Lucky people are social magnets who build and maintain strong social networks. How does this enhance your luck? The more people you meet, the more likely you’ll bump into an opportunity. That could include anything from finding someone who knows a great dentist to someone who can hook you up with a great career contact. This comes down to probability. For example, if you are out and about meeting people, then you’re more likely to connect with someone who can help you advance your career or life situation.
Social magnetism is key to attracting the right people and opportunities. Two people can go to the same event and come out with completely different results.
Why is it that certain people can draw the best people and opportunities to them while others seem to drive them away? According to Richard Wiseman, author of The Luck Factor, research shows that people attract others without realizing it. Effectively, they are social magnets because they exhibit body language and facial expressions that others find attractive and inviting. For one thing, lucky people smile twice as much as unlucky people. In addition, lucky people engage in more eye contact with three times as much open body language than the unlucky folks.
You can improve your social magnetism by practicing smiling and uncrossing your arms. However, there is also a deeper level of work which can really make or break your attractiveness in social settings. The work entails getting your personal and emotional needs completely met. We all know that neediness is inherently unattractive. We run from needy people! But all humans have emotional needs. So, clearly, the ones who don’t appear to be needy have done a better job of fulfilling their needs to the point where they disappear. While simple, this is not necessarily easy to do, especially if you don’t know your needs.
You can identify your top four personal and emotional needs by taking the Emotional Index Quiz. Then you can find ways to satisfy them. Getting your needs fulfilled automatically results in making you more attractive to people and opportunities because you are no longer needy. When we don’t need someone or something, we are much more likely to attract it.
Lucky people also tend to have a more relaxed attitude towards life and are not tense or anxious. You can imagine that you’d be naturally drawn to the person who is relaxed and smiling as opposed to the person who is tense, nervous, or anxious. But there is more. The more relaxed you are, the more likely you are to spot an opportunity. If you are rushing around too tense to notice life, then you miss opportunities, large and small. So, relax, slow down and breathe deeply. You’ll be calmer and more likely to attract better people and opportunities as a result. This is one reason why I recommend in Coach Yourself to Success that you get a weekly massage. Tension can build up in the body. A regular massage gives you a chance to deeply relax and release that stored tension, making you more attractive to people and opportunities.
