(Note: I use AI to help me translate my stories from Japanese to English.)
Almost everyone wants to be lucky. However, I didn’t know how to become lucky, so I read nine books about luck.
I read books about luck written by famous Japanese entrepreneurs, a Japanese scientist, a scholar, a legendary mahjong player, and a fortune teller.
Two of the authors wrote that everyone experiences the same amount of luck and bad luck in their life. If you experience great luck, you will experience great bad luck afterward. On the other hand, if you experience great bad luck, you will experience great luck later.
When you see successful people, you might think that they never experience failure or misfortune. However, this is wrong.
The president of the world-leading clothing company UNIQLO wrote a book titled “One Win, Nine Losses.” He wrote that when he tried something new, he failed 90% of the time.
How can we be lucky?
It is important to think and say, “I’m lucky,” all the time. Some people, including a fortune teller, wrote this.
Whatever happens, it is important to say, “I’m lucky.” Then your brain will start to look for luck around you.
For example, in the morning, when you try to go outside, your shoelace breaks.
Normally, people say, “I’m unlucky.”
However, lucky people say, “I’m lucky,” when their shoelace breaks. Then their brain searches for the reasons.
They may think that breaking a shoelace at home is better than breaking it outside.
When you say “I’m lucky,” you are more likely to find reasons why you are lucky.
Konosuke Matsushita (1894–1989) was one of the greatest entrepreneurs in Japanese history.
In recruitment interviews, he often asked applicants, “Do you think you are lucky?” He hired only people who answered, “I am lucky.”
Matsushita believed that people who think of themselves as lucky can overcome obstacles.
Some authors wrote that preparation is important for being lucky. You may know the phrase “Chance favors the prepared mind,” by Louis Pasteur, a French scientist.
A Japanese scientist, Masatoshi Koshiba (1926–2020), seized his good fortune through preparation.
His team built a 16-meter-tall observation device to detect elementary particles. Within two months, a supernova exploded in the universe, and they were able to observe particles called neutrinos.
One month later, Koshiba retired due to the mandatory retirement age.
A visible supernova explosion had not occurred for 400 years. This happened just one month before Koshiba retired!! Because of this observation, Koshiba later won the Nobel Prize.
Many people said that Koshiba was very lucky. However, he always said that neutrinos pass through everyone on Earth. Only his team was able to observe them because they were prepared.
Some authors wrote that putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is the most effective way to become lucky.
Henry Ford (1863–1947), the founder of the Ford Motor Company, said something similar:
“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”
One leading Japanese entrepreneur used to think only about himself. He used his staff to achieve his own dreams. Because of this, many problems occurred, and many staff members left the company.
Then he changed his mindset. He tried to put himself in his staff’s shoes. After that, his business improved.
People want to be lucky, so they think about themselves all the time. However, ironically, the best way to be lucky is to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. This is funny and interesting.
When you think about yourself too much, you create a lot of worry. However, when you put yourself in someone else’s shoes, you can forget your worries — and you also become luckier.
I read nine books to study luck. In summary:
- People experience the same amount of luck and bad luck.
- If you say “I’m lucky” all the time, you become luckier.
- Preparation is very important for being lucky.
- The best way to be lucky is to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.