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The Luck Factor: Change Your Luck - And Change Your Life
A revolutionary study of the scientific principles of luck from one of Britain’s most highly respectedand popular psychologists.Is luck real? Have you ever wondered why some individuals seem to have all the luck, and others seem to be born unlucky? And why do some people get to lead happy, fulfilling lives, while others face endless failure and sadness? Is it all just a matter of fate, or can unlucky people improve their luck and their lives?Enter Dr. Richard Wiseman. Ten years ago Wiseman decided to search for the elusive luck factor. Instead of accepting previous assumptions about genes, upbringing, intelligence, skill and personality, he went directly to the source -- analyzing the beliefs and experiences of lucky and unlucky people. A national media appeal helped Wiseman and his research team attract a pool of 400 volunteers willing to put their lives under the microscope for three years. The results? A radical new way to look at luck. It turns out that the lucky people in his study were actually creating their own good luck through their mental attitudes and behaviour.Ultimately Wiseman identified four main factors that determined whether or not the subjects would lead a lucky life. With solid empirical evidence in hand he used his research to show a group of people who considered themselves to be unlucky, how to think and act like lucky people. The results were impressive. Almost all the participants reported significant life changes -- increased levels of luck, self-esteem, physical well-being, confidence and success.The principles Dr. Wiseman reveals in this groundbreaking study can teach you how to improve your luck, and literally change your life.
240 pages, Paperback
Published March 24, 2003
234 people are currently reading
6308 people want to read
About the author
Richard Wiseman
54 books584 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Professor Richard Wiseman started his working life as a professional magician, and was one of the youngest members of The Magic Circle. He then obtained a degree in psychology from University College London and a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh.
Richard currently holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, where he has gained an international reputation for research into psychology of luck, self-help, persuasion, and illusion. He has published over 50 papers in leading peer reviewed academic journals (including Nature and Psychological Bulletin), and his work has been cited in over 20 introductory textbooks.
A passionate advocate for science, his best-selling books have been translated into over 30 languages and he has presented keynote addresses at several organisations, including Microsoft, The Royal Society, Caltech, and Google.
Richard is the most followed British psychologist on Twitter, and has created viral videos that have received over 40 million views. Over 2 million people have taken part in his mass participation experiments and he has acted as a creative consultant to Derren Brown, The MythBusters, CBS’s The Mentalist, and Heston Blumenthal, Nick Cave, and the West End play ‘Ghost Stories’.
Richard is a Member of the Inner Magic Circle, an Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association, and a Fellow of the Rationalist Association. He is one of the most frequently quoted psychologists in the British media and was recently listed in the Independent On Sunday’s top 100 people who make Britain a better place to live.
He likes sushi, is fond of dogs, and finds Arrested Development very funny.
Professor Richard Wiseman started his working life as a professional magician, and was one of the youngest members of The Magic Circle. He then obtained a degree in psychology from University College London and a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh.
Richard currently holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, where he has gained an international reputation for research into psychology of luck, self-help, persuasion, and illusion. He has published over 50 papers in leading peer reviewed academic journals (including Nature and Psychological Bulletin), and his work has been cited in over 20 introductory textbooks.
A passionate advocate for science, his best-selling books have been translated into over 30 languages and he has presented keynote addresses at several organisations, including Microsoft, The Royal Society, Caltech, and Google.
Richard is the most followed British psychologist on Twitter, and has created viral videos that have received over 40 million views. Over 2 million people have taken part in his mass participation experiments and he has acted as a creative consultant to Derren Brown, The MythBusters, CBS’s The Mentalist, and Heston Blumenthal, Nick Cave, and the West End play ‘Ghost Stories’.
Richard is a Member of the Inner Magic Circle, an Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association, and a Fellow of the Rationalist Association. He is one of the most frequently quoted psychologists in the British media and was recently listed in the Independent On Sunday’s top 100 people who make Britain a better place to live.
He likes sushi, is fond of dogs, and finds Arrested Development very funny.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 213 reviews
January 26, 2010
This is a scientific book explaining the influence of The Power of Positive Thinking and also what little truth is found in The Secret.
Wiseman is good, even when writing a self-help book. He shows how you can improve your luck without resorting to preposterous claims like those found in the Secret or maybe even Peale’s Power book.
Here’s a quick summary:
1. Maximize your lucky opportunities
a. Build and maintain a network of luck (people)
b. Relax about life
c. Open yourself to new experience
2. Listen to your Intuition
a. Pay attention to your gut feelings
b. Boost your intuition (meditation)
3. Expect good luck
a. Expect it in the future
b. Persevere to reach goals
c. Expect interactions with others to be lucky (same as 3a, I think)
4. Turn your bad luck to good
a. Look at any positive side of good fortune
b. This optimistically (it will work out in the end)
c. Don’t be worried and anxious over misfortune
d. Take action to prevent more bad luck
If you read The Secret, it looks similar, but here’s the difference. There’s no personification of the Universe and no BS about quantum connections. Everything Wiseman writes about is grounded in experimental evidence.
I really enjoyed reading the second principle, intuition. I thought that was the most fascinating part of the book. I’ve read other books which explain how many choices are based on unconscious factors. We search for reasons after the choice is made.
Wiseman uses this to explain good and bad luck in a very convincing way.
I also found after taking his luck test that I was overall lucky. That surprised me, being a somewhat cynical, anxiety prone introvert. He has some exercises that seem very likely to improve luck. I will probably work on these. He convinced me that luck can be improved.
Wiseman is good, even when writing a self-help book. He shows how you can improve your luck without resorting to preposterous claims like those found in the Secret or maybe even Peale’s Power book.
Here’s a quick summary:
1. Maximize your lucky opportunities
a. Build and maintain a network of luck (people)
b. Relax about life
c. Open yourself to new experience
2. Listen to your Intuition
a. Pay attention to your gut feelings
b. Boost your intuition (meditation)
3. Expect good luck
a. Expect it in the future
b. Persevere to reach goals
c. Expect interactions with others to be lucky (same as 3a, I think)
4. Turn your bad luck to good
a. Look at any positive side of good fortune
b. This optimistically (it will work out in the end)
c. Don’t be worried and anxious over misfortune
d. Take action to prevent more bad luck
If you read The Secret, it looks similar, but here’s the difference. There’s no personification of the Universe and no BS about quantum connections. Everything Wiseman writes about is grounded in experimental evidence.
I really enjoyed reading the second principle, intuition. I thought that was the most fascinating part of the book. I’ve read other books which explain how many choices are based on unconscious factors. We search for reasons after the choice is made.
Wiseman uses this to explain good and bad luck in a very convincing way.
I also found after taking his luck test that I was overall lucky. That surprised me, being a somewhat cynical, anxiety prone introvert. He has some exercises that seem very likely to improve luck. I will probably work on these. He convinced me that luck can be improved.
May 16, 2014
The title of this book, and the concept of same are misleading. This book, far from being about actual luck as most people understand it, is really just another book that adopts the view that one must be outgoing, positive, optimistic, and proactive.
In most cases there is nothing wrong with those things, (although I did find fault with the idea that one's luck is in direct proportion to how extroverted one is, thereby condemning introverts to more than their fair share of bad luck.) But there is a difference between "playing to win" and being lucky.
Take any one of the endless, repetitive and rather tiresome anecdotes of self-identified "lucky" people that are in this book. Are we really to believe that simply being extroverted, optimistic about the future and not stuck in the past can explain how somebody has literally never once been turned down for any job in their life, despite how unqualified for it they may be? Can one's approach to the alleged data presented in the so called studies really account for women who have never once been turned down by any guy they have asked out on a date during their entire lifetime? Or the people who have won five cars in various contests? Or the guy that has run into a new lucrative business deal EVERY SINGLE TIME he enters an elevator? (I mean, like every single time.)
I say no. While being optimistic and meeting a whole bunch of people will naturally increase one's statistical likelihood of meeting advantageous people, the examples given above, taken from the book, (if true, and I somehow doubt that all of them are), would indicate some sort of transcendent quality. Something that we could call, well...how about, "luck"? .
In other words, some of these people must have been born with a horseshoe shoved up their ass at the end of the rainbow. Simple adherence to the Four principles and seemingly endless sub-principles of luck that the author "discovered" in his "studies" cannot account for the level of unchecked success presented by most of his subjects.
And on the subject of those studies, it is hard for me to accept mere rough correlation of two concepts as de facto proof of anything. This "post hoc ergo propter hoc" approach is the backbone of the entire book and it is as disappointing as it is unscientific.
"86% of people I talked to that called themselves lucky also happened to consider themselves extroverted. Ergo, being extroverted makes one luckier."
Bogus. As is the lack of objective definition for "luck". He just assumed luck would be universally understood and defined across all boundaries and borders. And a further assumption that people who identify themselves, voluntarily as "lucky" must, without question, be actually considered lucky. Plus, he opted to just take the word of the people who claim to find money in the street every day of their lives.
Like call-in polls from radio shows claiming to be scientific, the studies in this book, while indicative certainly of some type of casual commonality between people who share a label they put on themselves, really don't point to any objective interpretation of the concept of luck in our lives.
Two stars for the mostly harmless, "get out there and network!" advice to which this entire thing can be boiled down, but no more than two stars for the exact same reason.
In most cases there is nothing wrong with those things, (although I did find fault with the idea that one's luck is in direct proportion to how extroverted one is, thereby condemning introverts to more than their fair share of bad luck.) But there is a difference between "playing to win" and being lucky.
Take any one of the endless, repetitive and rather tiresome anecdotes of self-identified "lucky" people that are in this book. Are we really to believe that simply being extroverted, optimistic about the future and not stuck in the past can explain how somebody has literally never once been turned down for any job in their life, despite how unqualified for it they may be? Can one's approach to the alleged data presented in the so called studies really account for women who have never once been turned down by any guy they have asked out on a date during their entire lifetime? Or the people who have won five cars in various contests? Or the guy that has run into a new lucrative business deal EVERY SINGLE TIME he enters an elevator? (I mean, like every single time.)
I say no. While being optimistic and meeting a whole bunch of people will naturally increase one's statistical likelihood of meeting advantageous people, the examples given above, taken from the book, (if true, and I somehow doubt that all of them are), would indicate some sort of transcendent quality. Something that we could call, well...how about, "luck"? .
In other words, some of these people must have been born with a horseshoe shoved up their ass at the end of the rainbow. Simple adherence to the Four principles and seemingly endless sub-principles of luck that the author "discovered" in his "studies" cannot account for the level of unchecked success presented by most of his subjects.
And on the subject of those studies, it is hard for me to accept mere rough correlation of two concepts as de facto proof of anything. This "post hoc ergo propter hoc" approach is the backbone of the entire book and it is as disappointing as it is unscientific.
"86% of people I talked to that called themselves lucky also happened to consider themselves extroverted. Ergo, being extroverted makes one luckier."
Bogus. As is the lack of objective definition for "luck". He just assumed luck would be universally understood and defined across all boundaries and borders. And a further assumption that people who identify themselves, voluntarily as "lucky" must, without question, be actually considered lucky. Plus, he opted to just take the word of the people who claim to find money in the street every day of their lives.
Like call-in polls from radio shows claiming to be scientific, the studies in this book, while indicative certainly of some type of casual commonality between people who share a label they put on themselves, really don't point to any objective interpretation of the concept of luck in our lives.
Two stars for the mostly harmless, "get out there and network!" advice to which this entire thing can be boiled down, but no more than two stars for the exact same reason.
January 27, 2020
Wow! A set of studies on serial lottery-winners, true-love recipients, and the like. Wiseman then contrasts core characteristics with chronically unlucky people. A special end experiment transforms unlucky people into fortune-producing individuals.
Some findings:
------------
People lucky in their financial lives reported being lucky in their home lives. People unlucky in their careers were also unlucky in their relationships.
Unlucky people were far more superstitious than lucky people.
There were too many people consistently experiencing good and bad luck for it all to be chance.
The results were clear- being lucky or unlucky is not related to intelligence or psychic ability.
Seemingly chance opportunities are the result of lucky people’s psychological make-up.
Without realizing it, lucky people have developed ways of thinking that make them especially happy, successful, and satisfied with their lives... techniques so effective that it appears as though they are destined to lead charmed lives. But deep down, they are like everyone else.
LUCK ATTRACTION PRINCIPLES :
---------------------
1. Maximize your chance opportunities
2. Listen to your lucky hunches
3. Expect good fortune
4. Turn bad luck into good luck
Lucky people :
** do not achieve their ambitions by chance
** imagine their future holds nothing but good luck
** are relaxed and therefore more attuned to the opportunities around them
** are likely to have a great deal of variety and novelty in their lives
** consistently place trust in colleagues/clients who are honest/reliable
** make sound choices in financial matters
** trust their inner voices and develop their intuitive feelings
** are convinced the sun will always shine on them
** are sure of success and happy to persevere
** in bad times turn the world upside down and look at things in another way
** explore novel ways of solving problems
Why do hunches work ?
—————————————
Experiment called “The Familiarity Effect” where people were asked to scan a set of papers with nothing but randomly placed squiggles, and pick their favorites. Overwhelmingly, the squiggles chosen were exact replicas of each other, but no subjects of the study picked this up.
Results showed :
1. We all prefer things that we have seen before
2. Most people don’t know why ( “It felt like a hunch.” )
This is part of the theory on branding, and explains why companies are willing to spend millions of dollars on advertising campaigns.
Mathematics of Networking:
--------------------
* On average, we all know 300 people by first name
* By shaking hands with A, you are a handshake away from the 300 people A knows.
* Thus, you’re 2 handshakes away from 300 x 300 people
* 300 x 300 = 90,000 new possibilities for a chance opportunity
It is perhaps not so surprising that chance plays such an important and positive role in good luck.
Other habits of the lucky:
----------------------
1. They assume they will be lucky in all areas of their life, in situations both within and outside their control
2. They see bad luck as very short-lived. They simply shrug it off and don’t let it affect expectations.
3. They see what is there, rather than trying to find what they want to see. As a result, they are far more receptive to any opportunities that arise naturally
4. They take action, persist, and consider alternative solutions. All this helps them minimize the chances of experiencing more bad luck in the future.
5. They attempt to achieve their goals, even if their chances of success seem slim, and persevere in the face of failure.
“The man who persists through the bad luck - who keeps right on going - is the man who is there when the good luck comes, and is ready to receive it.” - Robert Collier
Olympic study:
--------------
Bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists. Why?
1. Silver medalists focus : if they had performed slightly better, they would have won the gold.
2. Bronze medalists focus : if they had performed slightly worse, they wouldn’t have won anything
Some findings:
------------
People lucky in their financial lives reported being lucky in their home lives. People unlucky in their careers were also unlucky in their relationships.
Unlucky people were far more superstitious than lucky people.
There were too many people consistently experiencing good and bad luck for it all to be chance.
The results were clear- being lucky or unlucky is not related to intelligence or psychic ability.
Seemingly chance opportunities are the result of lucky people’s psychological make-up.
Without realizing it, lucky people have developed ways of thinking that make them especially happy, successful, and satisfied with their lives... techniques so effective that it appears as though they are destined to lead charmed lives. But deep down, they are like everyone else.
LUCK ATTRACTION PRINCIPLES :
---------------------
1. Maximize your chance opportunities
2. Listen to your lucky hunches
3. Expect good fortune
4. Turn bad luck into good luck
Lucky people :
** do not achieve their ambitions by chance
** imagine their future holds nothing but good luck
** are relaxed and therefore more attuned to the opportunities around them
** are likely to have a great deal of variety and novelty in their lives
** consistently place trust in colleagues/clients who are honest/reliable
** make sound choices in financial matters
** trust their inner voices and develop their intuitive feelings
** are convinced the sun will always shine on them
** are sure of success and happy to persevere
** in bad times turn the world upside down and look at things in another way
** explore novel ways of solving problems
Why do hunches work ?
—————————————
Experiment called “The Familiarity Effect” where people were asked to scan a set of papers with nothing but randomly placed squiggles, and pick their favorites. Overwhelmingly, the squiggles chosen were exact replicas of each other, but no subjects of the study picked this up.
Results showed :
1. We all prefer things that we have seen before
2. Most people don’t know why ( “It felt like a hunch.” )
This is part of the theory on branding, and explains why companies are willing to spend millions of dollars on advertising campaigns.
Mathematics of Networking:
--------------------
* On average, we all know 300 people by first name
* By shaking hands with A, you are a handshake away from the 300 people A knows.
* Thus, you’re 2 handshakes away from 300 x 300 people
* 300 x 300 = 90,000 new possibilities for a chance opportunity
It is perhaps not so surprising that chance plays such an important and positive role in good luck.
Other habits of the lucky:
----------------------
1. They assume they will be lucky in all areas of their life, in situations both within and outside their control
2. They see bad luck as very short-lived. They simply shrug it off and don’t let it affect expectations.
3. They see what is there, rather than trying to find what they want to see. As a result, they are far more receptive to any opportunities that arise naturally
4. They take action, persist, and consider alternative solutions. All this helps them minimize the chances of experiencing more bad luck in the future.
5. They attempt to achieve their goals, even if their chances of success seem slim, and persevere in the face of failure.
“The man who persists through the bad luck - who keeps right on going - is the man who is there when the good luck comes, and is ready to receive it.” - Robert Collier
Olympic study:
--------------
Bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists. Why?
1. Silver medalists focus : if they had performed slightly better, they would have won the gold.
2. Bronze medalists focus : if they had performed slightly worse, they wouldn’t have won anything
August 16, 2023
January's non-fiction book of the month.
I consider myself a person with bad luck so when I saw this recommended through a Youtuber that I respect, I jumped at the chance to read it.
I don't know anything about the author but a scientific way to increase luck sounded exactly as my cup of tea. In short, this book discusses four main principles to increase our luck and those have sub-principles of their own. What the author is trying to say is that luck is something that we have to seek through being out there making connections and following our intuitions. The other thing is expecting good luck and seeing the good side of "bad" things.
This book made me reflect a bit upon some of the events of my life and realize that I have been lucky on many occasions even when I did not know it then. My friend was telling me the other day about how an ambulance got in front of him during new year's celebrations and I told him I think he's lucky he wasn't the one in need for an ambulance. I also got a score of 96.9% in high school, and I was always bitter about that 0.1% but reflecting back, if I got 97 my life would have been so much different.
I enjoyed the principles and the science behind the book, and I think they can be applied in real life, and I will try to do that, but the last chapters were kind of cringy and redundant as they did not add much to the book and gave it a preachy voice that I did not like. In fact, it was non-scientific in opposition to the whole book.
Summary: I enjoyed this book and I will try to practice the principles it presented. I still think there is something such as pure luck despite finishing the book. I skimmed the last chapter and if you're like me and prefer scientific data then I would recommend doing the same.
I consider myself a person with bad luck so when I saw this recommended through a Youtuber that I respect, I jumped at the chance to read it.
I don't know anything about the author but a scientific way to increase luck sounded exactly as my cup of tea. In short, this book discusses four main principles to increase our luck and those have sub-principles of their own. What the author is trying to say is that luck is something that we have to seek through being out there making connections and following our intuitions. The other thing is expecting good luck and seeing the good side of "bad" things.
This book made me reflect a bit upon some of the events of my life and realize that I have been lucky on many occasions even when I did not know it then. My friend was telling me the other day about how an ambulance got in front of him during new year's celebrations and I told him I think he's lucky he wasn't the one in need for an ambulance. I also got a score of 96.9% in high school, and I was always bitter about that 0.1% but reflecting back, if I got 97 my life would have been so much different.
I enjoyed the principles and the science behind the book, and I think they can be applied in real life, and I will try to do that, but the last chapters were kind of cringy and redundant as they did not add much to the book and gave it a preachy voice that I did not like. In fact, it was non-scientific in opposition to the whole book.
Summary: I enjoyed this book and I will try to practice the principles it presented. I still think there is something such as pure luck despite finishing the book. I skimmed the last chapter and if you're like me and prefer scientific data then I would recommend doing the same.
August 8, 2009
What Wiseman means by "luck" is really opportunity.
March 1, 2010
Oh, I HATE to give so few stars, but that's a spare one out of pure respect for the author, not b/c of this book. Richard Wiseman is a wonderful scientist and great writer with impeccable research, but this book doesn't show any of that. I had a hard time believing it was "the same" Richard Wiseman, and I'm still not entirely sure he has even read it, let alone actually wrote it.
Again, I fear the leap from hard science into the self-help world has not been beneficial to anyone in this case. Much better off leaving this "think your way into good luck" nonsense to the unread stack and instead if you must read self-help, try his 59 Seconds book or Quirkology for a fun read too.
Again, I fear the leap from hard science into the self-help world has not been beneficial to anyone in this case. Much better off leaving this "think your way into good luck" nonsense to the unread stack and instead if you must read self-help, try his 59 Seconds book or Quirkology for a fun read too.
Read
January 20, 2010There are four principles of luck:
1. Maximise your chance opportunities. (Build network, have relaxed attitude to life, be open to new experiences.)
2. Listen to your lucky hunches - intuition and gut feeling. (Listen to gut feelings, take steps to boost intuition)
3. Expect good fortune. (Expect good fortune to continue in the future,persevere in the face of failure, expect interactions with others to be lucky and successful.)
Affirmations:
I am a lucky person and today is going to be another lucky day
I know that I can be even luckier in the future
I deserve good luck and will receive some good fortune today.
4. Turn your bad luck into good. (Transform you bad luck into good fortune, see the positive side of bad luck, see ill fortune as in the long run for the best, do not dwell on ill fortune, take constructive steps to prevent more bad luck in the future.
1. Maximise your chance opportunities. (Build network, have relaxed attitude to life, be open to new experiences.)
2. Listen to your lucky hunches - intuition and gut feeling. (Listen to gut feelings, take steps to boost intuition)
3. Expect good fortune. (Expect good fortune to continue in the future,persevere in the face of failure, expect interactions with others to be lucky and successful.)
Affirmations:
I am a lucky person and today is going to be another lucky day
I know that I can be even luckier in the future
I deserve good luck and will receive some good fortune today.
4. Turn your bad luck into good. (Transform you bad luck into good fortune, see the positive side of bad luck, see ill fortune as in the long run for the best, do not dwell on ill fortune, take constructive steps to prevent more bad luck in the future.
February 2, 2020
The Luck Factor sounds a bit like a gimmick, and seems to appear in book searches next to some concerning self-help type pieces, however Wiseman presents a unique piece summarizing decades of research into the topic of 'lucky' and 'unlucky' people to breakdown what we see as luck into observable factors.
The most stand out elements are that lucky people tend to network with others, are optimistic, treat setbacks as lessons and seek opportunities.
Luck Factor is almost the perfect non-fiction piece, packed with anecdotes to supplement the data, the writing is easy to grasp without being dumbed down and the pages are filled with useful information. While introverts may be frustrated to see that extraversion is more associated with luck overall its all good knowledge!
The most stand out elements are that lucky people tend to network with others, are optimistic, treat setbacks as lessons and seek opportunities.
Luck Factor is almost the perfect non-fiction piece, packed with anecdotes to supplement the data, the writing is easy to grasp without being dumbed down and the pages are filled with useful information. While introverts may be frustrated to see that extraversion is more associated with luck overall its all good knowledge!
January 17, 2013
I probably read this book with the wrong expectation. I learned of its existence through an article I read in a journal. The article, in contrast to the book, was fairly interesting (which was why I decided to read the book). Huge fucking mistake. But since it was an easy read, I consider myself lucky (haha, 4th principle), that I only wasted four hours of my life.
Seriously, which writer can claim that he is writing a scientific book and at the same time offer a self-guide to being more lucky? I don’t doubt the man’s ability (he is, after all, a professor) but at least he could be honest about what the book really is: popular pseudo-scientific "literature".
But there was another thing that bothered me while reading the book. Although I agree with the fact that luck may be for a big part dependent on the way individuals handle opportunities, I think this is not the only factor.
The people you meet, the chances you get and the possibility to use them in an effective way is for a large part determined by structural things which are far more difficult to change. Your social background, where you go to school, your friends, your health etc… are all things that are difficult to control, but so important in explaining the chances someone get. These things are not mentioned (not even in the reference list!) in the book.
I get that it has to be positive to attract readers, but by not being more nuanced the author undermines (again) his claim that this is a scientific book.
Seriously, which writer can claim that he is writing a scientific book and at the same time offer a self-guide to being more lucky? I don’t doubt the man’s ability (he is, after all, a professor) but at least he could be honest about what the book really is: popular pseudo-scientific "literature".
But there was another thing that bothered me while reading the book. Although I agree with the fact that luck may be for a big part dependent on the way individuals handle opportunities, I think this is not the only factor.
The people you meet, the chances you get and the possibility to use them in an effective way is for a large part determined by structural things which are far more difficult to change. Your social background, where you go to school, your friends, your health etc… are all things that are difficult to control, but so important in explaining the chances someone get. These things are not mentioned (not even in the reference list!) in the book.
I get that it has to be positive to attract readers, but by not being more nuanced the author undermines (again) his claim that this is a scientific book.
September 9, 2023
Getting luckier is mainly about mentality changes. There are lots of mini researches brought together in a long term research on the lives of both (very) lucky and unlucky people. Worth a read, even just to see that you are (probably) luckier than you thought you were.
As we tend to think better when we write, the luck journal comes in handy and the exercises help gain some perspective of where you stand. Only reading the book improved my luck profile (instructions found in the first chapter or so). About the one month challenge - it remains to be seen.
As we tend to think better when we write, the luck journal comes in handy and the exercises help gain some perspective of where you stand. Only reading the book improved my luck profile (instructions found in the first chapter or so). About the one month challenge - it remains to be seen.
October 5, 2022
I really enjoyed this. It has lots of interesting studies that are referenced. Surprisingly, I realised I am a lucky person , but there are ways to become more lucky! Not too long, some practical advice was useful. Recommended.
May 17, 2022
This is the second time I have read and reviewed this book, and its one of the best. Can't recommend this one highly enough, even better this time around. Below is my original review from 2020.
This is another one that has been on the shelf a long time, but Keller mentioned it in his book so I finally read it. The author of this book conducted a study for over a decade where he studied people who were lucky and who were unlucky, and tried to figure out exactly why. He's identified four principles that can increase your luck, and has enough evidence now that he can even help people improve their luck in a short amount of time.
I avoided reading this book for a long time because just the idea of this seemed hokey to me. But, after reading it, this is an excellent study and well worth reading. Here are the four principles with my thoughts:
Principle One: Maximize your chance opportunities. I scored the lowest here on my luck exam, especially with always being willing to meet strangers everywhere. The basic idea is that the more people you meet, and good opportunities you get in front of, the better luck you will have.
Principle Two: Listen to Your Lucky Hunches. Trust your intuition, trust your gut. Don't overthink things.
Principle Three: Expect Good Fortune. When you expect good things to happen, they do. When you expect bad things to happen, they will. This was really interesting, especially when the research covers the same event and how people on different ends of the spectrum viewed it. For instance, would you consider yourself lucky or unlucky if you were in a bank when it was robbed and you were shot in the arm?
Principle Four: Turn Your Bad Luck Into Good. Lucky people tend to view bad things as temporary setbacks, where as unlucky people see it as a continual problem.
Luck is a poor word for this, but maybe the best we have in our culture. This is really a book about how to maximize your opportunities by looking for the great things that are out there. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever thought about someone else, "I can't believe how lucky they are." You may be surprised how well they fit into this paradigm, and learn what you can do to change your own luck.
This is another one that has been on the shelf a long time, but Keller mentioned it in his book so I finally read it. The author of this book conducted a study for over a decade where he studied people who were lucky and who were unlucky, and tried to figure out exactly why. He's identified four principles that can increase your luck, and has enough evidence now that he can even help people improve their luck in a short amount of time.
I avoided reading this book for a long time because just the idea of this seemed hokey to me. But, after reading it, this is an excellent study and well worth reading. Here are the four principles with my thoughts:
Principle One: Maximize your chance opportunities. I scored the lowest here on my luck exam, especially with always being willing to meet strangers everywhere. The basic idea is that the more people you meet, and good opportunities you get in front of, the better luck you will have.
Principle Two: Listen to Your Lucky Hunches. Trust your intuition, trust your gut. Don't overthink things.
Principle Three: Expect Good Fortune. When you expect good things to happen, they do. When you expect bad things to happen, they will. This was really interesting, especially when the research covers the same event and how people on different ends of the spectrum viewed it. For instance, would you consider yourself lucky or unlucky if you were in a bank when it was robbed and you were shot in the arm?
Principle Four: Turn Your Bad Luck Into Good. Lucky people tend to view bad things as temporary setbacks, where as unlucky people see it as a continual problem.
Luck is a poor word for this, but maybe the best we have in our culture. This is really a book about how to maximize your opportunities by looking for the great things that are out there. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever thought about someone else, "I can't believe how lucky they are." You may be surprised how well they fit into this paradigm, and learn what you can do to change your own luck.
February 13, 2016
I picked up the book based on the author's reputation, and didn't actually read the whole title until just now. I expected a popular science book. I didn't get one. The book consist almost entirely of anecdotes, generous extrapolation from them, and advice. Actual scientific studies are very briefly mentioned a couple of times.
The main concept that is discussed -- luck -- isn't objectively defined. It is based on people self-reporting as lucky (or unlucky). The following pattern is repeated throughout the book: find some correlation based on interviews and poll results (e.g. lucky people tend to expect good things to happen to them), then state that doing whatever is correlated with luck will "increase your luck" (e.g. if you want to increase your luck, expect good things to happen to you). No attempt is ever made to justify the implied causal relationship.
A whole chapter is dedicated to the idea that "lucky" people tend to interpret events in their lives as "lucky", whereas "unlucky" people might interpret the same events as "unlucky". Which doesn't say anything, considering how "lucky" people are defined in the first place.
All in all, the book seems to give harmless advice. Probably even good advice, although mostly obvious: if you actively look for opportunities you will have more opportunities, if you don't give up easily you are more likely to succeed, if you meet more people you will have more opportunities, etc., etc. But it completely fails to justify it.
The main concept that is discussed -- luck -- isn't objectively defined. It is based on people self-reporting as lucky (or unlucky). The following pattern is repeated throughout the book: find some correlation based on interviews and poll results (e.g. lucky people tend to expect good things to happen to them), then state that doing whatever is correlated with luck will "increase your luck" (e.g. if you want to increase your luck, expect good things to happen to you). No attempt is ever made to justify the implied causal relationship.
A whole chapter is dedicated to the idea that "lucky" people tend to interpret events in their lives as "lucky", whereas "unlucky" people might interpret the same events as "unlucky". Which doesn't say anything, considering how "lucky" people are defined in the first place.
All in all, the book seems to give harmless advice. Probably even good advice, although mostly obvious: if you actively look for opportunities you will have more opportunities, if you don't give up easily you are more likely to succeed, if you meet more people you will have more opportunities, etc., etc. But it completely fails to justify it.
September 27, 2019
The book starts out seeming to be sane and written based on good research, and gradually drifts into psedoscientific territory and finally reaches woo-woo levels of BS.
Expected a lot more from an influential professor writing a non-fiction book.
I really tried to give this book a chance. The initial chapters start out like any self help book, telling the reader to make changes in their lives. Then it goes on to talk about the research done for the book. The research done is amazingly unscientic. That's where my doubts began. It went on to talk about different aspects of Luck.
My BS meter started going off when the author started talking about 'intuition' and believing your gut feeling. I had to close the book and be done with it at about 60% when the author suggested 'daily affirmations' to make yourself more lucky.
The book is garbage. Stay away from it.
Expected a lot more from an influential professor writing a non-fiction book.
I really tried to give this book a chance. The initial chapters start out like any self help book, telling the reader to make changes in their lives. Then it goes on to talk about the research done for the book. The research done is amazingly unscientic. That's where my doubts began. It went on to talk about different aspects of Luck.
My BS meter started going off when the author started talking about 'intuition' and believing your gut feeling. I had to close the book and be done with it at about 60% when the author suggested 'daily affirmations' to make yourself more lucky.
The book is garbage. Stay away from it.
February 20, 2023
2nd read:
This is such a great book, and I think about it all the time and have even taught my son some lessons from it. I wanted to give it a read because I’ve had a lot of conversations lately about how to make “luck” work in your favor. This book is just as great as when I first read it, and it’s a must read. Wiseman researches “luck” and spoiler; there’s no such thing as luck. Basically, it all comes down to how you view your situations, and he’s spoken with thousands of people who see themselves as “lucky” or “unlucky”. If you read this book and put the luck principles into practice, I promise your life will be better. You’ll be happier and more successful.
1st read:
One of my new favorite books. I’ve been reading a ton on luck vs skill, and this took a completely new angle. I’m definitely going to read it again regularly.
This is such a great book, and I think about it all the time and have even taught my son some lessons from it. I wanted to give it a read because I’ve had a lot of conversations lately about how to make “luck” work in your favor. This book is just as great as when I first read it, and it’s a must read. Wiseman researches “luck” and spoiler; there’s no such thing as luck. Basically, it all comes down to how you view your situations, and he’s spoken with thousands of people who see themselves as “lucky” or “unlucky”. If you read this book and put the luck principles into practice, I promise your life will be better. You’ll be happier and more successful.
1st read:
One of my new favorite books. I’ve been reading a ton on luck vs skill, and this took a completely new angle. I’m definitely going to read it again regularly.
January 10, 2023
This book can be summarised to think you are lucky and you will be. The science provided in this book is mainly people self-reporting. As many have stated the subject of luck isn't clearly defined and people view luck in different ways. The general format is a good chunk of people who think they are lucky do x this means that by doing that you will also be lucky. X is a various of different things such as talk to more people, go out more etc If you are an introvert the advice in this book goes against everything you do. What this book fails to comment on, is things outwith our control such as our upbringing, schooling, childhood experiences. I found this book to be harmless and helping people to have a positive outlook on things. But it is pseudo-science and has way too many anecdotes from people rather than details of his "study"
June 8, 2024
Generalnie zgadzam się z większością wniosków autora, jednak nie jest to dla mnie nic odkrywczego. Ćwiczenia i ankiety czasem nie miały dla mnie sensu, a dodatkowo prowadzenie zeszyciku i zapisywanie wyników na później jest zniechęcające, więc ja porzuciłam te aktywność.
W życiu nie ma permanentnych szczęściarzy i pechowców, a ludzi w tym aspekcie różni tylko nastawienie.
Pozycja do polecenia osobom, które uważają się za pechowców i są pesymistami lub zbyt twardo starającymi po ziemi realistami, ale dopuszczają do siebie możliwość zmiany sposobu myślenia.
W życiu nie ma permanentnych szczęściarzy i pechowców, a ludzi w tym aspekcie różni tylko nastawienie.
Pozycja do polecenia osobom, które uważają się za pechowców i są pesymistami lub zbyt twardo starającymi po ziemi realistami, ale dopuszczają do siebie możliwość zmiany sposobu myślenia.
May 12, 2020
The Luck Factor is an interesting book to read if you’re looking for a new mindset, a new view on life. However, I couldn’t describe the book as concrete advice. It gives you some tips, yet it cannot give you actual advice on how to be lucky. In the end, it’s a matter of perspective.
July 1, 2019
First, the disclaimer. This is, in my opinion, 3.5 stars. As usual, I'm rounding up instead of down.
Because I'd read an article about luck by Wiseman many years ago, and knew about this book, I finally decided to get it and read it. While the title is eye-catching, this is more like an "improving your odds" book rather than luck. Even so, who couldn't use a little boost in their odds?
The book discusses a plethora of anecdotal stories of people who have had "good" and "bad" luck in their lives, as well as a number of studies that serve as a more scientific basis for the conclusions. The stories and studies combine to product the four essential principles. I won't reveal the four principles (it's not a secret if you have Google, but I just won't reveal them here), but suffice it to say that improving your "luck" (chances) relies more on your attitude and perceptions than hocus pocus or mumbo jumbo.
This is a fun type of book that can be revealing about why some of us *appear* to be lucky and others appear to be unlucky. It comes with some "worksheet"-oriented things that you can use to "change your luck" as well, though I didn't fill any out. If this topic is of interest to you at all, this is a decent book to pick up. And you might be surprised at how similar some of the conclusions are to some of the principles in the Law of Attraction books. A good, easy read.
Because I'd read an article about luck by Wiseman many years ago, and knew about this book, I finally decided to get it and read it. While the title is eye-catching, this is more like an "improving your odds" book rather than luck. Even so, who couldn't use a little boost in their odds?
The book discusses a plethora of anecdotal stories of people who have had "good" and "bad" luck in their lives, as well as a number of studies that serve as a more scientific basis for the conclusions. The stories and studies combine to product the four essential principles. I won't reveal the four principles (it's not a secret if you have Google, but I just won't reveal them here), but suffice it to say that improving your "luck" (chances) relies more on your attitude and perceptions than hocus pocus or mumbo jumbo.
This is a fun type of book that can be revealing about why some of us *appear* to be lucky and others appear to be unlucky. It comes with some "worksheet"-oriented things that you can use to "change your luck" as well, though I didn't fill any out. If this topic is of interest to you at all, this is a decent book to pick up. And you might be surprised at how similar some of the conclusions are to some of the principles in the Law of Attraction books. A good, easy read.
March 28, 2024
I enjoyed this one and although many will write this off as pseudoscience mumbo jumbo, I feel there is a good number of positive suggestions to apply to your life to make it better. It has throughout the book excersizes for you to interact with the material and try and guage where you're at now and then after you incorporate these suggestions to your own life how much it has changed your initial assessment. You learn that luck is less of a random occurrence that only few are privy to and more of placing yourself in areas where you will be in the right place and the right time. Also, the way you view what happens to you is insanely important. When others would just give up and go on thinking well, I'm just unlucky, this teaches you to change that thought process and not give up in the event of failure and to figure out a solution and realize that sometimes things we feel would be unlucky etc actually end up opening up a better occurence in the future. I think that overall, you can absolutely gain something from this book if nothing else it will help you try and be more positive and not pessimistic. So, if you're curious even in the slightest I say just pick it up, follow the exercizes and see what effect it has in your own personal life. From personal experience listening to your intuition/gut feeling is an important thing to do and the book touches upon this. Anyways it's an easy read so what do you have to lose? Hopefully this review isn't a complete mess lols. Not using as an excuse but I'm writing this early in the morning right after waking up and finishing up the book. Hopefully someone gains something from this and the book itself at the very least. God bless and I hope a very prosperous and optimistic future for all of you!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2022
An interesting book on how to increase your 'luck', but when you think of it, a lot of it is common sense: If you enter more contests, you will increase your chances of winning. If you are more outgoing, you will meet more people and maybe those few who can help you on your journey. Things don't happen from being a couch potato, yes that's true. But to claim ALL luck is caused by being your outgoing enthusiastic self with positive expectations? I don't think so.
For those who have 'bad luck' this is sure an interesting read on how to change your mindset however, that doesn't chance the fact some people really are born with a golden spoon while others have no spoon at all. He doesn't acknowledge the privileged who were lucky to have a wealthy mindset programmed by their parents and are very confident as a result. He doesn't acknowledge those who are born in poor circumstances and still carry post-traumatic stress, keeping them in a negative loop of unpaid bills and monthly accidents. Sometimes it's not so simple as talking to strangers or meditate daily.
Did I get some insights? Sure. The book however is not complete if you want to change your 'luck' forever. It's a nice start though. Baby steps.
For those who have 'bad luck' this is sure an interesting read on how to change your mindset however, that doesn't chance the fact some people really are born with a golden spoon while others have no spoon at all. He doesn't acknowledge the privileged who were lucky to have a wealthy mindset programmed by their parents and are very confident as a result. He doesn't acknowledge those who are born in poor circumstances and still carry post-traumatic stress, keeping them in a negative loop of unpaid bills and monthly accidents. Sometimes it's not so simple as talking to strangers or meditate daily.
Did I get some insights? Sure. The book however is not complete if you want to change your 'luck' forever. It's a nice start though. Baby steps.
April 10, 2020
Автор - доктор психологических наук, книга - описание результатов его исследований везунчиков и неудачников.
Они отличаются мышлением, поведением, способностью управлять чувствами.
Даётся методика личностностных изменений, которая позволила участникам эксперимента повысить свой коэффициент удачи на 50% (счастливчикам) - 75% (невезучим).
Они отличаются мышлением, поведением, способностью управлять чувствами.
Даётся методика личностностных изменений, которая позволила участникам эксперимента повысить свой коэффициент удачи на 50% (счастливчикам) - 75% (невезучим).
February 4, 2022
Not necessarily marking it down. More that I just didn’t benefit out of it as much as so hoped. The stories were unfortunately a little dated now and not relatable to my life personally. I can see how this book could benefit many people though!
December 22, 2021
Valid points made in the book. Nice to hear the stories of the progress people have made by changing their habits and thus changing their "luck".
January 14, 2023
Great book. Clickbaity title but fascinating psychological experiments teasing out why some people seem to have more luck.
October 20, 2024
W zasadzie można dojść do kilku prostych wniosków: szczęściarze są towarzyscy, są ekstrawertykami, nie siedzą samotnie w domu, biorą życie w swoje ręce, biorą udział w dużej ilości konkursów, dlatego częściej wygrywają, zauważają więcej i korzystają z nadarzających się okazji czy szans, myślą optymistycznie. Jasne, można pracować nad zmianą swojego nastawienia do życia i szczęścia, ale nie widzę zastosowania tego u siebie.
May 29, 2016
What can one say about a book written by a magician turned psychologist who showcases his research about lucky vs. unlucky people with the goal of improving the luck of the reader? Probably this book is not for everyone, but readers with an open mind who would like better luck might find the self-tests and exercises revealing and inspiring. And at the end of the 30-day program, who knows—their luck just might improve dramatically.
The principles are as follows:
1. Lucky people create, notice, and act upon chance opportunities in their lives by building a “network of luck,” having a relaxed attitude, and being open to new experiences.
2. Lucky people listen to their intuition, taking actions appropriate to their gut feelings and hunches. They take steps to boost their intuition.
3. Lucky people expect good fortune now and in the future. They expect interactions with others to be positive and attempt to achieve important goals even if chances of success are slim or they don’t succeed at first.
4. Lucky people turn bad luck to good by looking for positive aspects of bad luck, by remembering that ill fortune sometimes works out for the best, by learning from their mistakes, and by not dwelling on past unlucky situations.
To these simple principles, Dr. Wiseman adds easy exercises for addressing each principle and its sub-principles. The reader can tell in which areas s/he needs to apply the exercises by taking the quizzes at the beginning of the book. After stepping the reader through the various exercises and presenting many case histories of both lucky and unlucky people, the final chapter outlines the 30-day program to improved luck. Essentially, it’s keeping a journal of all of the luck that one encounters while applying the principles for 30 days.
My rating for this book is 3.5 stars. I upgraded to 4 stars rather than downgrading to 3 because the author is upbeat and personal, and his case histories, both lucky and unlucky, are of completely believable everyday people. Also, he very amusingly interweaves several stories from his career as a magician. Best of all, his is method is simple and has a reasonable time limit—just about anyone who is motivated to change their luck can stick with a plan for 30 days, especially since they will likely start noticing results almost immediately.
The principles are as follows:
1. Lucky people create, notice, and act upon chance opportunities in their lives by building a “network of luck,” having a relaxed attitude, and being open to new experiences.
2. Lucky people listen to their intuition, taking actions appropriate to their gut feelings and hunches. They take steps to boost their intuition.
3. Lucky people expect good fortune now and in the future. They expect interactions with others to be positive and attempt to achieve important goals even if chances of success are slim or they don’t succeed at first.
4. Lucky people turn bad luck to good by looking for positive aspects of bad luck, by remembering that ill fortune sometimes works out for the best, by learning from their mistakes, and by not dwelling on past unlucky situations.
To these simple principles, Dr. Wiseman adds easy exercises for addressing each principle and its sub-principles. The reader can tell in which areas s/he needs to apply the exercises by taking the quizzes at the beginning of the book. After stepping the reader through the various exercises and presenting many case histories of both lucky and unlucky people, the final chapter outlines the 30-day program to improved luck. Essentially, it’s keeping a journal of all of the luck that one encounters while applying the principles for 30 days.
My rating for this book is 3.5 stars. I upgraded to 4 stars rather than downgrading to 3 because the author is upbeat and personal, and his case histories, both lucky and unlucky, are of completely believable everyday people. Also, he very amusingly interweaves several stories from his career as a magician. Best of all, his is method is simple and has a reasonable time limit—just about anyone who is motivated to change their luck can stick with a plan for 30 days, especially since they will likely start noticing results almost immediately.
August 29, 2014
Some people simply seem to be in the right place at the right time; just as others seem to reap more than their share of misfortune. Why do some people win dozens of contests, while others never seem to be successful? Do special stars shine down upon those who seem to effortlessly win love, professional success, and personal happiness? Is luck or the lack of it a matter of pure chance? Is good fortune intelligence masquerading as fortune’s whim? Might there be some psychic intuitive edge at work?
British psychologist Dr. Richard Wiseman wooed luck into the laboratory, with fascinating results. After studying the habits and attitudes of hundreds of self-declared lucky and unlucky people, Wiseman concludes that lucky people owe their good fortune to the use of four principles that are available to everyone. He uses his research results to create a luck school, demonstrating that not only can luck be explained -- it can also be created. According to Wiseman, the lucky maximize their chance opportunities (extroverts, this is good news for you), they listen to their intuition and cultivate it, they expect good fortune to fulfill their dreams and ambitions, and they know how to transform any bad luck that comes their way into good fortune.
Wiseman discusses principles I’ve heard before, but restructures them into an actionable formula. Via a clever series of mini-tests and compelling examples, Wiseman not only confirms a reader’s lucky habits, but also gives us tools to evaluate and maximize them.
This is a fast and fascinating study. Who wouldn’t want to learn how to harness a lucky star or two?
British psychologist Dr. Richard Wiseman wooed luck into the laboratory, with fascinating results. After studying the habits and attitudes of hundreds of self-declared lucky and unlucky people, Wiseman concludes that lucky people owe their good fortune to the use of four principles that are available to everyone. He uses his research results to create a luck school, demonstrating that not only can luck be explained -- it can also be created. According to Wiseman, the lucky maximize their chance opportunities (extroverts, this is good news for you), they listen to their intuition and cultivate it, they expect good fortune to fulfill their dreams and ambitions, and they know how to transform any bad luck that comes their way into good fortune.
Wiseman discusses principles I’ve heard before, but restructures them into an actionable formula. Via a clever series of mini-tests and compelling examples, Wiseman not only confirms a reader’s lucky habits, but also gives us tools to evaluate and maximize them.
This is a fast and fascinating study. Who wouldn’t want to learn how to harness a lucky star or two?
February 15, 2017
The research in this book mainly seemed like self helpy common sense to be honest
March 27, 2014
YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK
There, I said it. This book will improve your life. Do you know any people who just seem to be 'lucky'? Turns out they have a set of techniques they've been using but not sharing with the rest of us. Or maybe they just learnt them subconsciously and don't know it? It contains some explanations of how it's done, and some practical exercises for you to learn the technique.
I did an intervention once to a guy who was suicidally depressed. A friend of a friend. After doing a bit of NLP on him I gave him a copy of this book. He worked through it, and last I heard he was one of the happiest people in his social circle (no word of thanks by the way - bastard).
Dr Richard Wiseman is now a professor, and well-deserved. Look for his amazing YouTube videos, where he combines psychology with magic (his hobby). This is amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3iPr...
See how unobservant we really are?
There, I said it. This book will improve your life. Do you know any people who just seem to be 'lucky'? Turns out they have a set of techniques they've been using but not sharing with the rest of us. Or maybe they just learnt them subconsciously and don't know it? It contains some explanations of how it's done, and some practical exercises for you to learn the technique.
I did an intervention once to a guy who was suicidally depressed. A friend of a friend. After doing a bit of NLP on him I gave him a copy of this book. He worked through it, and last I heard he was one of the happiest people in his social circle (no word of thanks by the way - bastard).
Dr Richard Wiseman is now a professor, and well-deserved. Look for his amazing YouTube videos, where he combines psychology with magic (his hobby). This is amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3iPr...
See how unobservant we really are?
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