believe some people are just meant to be luckier than others- period. Has nothing to do with anything.
Austinreader
December 30th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I think it's all about three elements:

1. Joy... enjoying life, seeing beauty, appreciating good fortune, and being realistic that not everything in life will always be fun; then you appreciate the good times. Stevie Wonder was born blind, but probably considers himself lucky for his talent, fame and success. Check out Helen Keller...

2. Practical intelligence... not just getting a good education, but learning something in every experience. That makes the difference - putting that education to the test, in all situations... and getting something out of it that you can use. And never stop learning!

3. What's your point? (in being here)... After all, a purposeless life is meaningless. I've spent my life in service - to my country for 24 years in the Army, to others, as a nurse for 15 years, to my students for the last 2 1/2 years as a teacher, and as a graduate student, writing practice quizzes for my classmates to help us all on our journey to oriental medical licensure. Many of my experiences have been difficult, but I consider myself luckier than any lotto winner or international financier (OK, maybe some of them aren't feeling lucky at all these days).

Nurture the first two, and exercise the third, and you'll be lucky, too.
Marcus
December 30th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
I think "luck" in business, achievement or whatever goal one has can be best promoted by the following method:

L = Labor
U = Under
C = Correct
K = Knowledge
Jason
December 30th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
L abor
U nder
C orrect
K nowledge

If you make enough sacrifices, put in the respectable hours of hard work, and make smart decisions. You WILL get ""Lucky""
anon.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
hahaha, that sure explains a lot. I tend to be unlucky, for example, a friend of mine was bored and asked my to pick heads or tails, and i picked tails 4 times in a row, and it landed on head each time. The fifth time, I picked heads and it landed on tails. Does this bad luck have anything to do with me being tense? I certainly don't think so. I think maybe the universe just favors some people over others, and gives them more opportunities.
spa
December 30th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Absolutely acceptable.. so its always better to carry the good with you rather than still thinking back about your sorrow memories.
Truth
December 30th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Doesn't seem like he's done anything to determine causation versus correlation. Isn't it equally possible that the unlucky people were distracted or otherwise kept from noticing the type because they had poor luck? Such experiments don't demonstrate anything about luck. Here's a better one: Drop anvils onto the heads of people who claim they are lucky -- if they have legitimate luck, something should happen to prevent them from being hurt a statistically relevant percent of time.
Jeannie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
To Robbie
perhaps luck is a bad use of terms here then. Maybe the correct term here is scared to take a chance. After all the ad did not ask for any money, just told you to tell the interviewer to say you say the ad. Yes i'm not going to give my money to a scam either. Don't blame you there!
and as for the person who can't win at the lottery, well that's not really working for a vision is it? no, its expecting to get something for practically nothing. It doesn't work that way, sorry!
Robbie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Truth:
Sounds like a good experiment to me!
Jamie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I always thought, an interesting study would be, to take a bunch of lucky and unlucky people to a casino on Friday the 13th and see what the outcome would be.
Joanne De
December 30th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I must agree with you 100%, because when I am not stressed good things come my way because I do not have tunnel vision, however when I am stressed my luck does run dry, but I was in Hurricane Charley cat 4 and Hurricane Wilma Cat 3 and lost one house and two businesses in Florida, so that was due from nature, but in my stress during these stressful times I had the tunnel vision to stay alive, and missed some very golden opportunities.
Mystic
December 30th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Is luck in what family you are born, or what kind of support that is given to you ? What about where you are born or what your families financial situation is ? Does health and genetics play apart in the ability to be successful ? Not everyone takes advantage of their opportunities {luck }; but does everyone have the opportunity to become all they could be ? {unlucky } Is an orphan in control of being in the position of deciding the outlook of being lucky or unlucky; that is going to give he or she the opportunity of one that is born into an emotionally, and financially stable family ? I believe some have a better opportunity to succeed. Is it luck or unlucky ? !!
Judith
December 30th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
I was lucky enough to see this article AND the comments on it. Fabulous stuff! Luck is basically an indication of where you are chronically on the emotional tone scale.
goa
December 30th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
So basically positive attitude and confidence play a major role and yes every one should feel lucky there are still alive....and try enjoying with what they have and at the same time hardworking for a better opportunity.

Above all sensing the opportunity is at most important to feel that you are lucky.
eddie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
My nutz.... They get a little bit numb sometimes.
Elizabeth
December 30th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Self-fulfilling prophecy. That's a major part of it honestly. If you go throughout your life thinking you are unlucky; you're bound to have more unlucky things happy or just take more notice of the bad times versus the good. I know I'm somebody that tends to believe they are rather lucky and the smallest things I'll find lucky or think "that's a good omen".
Jeannie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
To Mystic,
No, no no no.
It is how you deal with what is thrown at you. We are all dealt bad hands, all of us fight a hard battle. It is how you deal with what is thrown at you that is important. you either stand up after a fall, or you wallow in the mud. The choice is yours. The choice is all of ours. We are the decision makers. Why be weak? Be strong, no matter what is tossed at you. That is the key.
charles
December 30th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
i do beleive that lucky people notice their enviroment more and pay more attention to there surroundings...people tell me all the time that i'm the luckyest person they know and everything i touch seem to turn to gold.....but then again i'm aware of my surroundings all the time....i was born a still born and been in three major accidents and walked away from two of them and went through the bright light everybody seems to talk about and then i was pulled back to life...i can remember that just like it was yesterday....but either way i just wanted to say that lucky people as most people just pay more attention to detail and their suroundings.....
Robbie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Mystic:
EXACTLY! I think it has a lot to do with what cards you are dealt in the beginning. Sure, some have been able to turn a bad situation into a better one, but not all of us have been able to do that. Very well said!
eddie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Sausage!
LK
December 30th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
True. High stress can lead a person to not notice what's right under their nose. Sooner or later they tend to doubt the luck of anything I'd say.
eddie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Where's Momma?
eddie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Milky sauce!
eddie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Sugarmatchmaker is for poufs!
Jeannie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
You are all fabulous beings. I don't know you at all but I like you all for your comments. Please all be strong and take what life throws at you and let it pass behind you. Move forward at all costs. After all the saying is, if you have one foot in the past and one foot in the future, you are shi**ing on today. Live your beautiful lives the best you can TODAY. Today is what you have. Make the best of it. If you put your priorities first, ei your children, family, yourself, then everything else will fall into place. I promise this. It is the truth of life and happiness. Sometimes we have to put others infront of ourselves to find happiness.... think about that. I wish the best for all of you who look for answers. And yes this is a difficult question, but the answer is simple. Live today and expect the very best of life and you will reep the rewards. Thats all there is to it. Honest.
Robbie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Jeannie:

I am a strong person- if I weren't, I wouldn't have gotten this far in life, but it can also wear you down, in many ways. I am just saying, yes, the unlucky can be positive and strive for becoming luckier, but when that doesn't happen, time after time after time, it turns into a losing battle and you give up at trying. Kudos to those who have made their unlucky lives luckier. Those of us who have tried and failed, don't care whether we have luck or don't have it anymore.
BongF3
December 30th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
I believe there is no such thing as bad luck or good luck but only the manner in which a person perceives the event that occurs to him, or the person who bumps into him, or a thing that falls into his custody or which he loses. In the same way, there is no such thing as heroes or villains but people who have specific roles to play in other people's lives. As Karl Rahner said, "There are no accidents; there is only Divine Providence." If one believes in a Higher Force (I call Him God),then it takes a lot of insight to believe that anything that happens to you is a test of how you will behave - to choose to rise up and understand and transcend your experience or condition (and thus level up yourself), or to fall just a notch lower into a less enlightened being (and start all over again). Through this all, there is the bottom-line requisite of acceptance of what you are going through and NOT BLAMING OTHERS for it. You have "positive luck" when you choose to move forward. Happy New Year!
ScorpioSiren
December 30th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Whatever!

My hubby is a laid back, happy-go-lucky type of guy and I'm the "anxious" one...

I think I have better luck ... based on results that is...

so, NO... I respectfully disagree with your findings.

LUCK is sooo relative.
who decides which of us are the "lucky" ones...

it's just like SUCCESS...
how do you measure it?
who says what...
vic ferarri
December 30th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
THERES NO SUCH THING AS LUCK,YOU MORONS
WHILE IM AT IT,THERE NO SUCH THINS AS A ACCIDENT EITHER
EVERYTHING HAPPENS OUT OF A REACTION OR ACTION WE DECIDE TO MAKE AND FALLS INTO PLACE.IF UR STILL FEELIN LUCKY THOUGH STOP BY AND WE CAN PLAY SOME RUSSIAN ROULETTE....
Jacob
December 30th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
I like the approach, but the conclusion confuses me. You have all this good data to work with and the end result is this sweeping assertion rhar could just as easily be an opinion for how well it's substatiated. It's practically a hypothesis itself. If you have exceptions that need to be explained for, it's not a very trusty rule.
Jeannie
December 30th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Robbie
I think at this time you put out the feeling that you have given up and expect the worst... so then, what will come back to you? The worst! All i'm saying is change that around and expect the best... not saying you haven't tried, but just asking you to maybe... try harder. What do you have to lose? Nothing... what do you have to gain? Happiness atleast. I dont like the word luck. Luck has nothing to do with it. I think you should exchange the word luck for... faith.
Love you xxx
Lucky?
December 30th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I have always thought of myself as being unlucky...having a black cloud over my head for decades..I have gotten a few breaks, a free Dr. Pepper, extensions on a loan, surviving a car crash ( totalled my car, walked away without a scratch. But mostly I have been unlucky in love(divorced), never had a very high paying job( even when I worked 3 jobs at once, made less than 28K) My family would just look at me and be amazed and comment ( you are working 3 jobs, you are doing that bad?) But, I consider myself blessed that things are not worse than they are... I keep smiling, going to work, staying on my budget and trying not to complain so much. One day the wheel of fortune will turn and good luck will come my way.
Serge
December 30th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Once again, someone telling that luck is dependent on behavior, merit, will, etc. And now pretending to demonstrate this conservative point of view "scientifically".
How come, then, that the most important luck factor in life is where you've been born (in what country and what family)? And, also of highest importance, your sex and the color of your skin. All factors that are highly independent of one's attitude!
Bri
December 30th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
What scientific journal published this man's findings?
Dee
December 30th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
To:DaveL
I got a chuckle out of that one! Pretty damn funny!

I am a recruiter so it is good to know how some employers choose how to hire...lol
vic ferarri
December 30th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
P.S. I HOPE ALL YOU IDIOTS WHO TAKE UP HALF A SCREEN WITH UR GAY COMPUTER ANIMATIONS GET HIT BY A CAR...
Bri
December 30th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
spot on Serge... spot on. I did like the 9th comment Vegabond posted and do enjoy all of those quotes.
jackson
December 30th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
The research should also check astrological signs, as it is well documented that those who are Sagitarius are also lucky.
Mamta Singh
December 30th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
I think there is a simple explanation:
All life and matter and also the entire contents of the universe is made up of energy - it stays and changes between Potential and kinetic states. No energy is ever lost - just gets converted to other forms of energy (as proved by Einstein in E=MC square formula.

What energies a person gives out (in form of vibrations or aura or magnetic field), a person also receives back. If a tense or negative person gives out those energies - S/he also receives back such energies in the form of bad luck or obstructing situations etc. Similarly a positive source of energy will receive enabling situations as well...

This is not my opinion - the workings of it are explained in detail in philosophies of some religions and have later been arrived at by science as well. So, the researcher, is 100% right in his observations and conclusions. Kudos.
kamansel2
December 30th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
i am glad that someone did it scientificaly but there is luck then theres Luck you did the obvios luck, but what about things that aren't in your control that are lucky? like walking down the sidewalk and lighting strikeing infront of you or you get stuck in traffic on the way to work and your late but when you arrive its being robbed? or if your unlucky the exact opposite happens you get hit b lighting or its the only day your not stuck in traffic and you arrive and then are a hostage? Luck is impossable to figure out because of variables coincedences and just plain Luck.
Luckomotive
December 30th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Luck's too broad a definition, but for the most part it's a numbers game along with a predefined mindset. Luck/success in business stems from trial and error until one finally nails it right(get lucky with assistance of "subconscious transcription" from experience). Luck with women also trial and error and the earlier you start better off you will be(nailing part simply becomes easier). Luck, even when it comes to winning the lotto, seldom will come to lazy types since it takes effort to participate in the game itself(No Play - No Game mentality). So keep dreaming, keep trying, and keep getting lucky. Happy New Year to you all.
Pluto
December 30th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Whcih cam first, the uptightness or bad luck? Seems like a circular argument kind of thing.
Drano
December 30th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Anybody who's ever had a bad accident through absolutely no fault of their own knows the power of randomness ("bad luck"). And there are plenty of hard-working, bright people who do the right things and look for opportunities, but someone else who is also hard-working and bright happens to be in the right place at the right time. Those who are genuinely lucky in some important aspect of their lives usually credit their hard work rather than their luck, because the nature of the human mind is to assign cause and effect, rather than any element of chance, to a successful outcome.
unlucky
December 30th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
He forgot to test the other part of luck-the luck that you can't control even if you are looking for it. The luck that nature throws at you in the form of sudden or young death, natural disasters, other peoples careless mistakes/actions. Cancer is "unlucky" isnt it? Or is somebody going to claim that a person with cancer just should have been paying attention more closely and they could have spotted it coming months before it takes over and kills? What about Hurricanes-Katrina could have been prevented and if people had been on the watch for it then it never would have hit shore destroying so many homes?

This guys study may have brought to light how careless stressed people can be, but it has nothing to do with real "luck".
Mystic
December 30th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
To Jeannie: Not giving up, or being weak as you put it; makes one a fighter and a survivor; Not lucky or unlucky. Being born into a family with two loving parents { or even one loving parent } with an income and a home, with food to eat and means for medical attention { if needed }, clothes to keep one warm; that is what makes one { lucky }. The lucky ones are the ones that have the means and support to not end up in the street because he/ or she Never had the opportunity for an education, and the support from ones to keep them out of the situation that you probably can't even imagine. YES WE HAVE to FIGHT, but get "REAL" One can get up and Fight Over and Over Again; and still NEVER have the Chance for the opportunites of others !!! If you are born Homeless, it's Hard To Fight Your Way To Position that some are Born In !! We are Not All Born in A Warm Home or with Love Ones to Be By Our Side !
ROSSI
December 31st, 2008 at 12:00 am
I think attitude has alot to do with "luck". I believe that looking for the signs and being observant is important but it's the risk takers that may be the peole who make their luck. Take me for example...this year I realized I was frustrated with my job (retail management) which then transferred to me being frustrated with my life. I felt like I was at a dead end for some reason...this had never happened to me before and it was a fairly new feeling, maybe started around the beginning of the year...anyway a little less than halfway through this year I was fired from my job - I was in shock. I alway excelled at everything I did, I was polite, did my job, took leadership....so what the heck happened? Was I unlucky? Im afraid NOT!

I was so upset about losing my job to a relatively self centered, back stabbing job climbing peon that I didnt realize until later when a previous co-worker told me that I was a threat to the person who fired me. Go figure...where have you heard that before.

Well long story short...I took my small savings and the small amount I was collecting from unemployment and immediately took a risk by investing it in myself. YEP! Right in the middle of a recession...I started my own candle business.

I did all of the footwork all summer long, had friends & family members get involved and when the holidays came I was super busy...people were very happy with my products. For 2009 I have people hosting open houses for my products through February...1 open house every week in different areas.

I recently went back to the store where I was fired from and was told 4 other managers were fired right after me ... I just laughed and said "they should be so lucky". I saw the peon who fired me, gave her my business card and said "Hey, just wanted to say thanks...seeya!"

Luck is what we make of it...and 100% attitude (of the good kind) is the main ingredient!

http://www.windycitycandles.com

We're closed until January 12, 2009 for website upgrades and shop inventory!

But if your're interested in great aromas mention that you saw this on neatorama and 10% off your first order and FREE shipping!
nika
December 31st, 2008 at 12:01 am
Maybe...the unlucky people couldn't read.
bill
December 31st, 2008 at 12:02 am
Hmmm...would have to agree that a good portion of luck is paying attention. Luck is where opportunity meets preperation.
ROSSI
December 31st, 2008 at 12:07 am
Forgot to mention that producing candles was a hobby for me since 1998. I'd give them to friends and family and never took the time to venture out on my own. Until of course someone ticked me off this summer.
beanie
December 31st, 2008 at 12:10 am
Well, you know if you have a string of bad luck, it is going to make you tense. So, to me, this story is a what came first the chicken or the egg type thing. Let's say if you start with being unlucky as a kid, you could be transformed from a happy go lucky kind of person to a real drab type person.
Mystic
December 31st, 2008 at 12:14 am
To Unlucky; Thank you for your comment !! We do-not always have a choice in what direction out lives take us. You are sooo right. To Jeannie: I don't believe any of us are saying that we have never been lucky or Blessed; Simply That Some Are Born With More Of An Opportunity { luck } Than Others. Have you ever thought about the fact that the ones that are not born in the best of situations " Are The Ones That Have To Fight The Hardest " ! It has Nothing to do with being Weak or even feeling we are unlucky. FACT: Some are Born Less Fortunate Than Others.
mikaiil
December 31st, 2008 at 12:14 am
well, i guess there is no such thing as luck. see, it's all about our POV of the happenings around us. if i see the full half of the glass I'll drink it and i'm no longer thirsty, while if I see the empty half, I think I don't have enough water and in other words, i lose my so called chance and luck. when someone doesn't look at the life with good eyes and wants to change this POV, it's like he is a drug addict who wants to go to rehab.
anyhow, we're here only once (or at least we do not remember and are not sure about past and next lives) so, why not drink the water?
unlucky me
December 31st, 2008 at 12:15 am
Are unlucky people tense to begin with, or do they become tense because of their bad luck?
Seanmarie
December 31st, 2008 at 12:18 am
right...he just want to sell his book.....and your "comment"about people who are lucky and unlucky...WHATEVER!!!
Bynum
December 31st, 2008 at 12:19 am
How scientific ...
Seanmarie
December 31st, 2008 at 12:20 am
And I agree with Mystic.
nineballer
December 31st, 2008 at 12:25 am
This does not explain people who bingo more often then other people, or people who will drawing, etc.
Leslie The Ponderous
December 31st, 2008 at 12:29 am
I was asking myself why it seems that bad luck befalls me constantly. I did have a very optimistic state of mind. As everything progressively came crashing down around me, I still tried to maintain my "Pollyanna-esque" attitude. I cannot any longer. I rescue animals and most die. I have had some die of really rare diseases with a 1 in 5,000 odds. I have tried to prevent these things from occurring yet they still do. Last night I lost my kitten to FIP, a totally untreatable, unpreventable disease. After I out him to sleep I arrived home and was met by one of the ferals outside who was breathing heavily and has an obvious crisis of health. She won't let me catch her in a humane trap. I have tried everything. I am not giving up. Last year, I adopted a cat out who contracted panleukopenia. I took him back because the placement did not work out. He fell ill and I spent $2,000 to save him. It didn't work and he died. Not only that, but another of my cats fell ill also and died. I wish that I was kidding. I lost my beloved Father, Grandmother, and Uncle all within months of one another. In the past, I had five tire blow outs even though I made sure I had new tires. Every car I have ever owned has broken down and left me stranded at some point. Every choice I have ever made, seems like the right one and yet it all ends up a proverbial mess in the end. At this point, I think God hates me. I try to look at all the good things that happened or the things that worked out, and say to myself that I am being unreasonable, that life has its ups and downs, of course. I love life. I am an idealist and a perpetual optimist. I find joy in the falling rain and in the glow of the skyline on an Autumns Day. I save insects and grow plants and relish in being close to the earth. I am a teacher and I meet each day with new possibilities. Yet, it seems life has more endings for me than beginnings. More taken away than is given. I am afraid to love anything because I am afraid that it will go away. Even as a child, I remember my favorite brands would become obsolete almost as soon as I discovered them. Seriously. Petty things like that. I want to believe that things will get better. Afterall, I am alive and I have not suffered some tragedies that others have. I have been lucky in that I am alive, healthy and have shelter, a job, a purpose, and the necessities. I think perhaps that is the luck that I am too bitter to see. When I compare my life to others globally, I have little problems in the vast scheme of things and a lot to be grateful for. I just wish with all of my heart that I could have my Dad back and that my attempts at helping to save lives did not feel so futile sometimes. Maybe we confuse luck with fate, or maybe I try to take too much control or responsibility. Maybe that is what I also need to consider. Maybe it is just life, that loss is a part of it, and maybe I have just been too lucky in life up until now to understand that. I wish it could all feel more balanced. More positive. Maybe my generation is just really coddled and detached from what is really natural and real. Maybe that is why we cannot deal with the bad or the ugly faces of life and only want to allow in the good. I feel lucky to have had such a great and wonderful father. Some people don't even have that. My Father was a true hero and I was lucky enough to spend a great deal of time with him while he was here. Thank you for hearing my ponderings.......
Peter Risman
December 31st, 2008 at 12:29 am
I notice that "lucky" people always attribute their success solely to their own efforts - and then reinforce the sentiment by saying things like "there's no such thing as luck."

They sound just like the privileged children of wealthy parents, who turn a blind eye to all of the advantages that accrued to them solely due to their family's wealth, status and influence.

It's absolutely clear to me: luck is when an individual benefits or suffers due to external events beyond their control.

The only way that luck can be dismissed as a valid force is if one believes that they are in complete control of all events impacting their life - and then all it takes is a "malignant" biopsy result to disabuse them of that notion.

Anyone who says that "luck had nothing to do with it" is either a liar or terrible deluded - regardless, they are undoubtedly lucky. The "unlucky", on the other hand, do not hesitate to acknowledge its unmistakable presence and power in the world.
Bo Gangles
December 31st, 2008 at 12:30 am
So that study is basically saying that most lucky people are smart and most dumb people are unlucky?
Not convinced
December 31st, 2008 at 12:35 am
I disagree. I've seen luck strikes the lucky people. They are random...it cannot be researched or explained by scientific data. Maybe we ought to start defining what luck means to oneself. My take is, it is random such as lucky guess, lucky game...lucky bet. Success? Never luck. You work hard on that.
Mr. Wiseman's research is simply constraining himself within the box and tried to have an explaination for the word "Luck". The world is what and how you wanted to perceived it. You make yourself believe in what you want to believe. Hence, I see a gummie bear instead of the face of Jesus on that piece of French toast.
Natalie
December 31st, 2008 at 12:42 am
Don't you think that people are tense because they are unlucky and not the other way around. I, like everyone else, know both types. I noticed that those I consider as lucky are mostly unable to think of consequences of their actions or think ahead. They jump into things and the percentages of their successes goes up due to the number of time they do it. The unlucky people seem to consider the future with a lot more care and therefore have lower percentage of success. It's a numbers game.
PrettySweet
December 31st, 2008 at 12:45 am
You are absolutely right about tense people and their lack of luck. Going with the flow and remaining in a calm state of mind definitely opens one up to new possibilities. It's not a matter of smart or dumb,it's just a matter of awareness of self, environment and having a positive attitude and feeling hopeful.

If one is angry, upset and seeking revenge or looking to blame for unhappiness, luck will hide and never show it's face. Luck comes to those who are kind spirited with an open heart and mind.
JimmyB
December 31st, 2008 at 12:48 am
I don`t believe in luck. Think about what you are saying. If we do good, and have confidence, we will be rewarded.. Doesn`t that sound like.. If you do the right thing in life god will reward you.. So is this word 'luck' just a short way of saying that you are doing the right thing and god is taking care of me because he promised that he would? I don`t have luck in my life, I have Jesus. and he sees that we have what we need. and by the way. i won 10,000 bucks on a 1 dollar lottery ticket
mylifesucks
December 31st, 2008 at 12:48 am
the harder you work, the luckier you get. - GP
Nadia Ghafoor
December 31st, 2008 at 1:01 am
Very interesting..I loved the study and the truth behind it. Make's you think differently...
LittleJ
December 31st, 2008 at 1:02 am
I don't consider myself unlucky in general. As a matter of the fact, I think I am pretty lucky.

On the other hand, I'd like to see the research more specific. For example, are some people luckier than others playing black jack. I do believe that. If statistics is right, over the long run, we should all lose to the casino. But I definitely know people who usually win against casino and they are not MIT card counters.
girlnextdoor2uqt
December 31st, 2008 at 1:11 am
Make your own luck! This is the land of opportunity and you have to reach out and take it. Pay attention to life because it gives you good and bad. Don't focus on the bad, just get over it and move on. Turn off everything that is negative in your life and read self improvement books to help you handle good things when they come your way. If you don't you will sabotage yourself before you even get a chance at the good fortune life can bring you.
Good luck!
Leslie The Ponderous
December 31st, 2008 at 1:11 am
Within Minutes perhaps of recognizing that I should maybe count my blessings more and finished with my previous posting, I went outside thinking there was no way I would catch that sick cat. I knew that another night outside in 30 degree temps would probably be her last. I had trapped her once prior but she was nursing a group of newborn kittens and I had to release her. I managed to trap and rehome all of the kittens but not her. They say such a cat becomes trap-savvy and it is difficult if not impossible to catch again. Low and behold, I walked outside to check the trap with a sinking heart. And, to my surprise she was no longer wheezing beneath the van in the parking lot, but she was inside the TRAP! After an all-day effort and trying everything from catnip to KFC chicken. Finally, at 10:10 she was there. She is now inside in the warmth. I am giving her antibiotics and she will be going to the vet pronto. I am hoping that she will recover. I will spay her and keep her healthy and offer her a lifetime of love. Poor kitty! I hope the luck is changing. I feel very lucky at this moment. I named her Faith. It reminds me to never lose Faith.
alaska glen
December 31st, 2008 at 1:19 am
My best mentor told me, "Think of life as a slow moving movie reel where you can see each frame passing. Lucky folks are those who see an opportunity in a frame and grab it. Unlucky people are too slow, wait too long, and that opportunity is gone forever." He also told me, "The search is for an interesting life." BUT, he added, "It is easier to have an interesting life with a couple of bucks in your pocket." Best advice I ever got and that was 30 years ago. Ask questions and listen carefully. If you're not lucky then your pride is in the way.
hobbit4hire
December 31st, 2008 at 1:22 am
I agree with Natalie. I think unlucky people are tense because they're unlucky. I consider myself unlucky for the most part and I'm tense and cautious because I'm unlucky most of the time. I've seen too many people win with no risk involved and win by leaping before they look and I've also known many who lost every time they risked and lost when they were careful as well, so.... Theres something to it all. Call it blessed or lucky or simply chock it up to the persons attitude but the fact remains... Some people have it and some people don't. Just like some people aren't funny. They don't have that natural rhythm and timing. They can learn to tell a joke but thats not the same as being funny. So it is with luck, you can learn to achieve some success but it's not the same easy flow.
Gypsy
December 31st, 2008 at 1:22 am
This is a really bad example or argument, actually - he's using Luck to explain Itself. It could just as easily be stated that Lucky people tend to be more open because of Good Luck - that Good Luck itself is the causal factor of their being able to spot his ad, or their being less stressed at the right moments. Luck could just as easily be the causal factor underlying as the explained outcome factor. This is the explanation of someone who was *looking* for it to be the explanation - which is a primal sin in science. I very much understand the need and desire to explain the Luck Phenomenon by means of Psychology (who *isn't* curious about it?), however blinding yourself by stating the outcome is the easily-quantified outcome wanted, put you in danger of using something to explain Itself.
isabel
December 31st, 2008 at 1:26 am
luck is not a coincidence. it is simply the law of attraction. what you think about is what really happens. for example when you think your bike will be stolen it will happen if not something bad will happen . the true key of having a pretty good life is thinking about good things. i learned this because i watched the movie..the secret...
joujou
December 31st, 2008 at 1:33 am
Everyone experience their bad and goodluck on different time of their lives,maybe ur lucky now after couple of months ull be unlucky,world is round!
You said tense people are having the badluck,its because this is their response to act more and struggle more to have goodluck while people with good luck are just smoothly act that way because they are happy and enjoying their for fortune but after their careless action that luck might be gone.
isabel-another-one
December 31st, 2008 at 1:34 am
leslie the ponderous .. you should think about good things not about dying cats
Me
December 31st, 2008 at 1:34 am
Totally agree with Gypsy!
Sid Luckster
December 31st, 2008 at 1:40 am
Luck is tangible, real, and infectious, as anyone who has spent any time at a hot craps table will tell you. However, it cannot be controlled by positive vibrations, hard work, being optimistic, or any of the other bs alleged in this article or in the comments thereto.
Yasmeen
December 31st, 2008 at 1:42 am
i think luck is just a matter of chance, the chance you avail may B ur good luck.
Alfredo
December 31st, 2008 at 1:43 am
The luckiest people on earth are those who fear God and obey His Commandments for this is the whole duty of man that most people ignore and out of ignorance never care to understand. Although I don’t discount the possibility of people having all their needs in life however you may have all the things in life wealth, honor and luxury but still you are not lucky since you have burdens more than you can bear but even if you are poor if Good is with, you are lucky because there is a sense of peace and contentment in the heart within (something like an assurance) that cannot be explained by the mind nor has any word to describe. You will have all the things you need in due time in ways that cannot also be explained. I'm not a believer but this is what had happened out of curiosity of unbelief to test if there is God and He really exists that I started to fear. Try this simple thing "Read the Bible". If you can understand the Teachings and obey the Commandments then you are lucky, if not then change your ways and do good all the time to understand then you will be lucky in finding out the ways of success in life and the precepts to follow which are all written in the Bible. There is a saying that goes like this about understanding the Bible “none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand”. So, try to know if you wise or not to be lucky or not. I am willing to answer any query or clarification. Thanks and regards!
nonarana
December 31st, 2008 at 1:43 am
There's no such thing as luck, we don't need science to tell us. I think that science is overrated.
Wise guy
December 31st, 2008 at 1:44 am
Honestly I think this guy has the right idea. Luck is mainly just keeping an open mind. The man that looks down and shuffles while he stares stoicly at the ground is much less likely to meet someone interesting or see something that could be considered "lucky" than the guy that walks around with a smile on his face ready to let anything in. Funny it almost sounds like Karma of a sorts...
Molly Hatchet
December 31st, 2008 at 1:55 am
So.....how does luck have anything to do with your little newspaper mind game? seems your test was one more of perception....by what you say, it seems that if I am "lucky" per se....all I have to do is be anxiety-free when I purchase my Lottery ticket...or pull the slot machine handle.....or be really calm and then a really rich relative will die and leave me loads of cash....
Lori B.
December 31st, 2008 at 1:57 am
Maybe unlucky people are more tense because they are unlucky. Having bad things happen to you might tend to make you tense. I know this from experience. I wasn't tense or did not consider myself unlucky until my 20s when a bad string of events started happening to me that has followed me well into my 30s. I have since then become a more tense and anxious person, because every time I start to relax and get on with my life, something major happens (I'm talking cancer, family and close friend deaths, plane crashes, those sorts of things, not minor events).

Unless this author watched people from when they were young and saw whether they truly had a nervous constitution to begin with or whether unlucky events MADE them nervous, this is bogus.
joc
December 31st, 2008 at 2:04 am
There are those that will just never realize just how lucky they are. Being a tad negative though my thought was the saying "only the good go young". Not true, we just miss them more.
bellcurve
December 31st, 2008 at 2:06 am
There have been other studies done on "lucky" and "unlucky" people. Like most other polls or statistical measures in life people fell into a bell curve pattern, some considering themselves very lucky, some very unlucky, but most somewhere in between. That's life, very few are really good at it, very few are extremely bad at it, most of us fall somewhere in between. I've had my share of both really good and bad luck so I fall right in the middle and wouldn't say my life favors either one.
SuperDuck
December 31st, 2008 at 2:09 am
I'm and have been positive my whole life(29), but my luck changed at around 21. Since then. Murphy's law is my life. Ridiculous stuff happens and I'm just supposed to accept it and get over being done wrong. I do relax and look for opportunities, I find haters. Being the bigger or mature one isn't as noble as is led to believe. I didn't believe before, but I'm a believer in luck now. And if there is a scienific method to this madness, all the better. I'd take a class.
lawnjockey
December 31st, 2008 at 2:17 am
dog turds turn white when left in the sun too long.
joycewen
December 31st, 2008 at 2:35 am
^_^, Dominic is funny LUCKY GUY !
mikaiil
December 31st, 2008 at 2:42 am
it's god, it's chance, it's luck, it's the secret or whatever u wanna call it. but there is one thing we can't deny: there is some sort of energy out there and it reacts.
i truely have no idea why some people who always try to be good and think good face many problems even more than anyone else but i guess we all feel that and we sometimes think we are the unluckiest person in the world. well, i have some answers for myself which i don't think would be interesting for American people (I'm not american and i don't live there) but afterall, life is life: live it or leave it!
i just had a huge fight with my boss 30 mins ago! but that doesn't make me "unlucky". hell what? even if he fires me, I may find a better job! he is not my provider, and like what jesus said: God is here with me, why should i fear?(sorry i don't know the exact words!)
I believe even palestinian peole right now (under the attack and a silly war between an un-islamic grouop who do terrible things with the name of Islam (Hamas) and a government who after all these years can't or doesn't want to make a right decision (Israel), some of them still feel good. it's one of the most important powers of human beings, in the worst situations, some still feel it(luck or whatever) and these people are those who keep humanity alive.
Subir Kr Datta
December 31st, 2008 at 2:58 am
I have mentioned in short in the web site:

http://www.vastuhub.com
joemeto
December 31st, 2008 at 3:16 am
Are you serious?

So are you trying to tell me that the people who spotted this advertisement are more likely to win the lottery or hit big on slot machines?

What is your definition of luck?

There is a difference between luck and attention to detail....

These people may pay attention to detail and therefore be more successful but it truly has NOTHING AT ALL to do with LUCK...
Tony
December 31st, 2008 at 5:36 am
I think that what he is saying is that luck is not really a good roll of the dice but more of having the right attitude. I am 57 years old and I firmly believe that attitude is everything. Many of you are missing the point.
Nasir
December 31st, 2008 at 5:40 am
LUCK WE CAN'T IMAGINE. Just we have to accept after our attitude, behaviour what we got. It is natural. Lucky persons are there in the world. If our thought is positive what we are getting upon our work, it is good for us.
Nasir
December 31st, 2008 at 5:43 am
thank you
Jeannie
December 31st, 2008 at 7:06 am
Mystic,
If you convince yourself enough that you have no choice in life, then yes indeed you are 'unlucky'.
I don't care if you are born homeless or live in a mansion, we each make personal choices that effect our lives on a daily basis. I for one will NEVER say I have no choice, or i am a victim because I was born homeless etc. Why think that direction? I mean listen to yourself. I was born homeless, and i have no choice, so here I sit on the street. Oh give ME a break!
those who call themselves 'unlucky' are the ones who wish to not see and have convinced themselves there is nothing better. Period.
Latin Finanzas y Negocios
December 31st, 2008 at 7:15 am
It is a true and complete statement. This study is a excellent reflection of it. It is complete and detail. It is very good.
Cinder
December 31st, 2008 at 7:19 am
While I'm sure that the study has some validity, there are people born with numerous health problems, born into poverty and abusive families, etc. If all else is equal, then this study may be accurate. However, alot of people start off behind the eight ball and do their best just to live an impoverished, difficult life. Look at the lives of people in third world countries and then tell me there isn't luck beyond how tense someone is.
Jeannie
December 31st, 2008 at 8:03 am
Being born in a 3rd world country has nothing to do with 'luck'. Those poor hungry starving people do not know what luck is. UNlucky is the absence of 'luck' so they do not know what 'unlucky' is either. That has nothing to do with the experiment that this man performed. He simply put a huge ad saying to say you saw the ad and get $50. The people who were deemed 'lucky' saw it, took the chance to tell what they say. the 'unlucky' chose to ignore it, therefore they missed out on real money.
What he was saying was to take more chances, open your eyes, and you too may become 'lucky'. I don't like that word, lucky or unlucky. It's a cop out really on just taking a chance really.
interesting comments!
just a guy
December 31st, 2008 at 8:05 am
wow, look at all the comments for this! I guess with no more election, the big posts have to go somewhere.

And, from a scientific standpoint, "luck" is really just a collection of TONS of variables that are very difficult or impossible to measure, especially it time for it to effect judgement. Over time, humans have come to think of it as a force or characteristic, but it really isn't. (Note, this is a SECULAR view, so i'm not taking into account religious beliefs or mysticism, etc..)

Someone can be said to be 'lucky' by examining if things have turned out well for them in the past, but it has no baring on their future. Of course, a certain number of people who are thought of as lucky will continue to be so. And a certain number will not. Some will bounce back and forth... At every event that could be 'lucky' or 'unlucky' for any given person, it goes one way or the other. and with 5 billion people with non-infinate lifespans... some people are going to seem like they have a characteristic of luck their whole lives, when in fact they are just an eventuality of probability (granted, an improbable one, but eventual nonetheless).

THAT being said, yes, your attitude can effect a lot of things. Your optimism won't control a plane falling on your house, but it may cause you to try the lottery once in a while. And, well, people do win the lottery, but only those who enter, obviously.
Frank "Grimey" Grimes
December 31st, 2008 at 9:38 am
Well, you may be right about being tense.... (curse you, Homer Simpson)
chan
December 31st, 2008 at 11:49 am
Makes sense to me. I've thought of myself as being an "unlucky" person all of my life. I've gone through some life-changing experiences in the past few years and I've seen that yes, there have been a lot of bad things that have happened to me, but there were many extraordinary opportunities presented to me that I passed by because I was so focused on the bad things. So many chances to be "lucky" and I pushed them away. Having had this revelation, I now consider myself very lucky to have seen how my actions have influenced my overall luck in life, and am now working hard to recognize good luck when it comes my way.
Deborah
January 1st, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Vegabond and Edward thank you so much for the inspirational quotes....What a great way to start out the new year...I keep coming back to this blog and reading sine it posted and am applying these to my thought process throughout the day-I have had a fantastic few days!!! Happy New Year to everyone!!!
ted
January 1st, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Comment # 200.

It's not luck; it's angels.
violet
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 am
Heh Ted.

What a weird thread. Kind of fascinating and horrible at the same time.
Wolfster
January 5th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
This makes so much sense. It does no good to acquire the education, skills, and determination to do well, and then miss every opportunity that comes along because you weren't paying attention, ironicaly because you were trying too hard. The key would seem to be to let go a bit and enjoy life. I hate to paraphrase Ferris Bueller but "Luck goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you're gonna miss it." I have noticed that when my stress level goes up, my luck goes down, but I never put the two together as cause and effect. This study gives me a clue as to why. Thanks!
Val
January 6th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
There's no secret to luck.
As a professional astrologer I can tell 'when' and many times 'what form' the luck will take.
For example, most everyone, at some time in their life, has come across someone who almost always wins at gambling or other games of chance and you may have wondered why.
It will always clearly show in their astrological chart if you have the correct date, time and place of birth. (FYI: this is NOT "sunsign" stuff; in fact it has nothing to do with your 'sunsign'...)
Jeremy
January 8th, 2009 at 3:01 am
Yeah, Val? I don't think you quite get it. All these people who 'almost always win at gambling', they go to vegas and literally are worth billions of dollars right? I mean, those machines will spit out money over and over again so long as you keep scoring.

Also, in regards to many games people consider 'chance' based (Poker, for instance). I've got rather a great deal of experience there, having been a professional game designer and going on the circuit as it were.

When people with no skill lose, they claim to be unlucky.
When people with great skill lose, they dwell on the plethora of mistakes they made.

Just consider the approach each is making. Why is the good player good? Because he actually analyzed his mistakes, and attempted to avoid them.
born2lose
October 25th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I used to be a very scientific kinda guy, there was no such thing as a magical thing called luck that controlled our destiny in life. I now know that is complete bull crap.
Me and my poker game are living proof.
there are 3 types of people in this world those with positive luck, those with neutral luck and those with negative luck.
If you have positive luck you wont win everytime but you will win more than average.
If you have neutral luck you will win and lose about an even amount of time.
and if you have negative luck you will sometimes win but on average you will lose far more then you will win even if the odds were always 50/50. Its just how it is. I have proven it over and over.
By far most people have neutral luck, then us born losers. The smallest percentage are the positive luck people. Know were you stand and except your fate.

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The Secret of Luck: Why Some People Have All the Luck

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