I’m a firm believer that luck plays a HUGE role in success! Think about it: there are so many ways that things can go wrong, but only a few that can go right. For things to be successful—crazy-big, out of this world successful—it has to be a combination of right place, right time. Luck, serendipity, karma, the grace of God, or whatever you want to call it, it all comes down to the same thing: circumstances outside of your control affecting things in a big way to influence the outcome. But I think there are also a few hard and fast rules for good luck. You can’t manufacture luck, but you can definitely put yourself in the right place to be ready when it strikes. THAT is what transforms a random positive happenstance into your ticket to success. So here are my five rules to be ready for when good luck comes your way:

1. Always be looking for opportunity. Some people consider this part of the “Law of Attraction”—the more you think on good luck, the more likely it will be drawn to you. I’d say always be looking for new opportunities, as it will help you be in the right headspace to capitalize on it when the time comes.
2. Listen to the little voice in your head. Or in your “gut”, or whatever you call your instincts. Sometimes, it’s all you get to help you make a choice that could change your life!
3. Hard work gets you ready for good luck. The more you work at whatever you’re doing (in my case, writing books and learning the craft of marketing and advertising), the more you’ll be ready for when that good luck strikes. You’ll have everything in place to take full advantage of your good luck.
4. Know what you want. Opportunities will often arise that you might never have recognized as such if you weren’t looking for it! When you know what you want, you’re ready to turn anything into what could be THE opportunity of a lifetime.
5. Go looking for it. You never know what “the next big thing” is unless you go hunting for it. If you want that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you’ve first got to go looking for that rainbow’s end.