It’s about preparation and strategy, for the most part
By Nancy Plummer, Columnist, The Times
We’ve all been sold on the idea that successful people are just lucky. We are always complaining that we too could have been a millionaire like our brother-in law who made it big by being “lucky enough” to get in at the right time with a great start-up firm, or we could have a husband like our neighbor down the street who happened to fall in love with the first man she met on Match.com.
But, as Jack Canfield so eloquently states, “I believe that people make their own luck by great preparation and good strategy.” So, how can you make your own luck in life and love? Let me give you three great ways to begin:
- Huge differences start with smart, small changes. Remember the riddle about the “Magic Penny” Darren Hardy writes about in his insightful book, The Compound Effect? You have to choose between taking $3 million in cash right now, or a single penny that doubles in value every day for 31 days. Well, I won’t bore you with the math, but it just so happens that after 31 days the penny has compounded in value to $10,737, 418.24. Imagine how much your life could improve if you took this insight of small changes over time lead to huge differences.
That’s right, instead of asking yourself to go on another starvation diet to lose 25 pounds, why not focus on cutting back on 250 calories a day? You probably won’t see a difference for months, but if you remain consistent, before the year is up, you’ll have lost those 25 pounds! Moreover, what if instead of whining about how you haven’t found your soul mate yet, why not resolve to try online dating starting today. Then, instead of waiting for your perfect match to write you, you resolve to write three emails to potential matches every day. Three emails aren’t overwhelming, and in one month, that’s almost 100 more choices than you had today!
- Consistency is the key to success. As mentioned, Darren Hardy speaks about the importance of consistency to reach your goals, no matter what they are. It’s the people that don’t let anything or anyone get in the way of their deliberate process, that in the end, are the “lucky ones.” In fact, “consistency” is defined in the dictionary as “steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, ” As in the model of cutting back just 250 calories a day for a year versus a starvation diet, by adhering for one year, every day, to rid your food and drink intake by half a bagel or a snack size bag of chips, you’ll become one of the “lucky ones” who easily managed to lose two pant sizes.
Yet, how does one stay consistent in this era of crazy schedules? It starts and it ends with you. You must accept responsibility for all of your thousands of choices you make throughout your day. You must be in control of your schedule rather than your schedule being in control of you. Moreover, you must integrate your goals into your life; enough so that your necessary actions to achieve your goals become just a normal part of your day, like brushing your teeth.
- Focus on one goal at a time. Let’s stick with the goal of losing 25 pounds. Starting today, keep a running tab throughout each day of the calories you expend in exercise with the calories you consume. Focus on consistently keeping your net calorie count to 250 calories less than normal. Of course, the more you accurately record your process, the better chance you will have for consistency. Moreover, as research has shown, it takes about 28 days to form a habit. Thus, after about one month, this process should become second nature and rather easy to follow.
As the pounds start falling off, your resolve to adhere to stay on course will probably increase exponentially. In fact, I’ll bet that when you hear others tell you how “lucky” you are to be able to lose so much weight without going on a massive diet, you’ll just smile. You’ve witnessed for yourself the power of making your own “luck” by starting with smart, small changes. Most importantly, as you start feeling healthier, more attractive, and more fit, chances are you’ll be that much closer to making your own luck in finding love as well.
