We've all heard the saying that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. While this may be true, luck should not be the only factor we rely on when achieving success. Many successful people will tell you that they worked hard and made their luck. This blog post will discuss some things you can do to increase your chances of success and reduce your reliance on luck.

I got lucky

"How lucky you are!" You might hear some people say this to you whenever they hear about your successes in life. To a certain point, yes, luck contributes a significant factor to success. However, people who managed to achieve a high level of success in their lives know that luck isn't the only factor that lets them attain success. Sure enough, being born into a wealthy family gives some people immediate access to opportunities and resources to get a head start. However, without discipline, effort, and hard work, success will not manifest.

The problem with relying on luck is that it is an uncontrollable factor. It's whimsical, and it borders on the supernatural. You never know if you will have good or bad luck with the outcomes of things and events happening in your life, and you can't blame luck when something goes wrong because it is not quantifiable and is an invisible force. So the better thing is to become prepared and maximize our resources and knowledge to achieve our goals and attain success. Several things can help us reach success without relying too much on luck.

1. Strive for continuous learning

A good education serves as an excellent foundation later in your life. You will get a higher chance of getting hired by companies if you have a perfect educational background and skills that highlight what you can do. In addition, some may think graduating from a well-known and prestigious school can help increase their chances of being hired. While it may play a factor for some companies who have hiring biases, the skills highlighted in your CV can show hiring personnel what you can do and contribute to their company. Besides, how you answer in the interview and conduct yourself can also factor in getting hired.

Learning doesn't have to stop once you are employed. One can always strive to learn new skills and ideas outside your current field continuously. Learning about new things opens more opportunities for you, so if things don't go well in your current career, you have a backup of doing other things or getting a job in a different field. In addition, continuous learning expands your knowledge base and is equal to increasing your resources, so you have better chances of attaining a good life.

2. Don't indulge in procrastination

Procrastination is putting off things when they should get accomplished in the first place. It is a bad habit for some of us, and it can become a serious problem when we don't achieve the things that can help us attain a better future. And once unfortunate things occur due to procrastination, some people may say, "It's just bad luck." However, the lack of effort and laziness got them to happen. Therefore, if you want a good life, you must stop procrastinating and start being productive while there are opportunities. Good possibilities will slip if you forsake your responsibility and focus on lazing around instead.

3. Step out of your comfort zone

Along with continuous learning, you must also be willing to step out of your comfort zone to unlock more opportunities in life. It requires an open mind and the willingness to try new things, which can include things you may be uncomfortable doing. Learning new things outside of your comfort zone also increases the number of resources you have, and if we are going to play with luck, increasing your resources means increasing the chances of scoring good luck. When you know about many things, there is a better chance you might tap into something that can bring tremendous success into your life.

4. It doesn't hurt to get support from others

The thing with luck is that you get better chances of acquiring a good fortune the more times you attempt something, and you can have more tries if you have more resources. Applying this logic, you can get better opportunities and success if you have more options in life. Adding people in your life who can help you in various parts of your career and personal life is one way to expand your resources. For example, finding job opportunities by yourself can be challenging. Your social network of friends and peers can make it easier by providing options you may not find by yourself. Getting support from others can make life more manageable.

5. Take a chance

Taking chances lie in the realm of luck, but it's something that people who have attained great success do in their lives. Owners of the most successful businesses and companies won't get to where they are if they didn't take the chance to establish their businesses in the past, no matter how risky it could be. Of course, they made calculated risks in that they are ready to face the consequences in case things fail and have backup plans. Sometimes in life, the best things that can bring us fulfillment and success are those you can only obtain by taking a risky move. You can choose to stay doing the same thing repeatedly in your life, but it can induce some boredom and prevent you from growing as a person. It won't hurt to take a chance to make some giant leaps in life, provided that it won't be a total loss for you in case of failure and you are ready to face the consequences.

Create your fortune

While luck may play a significant role in how our life unfolds and the successes we attain, it's better to think we are primarily responsible for what happens in our lives. Therefore, one cannot stay idle and wait for a good outcome without doing anything. Good luck comes to those who grab opportunities whenever they come and have the resources, skills, and knowledge to ensure a good result. Luck is prevalent primarily in games and events of chance where no real skill is needed to attain an outcome, such as joining raffles, lotteries, and contests where the winners are determined by drawing lots. You wouldn't want to treat your life as a game and bet on everything, relying on luck to make good things happen. Preparation and development of your skills and knowledge are your better bets to ensure you live a good life rather than relying only on chance, making it look like you don't have any control over your life.