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How to create your own luck.
1.
Take 100% Responsibility
Darren Hardy, the publisher of Success magazine and a
New York Times best selling author, discusses this topic at
length his book called The Compound Effect. In simple
terms, it’s like when a child becomes an adult. It’s not when
they turn 18, but rather when they no longer rely on anybody
else to do things or pay for things for them. When they take
100% responsibility for their own life and their decisions.
Where this practice becomes hard is remembering to take
100% responsibility when you are relying on others in
business or even in a relationship. If you do something to
help someone else, do you feel that entitles you to get
something in return from them? Of course it would be nice if
that happened, but if you expect it and it doesn’t happen, it
leads to us making excuses and complaints for issues or
problems that are not our fault. Someone else was the
cause of it.
2. Self-Educate
The late Jim Rohn is one of America’s most famous
entrepreneurs because once he made his fortune he
dedicated his life to helping others achieve success in
business and in life. Jim grew up in Caldwell, Idaho and had
an amazing rags-to-riches story: working as a store clerk at
Sears to becoming a millionaire by his early 30s. Jim was a
huge believer in seeking out knowledge. So many brilliant
business people and entrepreneurs share their strategies and
stories in books. He said a formal education will make you a
living, a self-education will make you a fortune.
Once you start reflecting on everything you get frustrated
about at work and at home, you may see that you may not
be taking 100% ownership of the problems that exist. Has
an employee messed up a report they sent to a client? You
could have looked it over first, or created some sort of
internal check system before it went out. Your best client
just jumped ship to your competitor? You could have been
taking them for granted and not striving to improve the
business relationship or services you offer compared to your
competitors. Frustrated by something your spouse is doing
or not doing? What behaviors have you done (or not done)
that could have led to this frustration you are experiencing
with your spouse?
Taking 100% responsibility for your failures is not an easy
practice, but once you take ownership of them they are
easier to fix or avoid in the future. Plus, taking 100%
responsibility for yourself has the added benefit of taking
responsibility for your successes as well. Even if you got
help along the way, your success would not have happened
without you. Taking ownership of your successes helps
strengthen your backbone of confidence. If you are going to
create your own luck, you need a strong foundation of
confidence in yourself.
Jim Rohn also said the difference between where you are
today and where you’ll be five years from now will be found in
the quality of books you’ve read. I’ve found this to be true for
myself. A major reason I travel three months overseas with
my family each year is that I was deeply impacted by reading
Tim Ferriss’s book The 4-hour Workweek. Had I not read that
book (and re-read it many times), I don’t think I would travel
more than the occasional week or two like most families. A
book can have huge impacts on your life and your business.
If you regularly consume books and other resources from
mentors and those who have reached the level of success
you desire, you will begin to find your luck.
Don’t let excuses and the business of life keep you from
reading books that can help you. If you are a slow reader like
myself, get the audio version. Listen to books rather than
sports or political news on the radio. Dedicate 20-30 minutes
to a book or podcast before you put on your favorite show at
night. Take notes while you read or listen to books. Write
down action steps and key takeaways. Most top-level
entrepreneurs and business people will tell you one of the
key advantages they have in their industry is that they read
more than their competitors. They educate themselves at a
higher level.
3. Practice What You Learn
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