Do we make our own luck?

Ever hear the saying, “you gotta be good to be lucky and lucky to be good”?  Well I believe this to be absolutely true!

The other day at my staff book club we were discussing our most recent read, Jenn Sincero’s “You are a Badass”.  During our discussion it became clear that some of my team believe we make our own luck (I am one of those believers) and others on my team do not believe in this.

I believe we make our own luck by making choices to put ourselves out there.  Sometimes choosing to do something or ask for something that may make us uncomfortable or nervous can often open a door to luck or a new opportunity that would not have existed if we just sat back in our comfortable familiar place.  The universe works in wonderful ways.

Today, I just had yet another awesome example of putting myself out there and creating my own luck.

I arrived at the airport, heading to Utah for the Mastermind Talks conference,  led by Jayson Gaignard and his team.  I was checking in for my flight and I asked the fellow behind the counter where the biz class lounge was and he informed me that Delta Airlines unfortunately doesn’t have a lounge in Toronto.  He told me Delta are partners with a lounge that he thought cost $80 and with my biz class ticket I get 20% off, so it would be $64.  In my head I thought, “well that’s a waste of amount of money, I won’t bother”.  

As I was walking toward my gate, I saw the sign for the lounge and I thought, “Oh what the heck, I’ve got time, I’ll just pop in and show my ticket and see what happens.  Maybe it’s only $10 and not $80, or maybe the person behind the counter will just be super friendly and let me in, I’ll go ask and find out.”  

When I walked in and showed my ticket, the fellow behind the counter kindly expressed, “Unfortunately, Delta Biz Class tickets are not valid in this lounge.”  So I turned to walk away saying,  “Ok no worries”.  At this moment, a man walked up behind me and said “She can come in as my guest right?”, and he handed over his AmEx Platinum card.  The lounge employee said “Oh yes, with Amex Platinum, you can bring in a complimentary guest.”

Wow – how lucky is that!   Had I not stepped in to the lounge to ask, this lucky situation would never have come my way!  I’m a big believer that it never hurts to ask.  The worst that can happen, they say “No”.  The best that can happen, the person behind you will give you a free pass to join them in the biz class lounge!

Never be afraid to ask.  You may just create your own luck in the process!

— Kristi Herold, Founder, CEO, Sport & Social Group