Change your expectations, change your luck, change your life.

Jim Brennan said:
There are things you can control, and there are things you cannot. I suppose you could call the things beyond your control "Luck". For me, that word belongs in the same trash can as "talent". More often than not is used as an excuse.

Focus on the things you can control. There really are only two things on that list. Your attitude and your efforts.
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i'm not sure i follow your thoughts on talent. to me "luck" is beyond your control, but "talent" you can do something with. if you have the aptitude to do something, you can control how you nurture and develop that talent. i see talent as extremely important for creative or artistic endeavors.
 
Holy thread-revival Batman.

Luck is where preparation meets opportunity... my high school science teacher was probably quoting somebody else... but the thing he missed is you have to pursue opportunities. I agree with the above... about luck, and talent. Luck, chance, or untraceable consequence is real... but I rarely consider anybody to have been lucky. A lot of people like to attribute another person's efforts paying off, to luck... occasionally it is, but it is usually the result of hard work and smart choices.

Attitude is more important then anything else... as well as your own perception and reaction to your life's expectations... which may be raised or lowered accordingly.
 
ugafan said:
i'm not sure i follow your thoughts on talent. to me "luck" is beyond your control, but "talent" you can do something with. if you have the aptitude to do something, you can control how you nurture and develop that talent. i see talent as extremely important for creative or artistic endeavors.
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Exactly. What you DO with your talent is the thing you control. How much talent you HAVE is beyond your control.

You cannot control what life gives you, only what you do with it.
 
I think what Uga is saying is that you can grow talent... and maybe you're using the word talent as "natural ability"... which is a whole new debate. Tiger Woods is one of the most talented people the world has ever seen, but his dad worked with him to develop that talent from a very young age... picking up chicks became a "talent"... in the other sense :)

In light of this... your sig has me smiling. Inherent "talent" that is NOT natural ability... would be magical and mysterious.
 
Absolutely. You can grow talent, if you choose to. But there are also factors beyond your control. If Earl Woods had never bought Tiger his first set of clubs, his natural talent may have made him the star of of his HS Golf team, and that's about all. We'll never know. That part was beyond Tiger's control to an extent.

I'll give you an example. I have recently been introduced to some major career opportunities. Part of that is the result of the hard work and attitude that I have developed a specific reputation in a certain circle. That's the thing I had some control over.

But the opportunity came when someone I had never met needed something I was unaware of. No control by me there. Next they went to their agent, looking for a writer. It happened to be the same agent that a friend of mine has, and this friend was not available to do the job. No control there. Finally, this friend recommended me for the job.

Could I control his recommendation? No, not directly. But my actions and reputation, as well as the time I had invested n our relationship, affected his choice to go out on a limb and recommend me.

But (here's the tricky part) the opportunity was not a direct result of my actions. Furthermore, there are probably writers who are better than I am and may work harder than I do, who did not get this same opportunity. What I do with the opportunity is up to me, but I have no direct control over what happens to the property. Those things can be considered "luck" from my perspective.

It gets messy and becomes a mental exercise after a while. Control your attitude and efforts. Putting energy into things beyond that is not only a waste of time, it depletes the resources you have to expend on what you can control.
 
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Opportunity can be controlled to a degree as well. For example, the professional opportunities available to me in Los Angeles were greater than elsewhere, but didn't really count for anything until I had moved here so as to exploit them.

Foul thread necromancy, indeed.
 
Well, you can stake that claim
Good work is the key to good fortune
Winners take that praise
Losers seldom take that blame
If they don't take that game
And sometimes the winner takes nothing
We draw our own designs
But fortune has to make that frame

We go out in the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that lady luck dances
Roll the bones

Sorry...couldn't help myself. I was just watching "Beyond the Lighted Stage"
 
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I think it all boils down to continuing to challenge yourself, no matter what your circumstances are. Habits can be comforting but they don't spur growth. Opportunities become more abundant because one is doing more and therefore being more aware. Expectations fuel activity but, perhaps more importantly, they adapt to what reality is dictating, based on the knowledge gained through facing new challenges.

"Just do it" happens to be excellent advice.
 
I always think and act "as if"... Always. When i visualize my life it includes boat loads of money in my bank account, a successful film career and perfect health. I also feel inside all the amazing feelings associated with my wonderful life.

As an example: last year I imagined being free of credit card debt. I had no way knowing how I'd achieve this, I only new i would. Well... on January 1st, 2011 I wrote the last check which paid off my entire credit card debt -several thousand dollars in case you're interested-

I imagined my life without that bill, and now it's a reality.

I am currently visualizing myself residing in beautiful condo in a lovely village on Long Island, bought and paid for... in cash

"I love and am grateful for my beautiful condo in Huntington Village... thank you"


Trust me... it works
 
One more story...

I read Tarot cards as a sideline. There's a cafe near my home which I always wanted to work. I tried several times but no luck... they already had a reader and I could never get hold of the owner. Finally I gave up trying to force my way in. I simply visualized working there as a Tarot reader and knew the opportunity would present itself soon enough... naturally it did.

Cut to two months later... I received a text message from a good friend who knows the owner... he put in a good word for me after their current reader left. I simply had to call up the cafe and the job was mine. They were so accommodating to me and anxious to have me start as soon as possible. They love my work and we have a great relationship

Easy as pie...
 
I can't address the imagining part but in my experience formulating an effective plan and following it seems to work fairly well, too.

Did the cards predict the two-months-later good-friend text message?
 
Sad Max said:
Did the cards predict the two-months-later good-friend text message?
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lol... they did not. Part of the visualizing process is not to concern yourself with the "hows".... Worrying over the "hows" only complicates things and sidetracks the mind. Just believe in the vision as if it's reality
 
I think that positive thinking helps because it affects how your brain processes information. Our filters constantly turn the objective into the subjective. That's what defines our reality, and we make our conscious choices based on what we perceive is around us...not what is actually there. It's an important distinction.

So, if I believe I am successful, I will make the kinds of choices that I believe a successful person would make. That can (or should) impact our actions, our habits and our outcomes.

It's an oversimplification, but it largely holds true.

Were it gets complicated is how YOU define those things. I write because I can't NOT write. I have had minimal commercial success in that arena so far, but I still believe myself to be successful because I am pretty damned good and I keep getting better. I write because I believe I am a writer so I d the things that writers do...like, um...oh yeah, write. If you define "success" as a 5 million dollar house, twin supermodel girlfriends and a 10 picture, final cut deal at Sony, how does that change your perceptions and actions?
 
This is an interesting topic.

One still needs to work but the thing is, when you train your mind on something -a goal or even an object- you are more apt to notice the signs which will inevitably lead you there. In the case of my Tarot reading job, my friend already knew I was interested in this place... So I had put the message out into the world then stopped worrying about it.

I also practice a few hours a day so when the time came, I was ready. So yes, one must still work hard while believing and visualizing.

Remember, when you "expect" debt... you will be in debt. Instead, expect checks... big ones written to you and in time, they will come.
 
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