Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire and author of The Luck Factor, has researched over 400 ‘lucky’ and ‘unlucky’ people and discovered that luck is no accident.

Instead, he found that we create our own good or bad fortune.

The major difference between lucky and unlucky people is that the less fortunate are more tense and uptight, and so fail to notice the unexpected and chance opportunities.

Lucky people, by contrast, create their own good luck four ways:

Principle 1: Make your luck

Lucky people create, notice and act upon the chance opportunities in their lives.

They build stronger and wider networks with others, have a relaxed attitude to life and enjoy new experiences.

Principle 2: Go with your gut

Lucky people make successful decisions by using their intuition and gut feelings.

They listen to their hunches and boost their intuition.

Principle 3: Expect the good

Lucky people’s expectations about the future help them fulfill their dreams and ambitions.

They expect good fortune, attempt their goals, and set high expectations.

Principle 4: Fix your luck

Lucky people are able to transform their bad luck into good fortune.

They see the positive, take the long view and focus on being constructive.

So luck it seems is a choice. It is a way of seeing, interacting with and interpreting your world. Luck is a state of mind.

But luck also occurs through action.  If you never set a goal and try to achieve it, you will never ‘get lucky’.

And luck is also about being optimistically open to the unexpected, the interesting, and the unusual.

We can all, therefore, create our own good luck no matter which way the cards fall.

For more information, including a free ebooklet, The Complete Guide to Luck, visit www.theluckfactor.com