⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

Get Lucky Way More Often In this random world, we improve our odds of something good happening by working at it.

By Gregory Kennedy

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Are you lucky? If you think so, congratulations. If not, there is good news. You can improve your luck. Cynics may note, correctly, that we can't control the weather, prevent natural disasters or determine when or to whom we are born, but there are strategies for measurably improving our luck in important situations.

Related: Make Your Own Luck and Get Acquired

To improve your luck, improve your odds. Buying two lottery tickets instead of one doesn't change much but we do increase the chance of a lucky result when we increase the number of opportunities for something good to happen. For example, a typical sales pipeline is 100 calls resulting in 10 meetings that yield one sale. Making more calls will lead to more meetings that result in more sales. Junior sales people soon learn volume improves their odds.

To apply the volume strategy to networking, meet with many people briefly but long enough to establish meaningful rapport. Meeting more people increases your odds of making a valuable connection. Multiply this approach by attending one networking event a week and watch your luck improve rapidly.

I've employed the networking strategy with good results. Once I made a great hire through a chance encounter on an airplane, another time I closed a significant business partnership by attending an obscure Meetup for just 15 minutes. Opportunity is everywhere, if you are open to finding it in unusual places.

Sometimes less, not more, improves our odds. Reaching the top of the hyper-competitive US mobile app space is extremely difficult. The odds of reaching number one are much better in smaller English language markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore or The Netherland, which results in far more awareness of the app when it is introduced in the U.S. or U.K.

Related: Do Entrepreneurs Make Their Own Luck -- Or Not?

Believing you are lucky becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. There is research that shows good luck charms improve confidence and that has a measurable impact on performance. Once you focus on becoming lucky, and get better at creating positive outcomes, more positive outcomes will follow. This positive spiral is also known as a network effect.

These strategies won't improve your odds of picking a winning lottery number, regardless how many tickets you buy, but for life's big opportunities, this is the only luck you need. You only need one lucky encounter to Land that great job, makie a once-in-a-lifetime investment or close the big sale. Good luck!

Related: Richard Branson: To Be Successful in Business, You Need a Little Luck

Gregory Kennedy

Senior Vice President of Marketing

Gregory Kennedy, who has over a decade of experience in digital media, is vice president of marketing at TapSense. In his current role, he has helped scale a three-person company into one of the hottest mobile advertising startups in Silicon Valley. The company has been featured on Bloomberg and covered in a wide variety of publications, from Forbes to MediaPost.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.

Leadership

Former Interrogator Shares 5 Behaviors Liars Exhibit and How to Handle Them

Five deceptive behaviors to look for and how to respond to those behaviors when you encounter them.

Money & Finance

4 Promising Industries Investors Should Be Watching in 2024

Wondering whether your industry is on the decline or set to expand? Read on for these predictions on the best sectors for growth in 2024.