“Chance favors the prepared mind.” — Louis Pasteur
A fairly large number of people that I have met and talked to seem to have this mindset that luck is what makes somebody successful. That no matter how much effort you put in, in the end, if you aren’t lucky, you aren’t going to succeed. Although it cannot be denied that luck plays a role in success, this kind of mindset is detrimental, and if you do think like this, then it will be even harder to succeed.
People love to place blame. If you ever ask somebody why they were late to work, they will come up with a million excuses, but very rarely will they just say “I slept in”. It is hard to accept responsibility, especially when there are consequences involved. And just as people with jobs will blame anything but themselves when something goes wrong, it is also a common practice for slow growth business-owners to find a scapegoat when success is still out of their grasp. Very often, this scapegoat is luck. They think “well, I am doing everything right, now I just need to wait for lady luck to swing by and sweep me off my feet”.
Remember how I said that luck does indeed play a role in success? Well, the kind of luck that you need to succeed isn’t just random chance. It is luck that you have to earn. And in order to earn this luck, you have to constantly be on the cutting edge. Business is really just about increasing your chances of success. You can’t force people on the street to come and shop at your store, so instead you have to make your storefront as appealing as possible, to increase the chance of new customers walking in on an impulse. Here are a few things you can do to stay on the cutting edge and increase your chances of success, therefore attracting “luck”:
Be better than the competition — This is the basis for increasing your chances of making it. The more you make your business unique by having better quality, better service, and great relationships with your customers, the more you minimize competition. As easy as these words are to say it is very hard for the competition to do. People and luck choose value over price every day. It is easy to be a copy, and hard to be an original. The more fresh, unique, and personal your business service or proposition is, the easier it is for people to choose you.
Be prepared — When opportunity comes your way, make sure you are ready and waiting to seize it, or else it might slip by unnoticed.
Be honest — This means running an honest business and being honest with yourself. When you tell the truth to your self and others you open up true opportunity. Placing blame is a form of self dishonesty, and if you want to succeed, you need to put all that aside.
If you are always striving to make these three things a priority in your business, then you won’t have to even worry about luck, because it will be right there with you the entire time.
Yours,
Bobbie Goheen
