Luck is No Accident

This entry is for writing the summary to the book "Luck is no Accident -  Making the most of Happenstance in your Life and Career" by John D. Krumboltz and Al S. Levin to help remember/ jot down some of the key points mentioned.

Introduction

People often attribute incidents happened as "pure luck", even when there were actions taken that led into the outcome.

- Be aware of your surroundings

- Take a risk, even with rejection as a possible outcome

- Be adaptable and open-minded

Chapter 1: Make the Most of Unplanned Events

Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out - Art Linkletter

Adapting to Changes in the Economy, Technology, and Government

- Be open to learn a new set of skills

- Better to have a job than no job

- "I want to help make your company become more successful. What problems are you having? Let's see how I can help to solve them"

- Sell items you no longer need

- Keep learning wherever you go

- Keep tune into changes that may provide opportunities - know your surroundings

- Simplify your diet

- Be willing to move to a new location

- Explore practical learning experiences

1. Take Advantage of Unexpected Disappointments - Unplanned events can be positive or negative. What's important is the attitude to make the best of the situation

2. Be Open to Changing Locations and Occupations - Good interpersonal and communication skills are needed in almost every type of work.  Other technical skills can be learned on the job

3. Share your Interests and Experiences with People you Meet - It is amazing how people wants to help you if they know something about you

4. Convert Frustrations into Opportunities - Success is not in how much adversity you face, but in how you respond to it

5. Realize that Unplanned Events Result in More Unplanned Events - No one can predict in advance how a string of events might affect anyone's career or plans or life

6. Make the Job Fit You - It may be easy to quite.  There's always room to try to modify the job or modify your approach to the job before giving up on it.

Chapter 2: Always Keep Your Options Open

Everyone who got to where they are had to begin where they were - Richard Paul Evans

1. Avoid Tunnel Vision - You don't need to single-minded and focus on one occupation

2. React to Pressure by Remaining Open-Minded - tentative career goals with continual open-mindedness.

3. You Don't Need to Commit to a Future Goal - not against planning, but against sticking with plans that prove unsatisfactory.

4. Liberate Yourself from Unrealistic Expectations

5. Respond Positively to Challenging Questions - You don't have to do what you said you would do

6. Refuse to Serve a Life Sentence of Misery - If you don't like the field for which you are trained in, then do something else. No need to feel guilty and continue to work in a job that you hate

Chapter 3: Wake Up - Before Your Dream Comes True!

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment - Buddha

You need a big dream and little steps - Diane Von Furstenberg

1. When Dreams Fail, Move on to Something Else - Try everything and see
2. Deciding is Easy - Making it Happen Is the Hard Part - Try taking small steps before jumping to conclusions
3. Test Your Dream - One Step at a Time
4. Don't Stick with a Bad Choice
5. Listen to Advice But Make Up Your Own Mind
6. Reassess Priorities as Circumstances Change
7. Passions are Created by Taking Action
8. Don't Marry Your Occupation
9. Open Yourself to Other Alternatives

Chapter 4: Try It - Even Without Knowing the Outcome

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. - Martin Luther King Jr
Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go - T.S. Elliot

1. Take Risks That Are Likely to Pay Off
2. Be Prepared for Unexpected Opportunities
3. Discover Something Unknown to You Before
4. Take Risks That May Fail
5. Take Risks with Unknown Outcomes
6. Stay In Touch with Friends and Colleagues
7. Assume Your Interests Will Change

Chapter 5: Go Ahead and Make Mistakes

Fall seven times, stand up eight - Japanese proverb

1. Don't Be Afraid to Fail
2. Make Use of Your Mistakes
3. Make Use of Other People's Mistakes
4. Gain Inspiration from Another Person's Mistakes
5. Recognize That Chance Plays a Part in Every Decision
6. React to Mistakes Constructively
7. Try, try again or try something else

Chapter 6: Take Action to Create Your Own Luck

If there is no wind, row. - Latin Proverb

1. Take One Step at a Time
2. Realize the Future Starts Right Now
3. Take Advantage of Timely Opportunities
4. Always Do Your Best Work - It Pays Off Later
5. Ask for What You Want
6. When Desperate, Remember Those You've Helped
7. Don't Let Self-Doubt Keep You From Trying
8. Persist in the Face of Rejection
9. Consider Other Ways to Create Unplanned Events

Chapter 7: Go for the Job - Then Learn the Skills

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards. - Vernon Sanders Law
Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself. - Chinese proverb

1. Never Complete Your Education
2. Keep Learning Practical Skills to Deal with Poverty- believing you can do
3. Claiming Competence Based on Future Learning - knowing that you have the ability to learn
4. Make Every Job A Learning Experience
5. Everyone is Your Teacher
6. Use the Skills Learned in One Job to Qualify for the Next
7. Don't Underestimate Your Skills
8. Learn What You Enjoy from Your Own Experience
9. Treat Obstacles to Learning as Challenges
10. Become a Lifelong Learner

Chapter 8: Enjoy Yourself - The Good Life is a Balanced Life

1. Put Yourself in Charge of Creating a Satisfying Life
2. Learn Through Taking Up a Hobby
3. Every Job is About Helping Others - Volunteer, Temporary Work
4. Be all you can possibly be - laugh and find humor everyday, dream, grow up, have no regrets

Chapter 9: Overcome Self-Sabotage

Be the change you wish to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi
Wisdom is not so much knowing what you must do in the end as knowing what you must do next. - Herbert Hoover
Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right. - Henry Ford.

1. Can you really create your own passion? - take the first job offer that exposes you to most learning opportunities and take advantage of every chance you get to learn new skills and develop new interests.
2. Even undesirable job teach you some important lessons - taking action is key!!
3. External vs Internal Obstacle
4. Develop Helpful Beliefs
- some work experience is better than no work experience
- you can change your career direction now regardless of what you have done in the past
- failure is a normal part of life and learning - not a disaster
- you don't need to have a goal to justify maximum effort - always do your best, then you will be ready for opportunities that come after

Chapter 10: Luck is No Accident

1. You never need to decide what you are going to be in the future
2. Unplanned events will inevitably have an impact on your career
3. Reality may be offering you better options than you can have dreamed
4. Engaging in a variety of activities will help you discover what you like and dislike
5. Expect to make mistakes and experience failures
6. You can create your own unplanned lucky events
7. Every experience is a way to learn
8. You can discover a variety of activities that are satisfying, even if you are not employed
9. Beliefs that keep you open to new ideas and experiences will help you overcome internal obstacles

Always learning, always trying, always wondering

Find satisfaction in everyday activities. Success is not a destination but a journey.