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D. Murali

TO get money, you pray for luck, as when faced with exams. But "most lucky people are not lucky at all, they simply create their own luck," says Susan RoAne in How to Create Your Own Luck from Wiley (www.wiley.com). Here is how: "They scatter the needs of opportunity everywhere they go and have mastered a set of eight traits that enrich their professional and personal lives."

As traditionalists would say, commitment to do hard, smart work, and being positive with "can-do" outlook are valuable; they are the "usual suspects" for successes. But you never know! "There is equal value in the willingness to be open — to talk to strangers, make small talk, listen and eavesdrop, give information so that others share information with us, and connect with people in a variety of situations so that that we are in the path of unplanned opportunities," instructs Susan. These "unusual suspects", whose stories fill the book, follow a counterintuitive behaviour, with "attitudes that go against the prescribed norm". "Striking up a conversation with a stranger is not always easy," acknowledges the author. "Shared circumstances can make it easier for us to do that."

To launch yourself on the luck path, you do not need "a great opening line"; you can talk about little things. You can even start with, "Hello, how are you?" and then "listen to the answer." Small talk can happen anywhere. Be a good listener, with empathy, because only then will you be able to form "deeper connections".

Trait three, "drop names". There is a school of thought that says dropping names is a way of showing off, but you need not belong to that. "Dropping the names of people, places, and events that you might have in common with a stranger creates connections that open the door to opportunity," says Susan. Next advice is to "eavesdrop and listen". Overhearing can help, as low cost market research. "For the savvy communicator, keeping one's ears open is a way to court information, to learn, assess, and get a feel." The corollary is that there is advantage in being the one who is eavesdropped on. Something that works in stock-market investments?

Trait five, ask for or offer help. "For some people, taking the time to help others is second nature," explains Susan. These gestures may be as simple as "someone holding open a door when we are laden with packages", or as big as "someone figuratively opening a door to a new career or client." Some kindnesses are not remembered, while "others are never forgotten". Be prepared to reap "unexpected and fortuitous" return on investment for little helps.

Next quality advice is to stray from the path. Get off the expected course, when the `aha' bulb lit up! The unpredictable "you-never-know" can happen only if you pay attention to "the voice inside". Be ready, however, to catch up with new skills. "Some people may eventually return to their original path; others may not." There is yet another category, the ones who ride two horses; "that can work out successfully, too." Thus, there are doctors who perform in local orchestras, teachers who moonlight as fitness trainers, and novelists who supervise data-processing departments, in the many examples that the book speaks of.

Trait seven: "Timely, gracious exits without burning bridges". Pete Sampras's retirement is an example that the book offers as an example of stopping when you are really good at it. However, "an untimely exit" can happen as a result of layoff, merger, or cost-cutting measures. These are `disruptive', but you can control your response to them.

The last trait is to "say yes when you want to say no", though it is more fashionable to do the opposite. To be lucky, you may not need all the eight; even one is enough. "Think about the events, opportunities, and coincidences that are taking place in your live right now. May be a door is closing, but there is a window that can be pried open."

You can turn lemons to lemonade, exhorts the author; the secret is to capitalise crises and avoid "being immobilised by seemingly insurmountable obstacles." It is a small world, she reminds, and so you would bump into people you know, in unlikely places. "Friendster.com, which now has more than two million users, has built a business based on an expansion of the idea that whoever I know includes whoever you know and whoever they know, and so on." The punch line is, "It's not what you know but whom you know."

Hurdle between you and luck comes in the form of naysayers. For instance, parents would say, "You can't do that!" while your spouse may ask, "Are you crazy?" Siblings may taunt, "Do you know how difficult it is?" and offspring doubt if you have "read the statistics".

Friends may warn that competition is fierce, and bosses may deride, saying, "You do not have the talent, skills, credentials background." Beyond all these is the inner naysayer.

With some `kismet, que sera, lagniappe, the beshert, or coincidence', you should be lucky enough to get this How to!

BookValue@TheHindu.co.in

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