Make your own luck!

Experts reveal the simple habits that set you up for success

It’s YOUR turn to live a charmed life!

That friend who always snags the best parking space, the cousin with the fortuitous meet-cute story, the coworker who is always winning 50/50 raffles and radio contests… the charmed people we know make us wish for their secret to serendipity. But luck is just random and outside of our control, right?

Not so, asserts psychotherapist Mel Schwartz, author of The Possibility Principle. “You can bring more good fortune into your life. Opportunities are always there, but you have to first remove the blinders blocking your view.” These “blinders” might include things like the time pressure of a busy day, when Schwartz says you could be hurrying down the street and checking your phone, only to miss a chance connection with an old friend or a new acquaintance.

In fact, research at the University of Hertfordshire in England found that lucky people tend to be more attuned to their surroundings. In one experiment, participants had to count the number of photos in a newspaper. Folks who self-identified as “lucky” were more likely than their less-charmed peers to spot a large ad halfway through that read: “Stop counting. Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $250.”

Says Schwartz, “By opening up to new ways of thinking and widening your gaze, you can learn to get out of your own way and see the opportunities that are right in front of you.”

To uncover more luck in your own life, read on for the expert tips that’ll put you on a winning streak in no time.