I've made my own luck.

Some time ago, I was reading an article that discusses what makes "lucky" people so lucky. At the time, I was in a life-rut, but I knew it would pass soon enough. It always does. I never stay in a funk for any unbearable amount of time, and I like to think it's because I have "lucky" streaks that put me back on top. So reading this article was exactly what I needed to facilitate the occurrence of that "lucky" streak.

Unfortunately, I don't remember what website I read the original article on. But I've found an appropriate substitute. I can look back on all the times I'd jump right out of a rut, and apply most, if not all of the points they make in this article. It really does seem valid in retrospect, of course, just like most other ideas, but I recently had another "lucky" experience that really has me believing that I can make my own luck.

I have this aspiration to do freelance webdesign and webdevelopment in addition to whatever full time job I score after school. I've been practicing both of these things since I was in my early teens, and it's a great passion of mine. Unfortunately, to really have any credibility in the freelance field, you need to have had clients. And to get clients, you usually need to have some sort of credibility. It's the typical chicken-or-the-egg problem. But just recently, I caught a good break.

I was hanging out at a classy location killing time just before spring break had hit. Over the past month or two, I'd been frequenting this location, and I had gotten to know the owners pretty well. I knew the location needed a website, but I wasn't going to bring it up to them without anything to show. They always seem to comment on how bored I look when I'm there, and so generally some conversation starts up, especially when business is pretty slow. At some point, I asked what the special of the day was, and it happened to be Mojito Monday. I wasn't too keen on having a drink just yet, nor could I really afford one, so I asked the bartender to give me a minute.

Anyway, the bartender left and returned with a couple of tacos-gratis and some more conversation. He learned pretty quickly that I'm a software engineering technology major with freelance webdesign ambitions. At that point, he all but shoved a couple of webdesign job offers in my face. I was a little awestruck by how quickly a bit of smalltalk had evolved into something just short of job offers, but eventually it hit me that I had just been lucky.

See, I put myself in a position where I was exposed to new people. New people mean new opportunities, which means a better chance for a "lucky" event to happen. Being in the right place, with the right people around me, at the right time, with the right mindset got me almost-job-offers, which I then pursued.

One of them turned into a real job offer, and the other one is still pending a meeting between the interested parties. Needless to say, I'm really stoked. My motivation to pursue this has skyrocketed only from the onset of a project. I'm currently working on the website for the location, I've started a personal blog for my exploits in the web industry, and I've started putting together a resume website to showcase my work.

It's funny that one of these "lucky" events can completely brighten up someone's short-term or even long-term outlook. And because a person is so lighthearted and optimistic, more of these "lucky" events are likely to happen. It really is possible to make your own luck. The article I mentioned earlier, "How to Make Your Own Luck" lists attributes that are common amongst the "lucky" people who were studied, and those are a great place to start! Observe the wonders it has done for me!