The Luck Factor

Richard Wiseman studied about the nature of luck and how people make their own good and bad fortune. There were many examples throughout the article that discussed different luck examples. What luck did Helzberg have by not only being a millionaire, but to just bump into a prestigious investor who would be interested in purchasing his company as he retired. Luck can occur at any time. Bandura did not know that he would meet his future wife while he was out on a gold trip with his friend. Wiseman said, "lucky events exert a dramatic influence over our lives. Luck has the power to transform the improbable into the possible, to make the difference between life and death, reward and ruin, happiness and despair."

Many people believe luck to be something that it is not like an internal or personal quality. (Stewart, Young 2011) People also have searched for ways to improve their luck. People carry lucky charms and feel that that object will bring them luck. Good luck and bad luck can transform lives. Wiseman's research suggested that lucky people create their own good fortune. Wiseman said, "Lucky people are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good."

Wohl, M. A., Stewart, M. J., & Young, M. M. (2011). Personal Luck Usage Scale (PLUS): Psychometric validation of a measure of gambling-related belief in luck as a personal possession. International Gambling Studies, 11(1), 7-21. doi:10.1080/14459795.2010.541270