How to Get Lucky: 13 techniques for discovering and taking advantage of life's good breaks

If one would be lucky, one must know what one can’t learn anything from.

the best strategy would seem to be one of maximum flexibility: keeping ourselves free to deal with those unknowable events in whatever ways seem appropriate at the time.

How can you tell whether a historical outcome was caused by luck or by something more reliable, such as a person’s character? One good way is to ask whether there are clearly visible links of cause and effect.

Luck (noun): Events that influence your life but are not of your making.

habit of avoiding unfounded optimism.

The first step in controlling your luck is to recognize that it exists.

Never confuse luck with planning.

The lucky approach is to say to yourself, “Okay I’m going to get into this risky situation-this roulette game, this mutual fund investment. But I am not operating under the delusion that planning will make it turn out my way. I see luck looming large in it, so I will be careful not to let myself grow too confident and relaxed. I will expect rapid c

The trouble with too much talk is that it can constrict that valuable freedom and flexibility.