Forge a NEW Path

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Forge a NEW Path

Forge a NEW Path

The more you attend events where you don't know a soul, dare to travel by yourself, or simply talk to a stranger in a coffee line, the luckier you'll be.

To put yourself in the way of fresh opportunities, think beyond family and friends to farther-flung folks, from casual acquaintances to online connections.

One way to connect with virtual strangers is to take what I call the Burgundy Challenge: Strike up a conversation with someone wearing burgundy within a 24-hour period. Try taking a new route to work or shopping at a different market while on the hunt for the magenta magnet. Opening yourself up to new experiences like this expands your social network and your chances of getting lucky.

Believe you'll succeed

Lucky people think of themselves as lucky — which perpetuates that lucky cycle, helps them shrug off setbacks more easily, and keeps them striving for what they want.

A key component of this sunny way of thinking: Don't see every setback as permanent ("This will last forever!"), pervasive ("My whole life is ruined!"), or personal ("Why does this always happen to me?"). Those who feel blessed with good luck subscribe to the three P's differently. They're more likely to see lucky streaks as permanent ("Bet I can keep this going!"), pervasive ("Hey, I won the bid for the apartment; maybe I'll get a callback interview for that job, too!"), and personal ("This feels like my lucky week!").

So if you discover you've sent out a résumé with a glaring typo in it, see it as a temporary, erasable error rather than a permanent Sharpie Mark of Shame. Remind yourself that it's a tiny job-search snafu, not an indictment of your character. Simply correct it (send a cleaned-up version with an e-mail saying, "Read this CV instead, please") and then refocus on the finish line.

Try multi-shirking

Conventional wisdom holds that the harder you toil, the luckier you'll get. That's true, but only to a point.

The more enjoyable your breaks, the better, to help you become clearer on which goals you'll find the most satisfying to achieve. "The more fun you have, the more you get to know yourself and the more clarity you get about what you want in life".