Being creative, lucky, and/or successful, is not a passive thing done to us. It has more to do with a bi-directional effort where we co-create with the Universe, demonstrated by the expressions: "The harder I work, the luckier I get" and "God helps those who help themselves."

Even if we feel (a relative thing) like the Universe handed us a pink slip long ago, it is our responsibility to create our own luck. After all, the prizes have to be given to somebody, so why wouldn't the Universe statistically favor those who actively delight in participating in the games of life with open minded efforts.

Consider the dynamics of a baseball tribe recruiting a new player. Instead of asking the player about being lucky, they might rephrase the question, "What's your batting average?" Sure batting skill is an important denominator, but so is the statistical effort when returning to the plate. A batting average of three hundred is often met with head-nodding respect, but this means that the participating batter struck out seven-out-of-ten times. Unlucky with each strikeout, yet the aggregate effort is professional grade. Thus, it seems illogical that any of us would step up to a plate in life, strike out and say, "See I told you, I'm not..." and then throw in the towel.

Therefore, setting aside discussions of skill, statistics have a role. The more we throw at it, the better the odds of uncovering a gem that cracks the code or getting the desired result we seek.

This statistical concept really hit home with me when I was studying accounting and entrepreneurship at Babson College. It was a period with little disposable income given my investments in books and courses, which was grossly apparent when desiring to date. Enter a local Boston radio station giving away tickets every afternoon between 12:00 and 12:20 to the correct-numbered caller for jazz performances at the Berklee School of Music's phenomenal acoustical theater. With the wits of my freshman mind, I planned my radio attacks as an opportunity to provide fodder for dating backgrounds. And, I won all the time. Eventually, the radio station implemented a one winner per thirty-day period restriction, which, as luck would have it, was also around the same time I started steadily dating a college sweetheart.

Each time I appeared for lunch in the Babson cafeteria with beaming face of euphoria for having been a recent ticket winner, people would inquire as to what happened. I noticed an interesting pattern in our conversations, often hearing comments like, "I'm not lucky" or "I never win anything."

When queried, many would admit that they had only tried once or twice, reached busy signals, than gave up. Several others had never tried at all, but nonetheless concluded that they were not lucky.

Successful sales types innately know the rule of one-in-ten, and it was this approach I applied to my radio winnings: call ten times in order to get one answered call; get ten answered calls in order to have one be the correct one; prepare to make one hundred calls with each busy signal being one step closer to being a winner. Thankfully, speed dial was available technology at the time.

The point is this. If we want to be creative, get lucky. Luck comes from learning to do what is required for a successful result in a particular area, then keeping at it. Hence the expression, "Luck is opportunity meeting preparedness."

Each rejection, failure, thing-that-doesn't-work, is really only a result. One which brings us a step closer to unlocking the secret to what we pursue.

Which leads us to the question: Does it work?

In response to his endeavors, Thomas Edison was rumored to have replied, "I know a thousand ways not to create the light bulb..."

Failure is merely the flipside of success!   top