The word and thinking behind “luck” is antithesis to hard working self made millionaire entrepreneurs, imho. Everything I got I worked damned hard for — and I’m proud of my 18 hour days and network of business sites and and resultant wealth and confidence. Luck as you said is for pussies and has nothing to do with success or lack thereof.

Self-fulfilling prophecy changes behavior, as your example illustrates… The key to success is service, as Earl Nightingale taught… “one’s rewards in life are in direct proportion to one’s service”, give or take a bit .. as it should be. Luck has nothing to do with success. Hard work in service of specific hungry target markets does, though… and goals help get the job done.

to profits,

-ken

I always enjoy reading your posts. We come from the same generation and your life experiences really resonate a lot with my own. While I believe we really make our own luck by paying attention to and recognizing opportunities and then having the foresite to take action on them, I also believe that pure random chance does also play a part in our lives as well. As for superstition, I have never really bought into that brand of thinking. I feel superstition is born out of lack of knowledge. It is created out of a lack of a way to explain things that happen which we can’t readily quantify.

luck - no such thing… everything happens as a consequence of our actions.

superstition - again, rubbish. Too many people blame this on religion but, look at religion properly and you’ll find there’s no room for superstition there. This is just something people have invented in order to satisfy their whims and desires.

and envy? - one of the most destructive of the deadly sins. The only only envy can truly hurt is the one who feels this emotion.

Look around — when you see someone less fortunate, be glad you’re not in his position for that could easily have been you. When you see someone better off, strive to do and be better.

All of these traits are for whimps and wussies.

I suspect many of these “superstitious and pseudo-scientific beliefs” stem closely from childhood. Many of us were brought up in some organized form of Christianity, which is heavy on symbolism, magic spells, and vapor.

This breeds superstition into the malleable mind of a child. Moreover, the power of our “social environment” equally buying into this all at once, the repetition, and the accompanied fear, further solidifies these processes into the child’s psyche.

Apply. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Then, sprinkle on dad’s need for his son/daughter to compete by playing ball (which I think is healthy to a degree) and you are further exposed to the very same archetypes who are at church practicing the same superstitions over and over again. Reaffirmed and cemented further.

Apply. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Now, as adults, we are awash in the psychic friends network, horoscopes, republicans, doomsday nay-sayers, and pro athletes praising god every time they hit a single (by the way, is this the same god who lets children starve all over the world? I guess HE just loves baseball, huh? I guess I can’t blame him.)

Point being, the same people who were taught these false belief “systems” now teach their children the same ones, and the cycle continues onward. Has been for centuries.

I have had to do much reconstruction over the past 3 years to “peel away” these calcified layers of a counterfeit reality. A reality that isn’t likely there. And it’s tough! It creeps back in when you are weak and tired. Or not paying attention. Kind of like that old girlfriend or that pesky nicotine addiction.

The good news is that there is plenty of literature available to help those interested in learning more about reality, and many are in your local library at no cost to you either.

I’d like to recommend a few here that have been instrumental in helping me see the world less from a “nebulous” place to more of a “connect the dots” place. I do agree with you John that once you see that you have more control, you are able to control more.

We cannot control events, but we can control our “responses” to these events, and that, in turn, affects outcomes. That is how you gain more control and reduce anxiety. And that, to me, is a very healthy and responsible adult position.

“Superstition” is widely known by intellects as “an excuse” for taking accountability for ones actions. With some effort, yes effort, you can break the chains of superstition once and for all, and see the world for what it truly is…which ain’t half bad!

BOOKS TO CONSIDER

“Struck by Lightning”
“God is Not Great”
“The God Delusion”
“The End of Faith”
and any book by Dr. Michael Shermer

Kind Regards to Everyone,

Garrett Todd

P.S. – The “source” of the issue of superstition is the real key to overcoming its malfeasance. Much of this false programming has religious undertones, so you’ll find a lot of help in the agnostic and atheist sections in bookstores and libraries. Best wishes!

Check it out:
http://www.geewhizzmarketing.com/2008/06/10/boo-hoo-its-all-their-fault/

“I never get jealous when I hear about some dude scoring big bucks in a launch, or a new biz venture, or even from an inheritance. I USED to, before I realized what my own main goal in life was.”

One of my questions is… so how do you determine what your main goal in life is? Since we are in complete control, it is up to each of us to assign some sort of meaning to it all, so… how do you find this meaning?

I’ve been trying to do that lately. I’ve moved to a new city, new girl, more travel, more money… yet I still keep asking myself “What does it all mean?”

I’m not happy. I thought I would be, but I’m not.

No one I talk to can relate to my problems. Everyone says to me “I wish I had your problems”… I guess they say that because money rolls in whether I do any work or not, and I live in a nice place (especially for a 26 yr old), etc etc… but everything still feels cold and lifeless.

I can tell by the way you write that you’ve been through all this before, so… I’m not sure exactly what to ask, but I know I need some kind of info to point to some answers.