Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career

by John D. Krumboltz, Al S. Levin

Unplanned events—chance occurrences—more often determine life and career choices than all the careful planning we do. A chance meeting, a broken appointment, a spontaneous vacation trip, a “fill-in” job, a hobby—these are the kinds of experiences that lead to unexpected life directions and career choices. Newly revised and updated with fresh examples and current issues for today's challenging times, Luck is No Accident actively encourages readers to create their own unplanned events, to anticipate changing their plans frequently, to take advantage of chance events when they happen, and to make the most of what life offers. The book has a friendly, easy style about it, and is packed with personal stories that really bring the ideas into focus.

Genres: Business, Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Education, Professional Development

155 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2004

About the author

John D. Krumboltz received his Ph.D. Krumboltz in 1955, the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota. For more than 50 years it has been a national and international level and leader in the field of counseling psychology student. He has been professor of Educational Psychology at Stanford University since 1961 and professor since 1966.

He is described as a prolific researcher and theorist of psychology, whose work has revolutionized the field of counseling psychology. His pioneering research in professional development, behavioral counseling interventions, and social learning theory of career decision-making, has had a huge impact on the field.

He has authored or coauthored more than 200 publications. Award of the American Psychological Association for Professional Distinguished Contributions and the Tyler Prize Leona APA 17 Division, the highest distinction to scholarship and practice in psychology is granted, are among the many honors and awards received.

Reviews

[Logan Basterash · Rating 4 out of 5]

honestly i am very happy that I had to read this book. this book gave me very good insight and motivation into my future and my career choices. it was also very comforting to know that i am not alone, and that majority of people have no idea what to do with their life LOL. but i know now that everything is a learning experience and to always keep an open mind about opportunities that come my way 😋😋😋

here are some quotes i liked.

“the best way to predict the future is to create it” - Peter Drucker

“only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go” - T.S. Eliot

“life is one continued experiment”

[MuuLee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't understand why the rating was quite low for me, it was a great book, nothing can be consider as right or wrong regarding any decision you make, what matters is that you keep on pushing forward with all your effort

[Birte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fell short as a self-help book since it's too focused on "inspiring", describing loads of success stories and telling the reader how to think. The authors argue that staying proactive, showing your work to others and keeping an open mind will lead to an increase in career "luck" (happenstance). Makes sense, right?

But in order for readers to actually apply the good advice to their own life, the book would need to be more of a workbook and include evaluation sheets etc. That might make me consider recommending it to others.

To summarize: An update is needed, and while the publishing company is at it I would like to kindly ask them to please look over ideas such as that "everyone has the same 24 hours in a day". Ignorant and outdated!

[Matthias Hernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so repetitive. It is just an endless list of examples.

Here is person A’s success story. Person A thinks they’re lucky, but is that it? No, they were proactive!

Here is person B’s story. Person B thinks they got lucky, but is it that simple? No, they were proactive!

Now let’s look at person C...

The whole book can be summarized with: nothing happens to people that do nothing. You want things to happen to you? Do something. Luck can be provoked.

[Ahmed Ezzeldien · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب جميل وممتع .. ومحفز بالفعل :) .. أي نعم كل الصدف دي لم تجتمع في شخص واحد وإنما صدفة لكل شخص .. ولكن الدرس الأكبر إننا نستغل أي موقف أو فرصة .. أو صدفة بقدر ما نستطيع :)

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book while earning my Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) through UW Madison for my Career Navigator role. In summary. I think everyone should have this book in their possession. Those of European descent in America were most likely born in America because it was and still is the land of opportunity. This book helps you see how to get to those opportunities and live a fulfilling life. It tells you how to change your mindset to succeed and talks about experiences of people before us that succeeded. It’s a good book to read when feeling stuck in your career and tells you how to get some spice in your life. It is a very positive book and can get you out of a career slump. Don’t stay stuck and waste your life away doing something you hate. Take advantage of opportunities in America and other countries with opportunities in the world.

[Michelle Beese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first edition of this book when it first came out. I loved it then, and the second addition is even better! The second edition has added valuable list of Career and Green-Job Websites at the end of the book. I work with community college students and many of them have no clue about what they want to do. I always recommend this book to help them recognize that it is perfectly normal, AND perfectly OK not to know exactly what they want to do. This book is also one I highly recommend to anyone who is searching for what to do with the next chapter of their life!

[Analie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! The authors point out that life rarely goes according to plan and advocate rolling with life's punches to create opportunities from those unexpected events. They do a good job at debunking common career myths and obstacles such as unrealistic expectations or feelings of obligation to stay in a field we don't enjoy. I especially liked the sections on the freedom to make mistakes, not being afraid to apply for jobs without having prior skills, and overall very positive emphasis on taking action to network and open opportunities.

[Tania Quigley]

This book was very interesting. I read it as part of the schooling and work I am doing as an Employment Counsellor. Mr Krumblotz was one of the theorist that I studied and I was really interested in reading more about it.
This book is a really good read, it didn't take me to long to get through it. If you are going through any type of transition either in your career or in life this book is for you.

[Paula Brand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw Krumboltz speak at MACCA in 2011 too.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A career planning book that actually takes into account the unplanned and reminds us to stay open to possibilities beyond our often too-narrow expectations.

[Bob Peterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I interlibrary loaned this book and I’m not sure exactly why. Weak links, networking and happenstance make your “luck”.
Some good quotes sprinkled in.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great career book. Excellent guide with usable questions. Reads like it was written in 1995 though... Could use an update badly.

[Barry Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtitled “Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career,” this practical little book speaks to the importance of staying open to unplanned events and chance occurrences, “accidents” that can and do create extraordinary opportunities for those willing to take advantage of them.
The chapters focus on key themes for “happenstance,” along with quotes, cartoons and numerous stories about real people having real “accidents.” Each chapter ends with a focused questionnaire to challenge the reader to take action.
Here are the chapters:
1. Make the most of unplanned events
2. Always keep your options open
3. Wake up – before your dream comes true
4. Try it – even without knowing the outcome
5. Go ahead and make mistakes
6. Take action to create your own luck
7. Go for the job – then learn the skills
8. Enjoy yourself – the good life is a balanced life
9. Overcome self-sabotage
10. Remember that luck is no accident – important lessons:
• You never need to know what you are going to be in the future
• Unplanned events will inevitably have an impact on your career
• Reality may be offering you better options than you could have dreamed
• Engaging in a variety of activities will help you discover what you like and dislike
• Expect to make mistakes and experience failures
• You can create your own unplanned lucky events
• Every experience is a way to learn
• You can discover a variety of activities that are satisfying, even if you are not employed
• Beliefs that keep you open to new ideas and experiences will help you overcome internal obstacles
The book closes with a health bibliography of books and articles on the subject.

[Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This all fits in so well with Jim Bright’s Chaos Theory of Careers, or perhaps the other way around given that his Happenstance/Planned Happenstance approach has been around since the 1990s - http://www.careers.govt.nz/educators-.... This book reads like a everyman’s version of Bright’s Chaos Theory of Careers. The majority of the book is stories of how chance, luck, failure, and change have played an important and typically unplanned role in guiding people in the career. One story that stuck out to me was about John Krumboltz – in college he decided to become a psychology major in large part because his college tennis coach was also a professor in that field. These stories would be great to share in presentations or with groups. I think college students would especially benefit from hearing them, because hearing about it all can’t help one but to relax a little realizing that as much time as we spend planning, we just don’t have it all figured out. The book also uses a lot of relevant comic strips. And at the end there is a great list of related resources.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am now accepting recommendations for other career-related books! I'm teaching a summer class on lifelong career development & am desperate for new, interesting material.

I'll use parts of this book in my class, I think, since so much of what this book says--that career and life directions are influenced as much by preparation as they are by chance--resonates with me, and makes sense when compared with my own experience.

But it definitely has that published-in-a-garage vibe that I find so off-putting about so many counseling and self-help books. Why must the graphics and typeset be so off-balance and mediocre? WHY?

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this for vocational counseling class. I suppose it could be very useful for people who are confused about career choices, but since that's not me, I didn't like it. In my opinion, it made choosing a career, which I think is pretty significant since most American adults spend most of their waking hours working, sound like something that can be taken pretty lightly and just fallen into. Dr. Krumboltz is a very successful psychologist with a well-established career theory, so obviously his advice works well for some... just not me.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and unintimidating little jaunt that is good to give someone who doesn't particularly like reading and will be turned off by 'fancy words' like sunk cost, but otherwise a forgettable book. I was going to give it 1 star but I warmed up to a little bit over the course of reading. If you are only going to read one or two books about careers/life planning, don't make it this one. Read The 4 Hour Work Week or the The Black Swan instead.

[KrisTina]

While there are some good ideas in this book - the writing style and many of the examples are so anecdotal instead of quantiative that it makes this book seem much more dated than it actually is. I read this in preparation for teaching a Career Exploration course at the University and while I will encourage students to be more proactive and yaddah yaddah yaddah - this book will not make the reading list.

[Lametra Off]

Everything we do, see, hear, and experience happens for a reason. If you are open to these experiences, you can turn the experiences into opportunities.
4 stars!

[Shine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Карьерын хувьд гацсан мэдрэмж мэдэрвэл, эсвэл эрч хүч авахыг хүсвэл, амьдрал сайхан шүү гэдгийг мэдрэхийг хүсвэл, зориг орохыг хүсвэл энэ номыг уншаарай. ❤️