According to dictionaries, luck is a capricious, intangible force that operates for good or ill in people's lives. It's said to be totally random, as it can favor someone for a while, and then vanish for no particular reason. Consequently, luck is usually thought to be something that happens by chance, accident, or coincidence. Winning a lottery is a good example of this, as no skill is required, and the results are totally due to chance. I don't accept this definition, as there are a number of ways to increase the amount of luck you have in your life.

People have always tried to improve their luck. The ancient Romans prayed to Fortuna, the goddess of luck and good fortune. She's often depicted blindfolded to show that luck is blind. The term "Lady Luck" refers to Fortuna. In addition to praying to a wide variety of gods and goddesses, people have used omens, portents, lucky charms, crystals, and other methods to try to attract good luck into their lives.

You're already lucky in many ways, as you have skills and abilities that you can develop and turn to your advantage. You might be good with your hands, for instance, and be able to use those skills to create the life you want. You might be good at mathematics, music, or teaching. You might be a good communicator, or have a gift at making friends. These are all useful skills that not everyone possesses. Rather than thinking that people who possess these skills are lucky, you should look inside yourself and recognize the talents and skills that you possess. You create your own luck by the way you live your life.

You can't affect chance, but you can increase your luck by focusing on the things you can control. If, for instance, you know what you want, constantly visualize yourself achieving it, focus intently on this goal, and work hard towards achieving it, the chances are high that you'll succeed. Of course, when you do, the people who fail to do these things will say that you're lucky.

Here are seven simple ways to attract good luck into your life. I chose seven as it's believed to be a lucky number. The ancient Greeks considered seven to be the perfect number. Seven cannot be divided by any other number. The phases of the moon change every seven days. There are seven days in a week. According to the Bible, God created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh. There are seven gods of luck in Japanese folklore. When people are in "seventh heaven," they're said to be full of happiness and joy.

1. Positive Attitude. People with a positive mental attitude focus on worthwhile, successful outcomes. They realize that life has both ups and downs, but choose to focus on the positive. They believe that everything will work out well in the long run. They feel good about themselves, and make plans for the future. Pessimists spend so much time dwelling on their doubts and anxieties that they have little time to think about the sort of future they'd like to have. If you maintain a positive outlook on life, you'll achieve much more than people with negative attitudes, as you'll be focused on the positive outcomes that they fail to see.
   
   
2. Intention. It's vitally important to know what you want. Once you've decided on a goal, you can make plans as to how you'll achieve it. Most successful people have a number of goals. These are likely to be both short-term and long-term goals. Some will be relatively easy to achieve, while others will be difficult. Achieving the short-term and easier goals keeps these people motivated as they work on achieving the more difficult long-term goals. If you set yourself worthwhile goals, and then work hard to achieve them, you'll amaze yourself at how lucky you'll become.
   
   
3. The Law of Attraction. The law of attraction says that you attract into your life anything that you focus on. In other words, if you focus on thinking positive thoughts, you'll have positive outcomes. Conversely, negative thoughts produce negative results. Consequently, to become lucky, you need to constantly focus on achieving your goals, and reaping the rewards of your success. Of course, positive thinking isn't enough. To be lucky, you need hard work as well as think positive thoughts. Samuel Goldwyn, the film producer, is credited with saying: "The harder I work, the luckier I get."
   
   
4. Persistence. It's hard to remain motivated all the time, and many people give up after a few setbacks, and their goal seems too hard to achieve. If you take time out when this occurs, and think about your intention, you'll be able to start again with renewed focus and energy. Persistent people continue working, no matter how many roadblocks appear in their path. Of course, when they achieve success, other people will comment on how lucky they are.
   
   
5. Visualization. Visualization is the art of imagining the outcome you desire as clearly as you can. Whenever you visualize a positive outcome, your luck will increase. This is because you'll feel confident of success, and will approach the situation with a positive attitude. The universe will recognize this, too, and will help you achieve your goal. A good example would be two people who have job interviews tomorrow. One sits down comfortably, and visualizes the following day as clearly as possible. This person "sees" the entire interview going exactly as he or she hoped it would. This person will play this positive scenario several times before going to the interview. The second person feels anxious and nervous, and virtually talks him or herself out of the position before the interview even takes place. This person is also practicing a form of visualization, but it is negative, rather than positive. He or she doesn't know that luck increases when you visualize a positive outcome.
   
   
6. Act As If You Are Lucky. If you act as if you're lucky, and constantly affirm this to yourself, you will become lucky. It's an example of, "fake it until you make it." Over the years, I've helped many people by suggesting that for just one week they pretend that everyone likes them, and that the whole world is cheering them on. Without exception, everyone who tried this found that their life improved. The mind is extremely suggestible, and if you act as if you are lucky, good luck will become a reality in your life.
   
   
7. Gratitude. If you look for the good in every situation, you'll always find something to be grateful for. You'll also realize how lucky you actually are. While lying in bed at night, it's a good practice to think of three or four things that happened during the day that made you happy. Express your gratitude to the universe for enabling them to occur. Be on the lookout for opportunities to express your gratitude to others. It will make you feel good, and will be appreciated by others. It will also make you memorable, and—dare I say it—lucky.

If you experiment with these ideas, I'm sure you'll attract much more luck into your life. Good luck!