A four-leaf clover, a rabbit’s foot and a horseshoe are mentioned around me a lot whenever I’m in the company of someone trying to hit it big.
The folks I know who have scratched off lotto tickets strewn all over the place and regularly wear the expression of defeat at the casino wish they’d had one of those items on hand to increase their luck. I can relate to them in that sense—I’ve always been keen on finding out what it takes to get lucky more often than not.
I ran to ChatGPT to inquire about everything it takes to improve my luck and expected to be treated to some advice about hanging dream catchers all around my house and adding a bunch of evil eye bead bracelets to my wardrobe. But to my surprise, the chatbot offered advice that gave me realistic, practical routines I can incorporate into my life to get those “lucky breaks” everyone wishes for.
Here are the seven (there goes that lucky number!) pieces of practical advice ChatGPT put into my head that are all about improving my luck from both a personal and professional standpoint.
Boosting my luck by creating better opportunities for success in the long run
The first portion of ChatGPT’s response that made a ton of sense to me was this:
People often talk about "luck" as if it's random, but research and the habits of consistently successful people suggest that many "lucky breaks" come from increasing the number and quality of opportunities that come your way. If your goal is to feel luckier over the next year, these seven strategies have an outsized payoff.
Afterward, I was met with a collection of seven tips that did a commendable job of shifting the focus from hoping for good luck to actively engineering more chances for it to come to fruition. The one that laid out one of the easiest paths to success was about putting myself in the sort of situations where lucky moments are more likely to happen.
ChatGPT stated that constantly being around ambitious people, attending conferences & community events with like-minded individuals, participating in online communities where fruitful conversations are the norm and learning new skills that intersect with my existing expertise are the best moves to make. This quote summed up its guidance quite nicely: Many "overnight successes" are simply people who spent years in rooms where opportunities naturally emerged.
ChatGPT’s advisement also produced six other tips that should boost my luck and help me develop the sort of routines that will benefit me the most:
- Increase your "surface area for luck": The more people, ideas, and experiences you expose yourself to, the more opportunities you'll encounter. Try to attend one new event each month, start conversations with people outside your industry, say "yes" to invitations you would normally decline (within reason), and share your work publicly. Luck often looks like someone saying, "I thought of you because..."
- Become exceptionally easy to remember: People create opportunities for people they remember. Build a recognizable reputation: be known for one or two specific strengths, publish your insights consistently, and help people without immediately expecting something in return. When an opportunity appears, you want your name to be the first one that comes to mind.
- Create more "lottery tickets": Most successful people don't rely on one big opportunity—they create dozens of smaller ones. Examples: pitch multiple story ideas instead of waiting on one, experiment with different projects, apply for opportunities even if you're unsure you'll get them, and reach out to interesting people regularly. A 10% success rate is fantastic if you're taking enough shots.
- Stay curious instead of certain: Many lucky discoveries happen because someone noticed something others ignored. Ask questions like: "What am I missing?" "What's changing right now?" "What are smart people suddenly paying attention to?" Curiosity uncovers opportunities before they become obvious.
- Make yourself unusually reliable: Talent gets attention. Reliability gets opportunities. When people know you'll meet deadlines, communicate clearly, and deliver quality work, they'll recommend you more often, multiplying your "luck."
- Reflect on your wins and near-misses: Luck isn't just about what happens—it's about recognizing patterns. Each week, ask yourself what unexpected opportunity appeared, why it happened, and how you can increase the chances of that happening again. Small patterns compound into major advantages.
After reading through all of ChatGPT’s tips, it became evident that depleting my bank account via lottery ticket purchases, crossing my fingers every time I hit the blackjack table and doing my lucky dance before heading into a job interview won’t do me too much good.
The takeaway
Instead of hoping and relying on superstitious items to increase my chances of amazing things happening to me, ChatGPT’s counsel made it clear that adopting advantageous habits will work much better for me in the long run.
Getting lucky means I’ll need to stop waiting until I’m “ready,” trying to optimize every decision I’m presented with and obsessing over outcomes that I have no control over.
As a final gift, ChatGPT generated a prompt that should assist me and everyone reading this right now:
Act as my opportunity strategist. Based on my current goals, identify five situations this week where I could create my own luck. For each opportunity, explain why it matters, the smallest action I can take in the next 24 hours, the people I should meet or contact, and what I'm likely overlooking. Prioritize actions that have the highest upside with the lowest time investment.
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