“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Did you know Queen Elizabeth II was a trained mechanic? At the age of 16, she enlisted with the UK’s Labour Exchange, an employment service, where she honed her skills in truck maintenance. It seems she can even mend tires and engines. Crazy, right?
Feelin’ Lucky?
Some people are born with it, while others seem to get none.
Bad things do happen to good people, and vice versa.
Luck is a funny thing and really does seem to come in waves, but the best definition I’ve heard of luck is:
“Luck is preparation meets opportunity.”
I think there are two kinds of luck.
There’s the kind that Powerball winners experience, like the person that just won $1.08 billion in Los Angeles.
Weird, freaky luck that leaves you feeling bewildered and…well, lucky.
Then there’s the luck you make yourself.
While it might feel like luck, looking back, you can often see a clearly defined road showing you how you got to your current lucky break.
It might be a chance happening at a party where you hit it off with a person you just met, only to find out they need to hire someone for their business that happens to be your area of expertise.
Lucky?
Yes, and no.
It was fortunate that you landed in front of this person in such a relaxed social setting, but you’ve been preparing for this moment for years.
Had you not been tireless in building your skills, this opportunity would have passed you by.
Look back a little further, and you realize the only reason you’re at the party is because you’re friends with a previous client.
You nurtured that relationship, and it put you in a lucky situation.
To some people, it might look like you’re born lucky, making new connections every time you leave the house, but in reality, you work hard at putting yourself out there, sharpening your social skills to the point that landing new work looks easy from the outside.
That’s making your own luck.
“I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been lucky.” —Oprah Winfrey
How can you make your own luck?
By being open to everything and not waiting for luck to come your way.
Don’t be scared to try new things, have a positive attitude, take action, build a network, take calculated risks, and be persistent.
You never know when a lucky opportunity might cross your path, but looking back, you’ll see you were making the right choices all along the way.
How To Nap
Did you know that people who nap habitually might have a 37% lower risk of death from coronary heart disease?
Naps have also been shown to “improve performance in areas such as reaction time, logical reasoning and symbol recognition.” They also improve your mood.
If you do it right, that is.
Ever nap and then feel awful for the next few hours?
That’s called sleep inertia, defined as “a temporary disorientation and decline in performance and/or mood after awakening from sleep.”
The easiest way to solve that is to nap for less time.
According to Sleep Foundation, 20 minutes is perfect (I recommend setting an alarm).
Oh — and here’s a video about the benefits of napping regularly.
It’s like medicine… but it costs nothing.
So take more naps 🙂
Image of The Week
This Week’s Riddle
Here’s this week’s riddle — the answer is at the bottom of the email!
What can you put in a bucket to make it weigh less?
This Week’s Journaling Prompt
Take some time to think through the following journaling prompt.
Reflect on the concept of “luck” in your life. Can you identify situations where you’ve experienced “freaky” luck or instances where you’ve created your own luck?
This Week’s Challenge
Break from your routine and try a new activity this week. It could be as simple as trying a new coffee shop, reading a book outside your usual genre, or attending a local community event. The goal is to open yourself up to new experiences and potential opportunities.
Riddle Answer: A hole.