BusinessNews Publishing - Summary: Make Your Own Luck: Review and Analysis of Kashs Book

Book Abstract

You make our own luck in life by gradually learning how to better read the signs of opportunity knocking. The key to long-term success is to recognize and then seize the seemingly random moments and coincidences that can turn dreams into reality.

In business as in life, there are four factors which are inextricably linked together:

1. True success however you personally define it.
2. The basic human values respect, integrity and trust amongst them.
3. An opportunity for personal development to feel that whatever you do makes a difference.
4. A personal sense of fulfillment the satisfaction that comes from doing something to the best of your abilities.

Many people go through life assuming these factors are mutually exclusive any time you have one, the other three will remain out of reach. In reality, however, these factors are all bound together. A life well lived or a successful business career will, in fact, have all four rather than just one or two. All thats required to achieve that will be to seize the moments that will present themselves from time to time, and get into action.

Good luck doesnt just happen to someone else. Nor does the fickle finger of fate work strictly by chance. Admittedly, there is an unexplainable element which comes into it to some degree, but the majority of the good and bad breaks we get are self-generated. When we learn how to better pick up on the clues that flood our senses every day, we soon realize the world is full of interesting opportunities. Make the most of those opportunities and in effect we are changing our luck for the better. Fail to take advantage of these same opportunities and we miss out on all the benefits that can be derived.

Call it serendipity if you will, but luck is nothing more than opportunity knocking. Its up to us to open the door and make the most of each opportunity that comes to us.

About the Author

PETER KASH is senior managing director and co-founder of Paramount Capital Inc., a venture capital firm specializing in biotechnology start-ups. He has also taught at the Wharton School of Business and currently serves as a visiting professor at a number of educational institutions, including Japans largest college, Nihon University. Peter Kash also serves on the board of directors of the Hedge Fund Association, and has personally raised more than $500 million in venture capital while starting more than a dozen successful companies.

Important Note About This Ebook

This is a summary and not a critique or a review of the book. It does not offer judgment or opinion on the content of the book. This summary may not be organized chapter-wise but is an overview of the main ideas, viewpoints and arguments from the book as a whole. This means that the organization of this summary is not a representation of the book.

1. The Magic of Coincidence

Unexpected events play an important role in the success or failure of many business projects. Being able to recognize the opportunities implicit in any apparently coincidental event is an essential key to success.

Most opportunities to do business transactions arrive at unexpected times. In fact, they will regularly appear at inconvenient moments, dressed in humble attire as a problem or in some other disguise. For those reasons, many incredible possibilities are ignored or dismissed lightly by people who are unprepared to act.

There is no rational reason to explain why some many business opportunities arise as improbable events or coincidences, other than to say there is a Web of Life that unites all humanity. This web constantly brings people together who are pursuing similar projects from different directions. This is true also of all first meeting situations meeting your spouse, meeting a business partner, coming into contact with a highly influential mentor. The odds of these first meetings occurring are so small that there is always an element of magic in such occurrences as if they were orchestrated by an unseen hand. This is the web of life in action.

On closer examination, many people find most of their key connections in life personally and professionally occur accidentally or by chance. Yet, keep in mind these are only the occurrences that they are aware of. There are probably an equal (or even much greater) number of occurrences which were offered but not taken up on for one reason or another. Thus, if you become more aware of these occurrences as they arise, big things are possible as you position yourself to take greater advantage of them.

Why do we sometimes hesitate to take advantage of these opportunities?

• We may feel uncomfortable about accepting gifts preferring instead to do something to earn everything we get.
• We may be afraid that we will be hurt in some way or disappointed if we fail.
• The unknown may seem daunting compelling us to cling to the familiar rather than plunge in and try something new.
• Our imaginations may be shackled preventing us from realizing the potential good in any situation or person we come into contact with.
• We dont know where this will lead and for that reason, its better to be safe and stick to what we know rather than try heading off in a new direction.

Albert Einstein actually had one question that he asked and sought the answer for each day: Is the universe a friendly place? For those who perceive the universe as essentially a friendly place, their lives are rich with new possibilities. Every day, they will work to harvest every opportunity that presents itself, both coincidentally and by design. By contrast, anyone who sees the universe as a predominantly negative environment will greet each day with fear and suspicion. They will be far less likely to see coincidences as new opportunities but view them as threats instead. And random occurrences will be accredited to bad luck more than anything else.

With that in mind, how can we become more open to the coincidences generated by the web of life?

• Be open to new possibilities especially those you have not anticipated.
• Listen to your gut and follow through on any random events that just feel right.
• Be willing to look ahead whenever coincidence and inspiration align.
• Be opportunity oriented constantly on the lookout for new and unexpected possibilities.
• Have a long-term perspective and trust that the good deeds you do will be like seeds that bring forth an abundant harvest of future possibilities.
• Try and make more friends than enemies along the path to success.
• Help others to succeed by acknowledging the basic human values of dignity and self-respect.
• Maintain high standards of personal ethics

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do by finding out what not to do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.

Samuel Smiles

Life becomes larger, richer and more exciting when you open up to the greater possibilities for yourself, your family and all the people you care about. At the same time, you will also experience more of your own power, because you will see how you can be guided by your own abilities and intuition. Today, when my gut tells me to pursue something, I try to listen. Not every endeavor succeeds, of course. I have failed as many times as I have succeeded, but Ill take a .500 batting average any day. I have learned that my inner voice can provide very good counsel indeed.