Hardwood Floors Oct/Nov 2019

By Paul Reilly

fulfilling prophecy as people expect something to happen and act in ways that create the outcome they anticipated. To create luck, you must be open to the concept that there is something out there – even the seed of an idea or opportunity. Beginning with this expectation, opening yourself to possibilities and persevering increases the probability you will discover good fortune. There is always a recession coming. Although recessions can be painful, they often make us better in the long run. Good economic times mask bad habits. During recessions, we are forced to remove the mask and identify ways to get better. In that spirit, the adversity we experience in recessions is the “kick in the teeth” we don’t want, but really need. g Paul Reilly is president of Tom Reilly Training and co-author of Value-Added Selling, fourth edition (McGraw-Hill 2018). For additional information on sales training programs, call Paul at 636.778.0175 or email him at paul@reillysalestraining.com. You can also visit TomReillyTraining.com and sign up for his free newsletter.

find you or do you find luck? Openness to luck expands your mental peripheral vision. When you expect luck, you look for it. We have an uncanny ability to find what we expect and seek. Dr. Al Siebert, researcher and author of The Survivor Personality , writes, “When misfortune strikes, they (survivors) not only cope well, they often turn disaster into a lucky development.” His belief is that we have the resilient capability to find good fortune even in tough times. The disruptive change that turns some people into victims provides others the opportunity to turn it into good fortune. One person’s adversity is another person’s alchemy. Dr. RichardWiseman, researcher and author of The Luck Factor , takes it a step further in his work in helping people become luckier: “More than 80 percent of the subjects improved their luck by at least 40 percent within a month.” Fortune favors the bold. Being open to luck means being open to risk and new ideas. This view of luck indicates people can create much of their own luck. This is validated in the self-

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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