The most successful people in the world say luck is a huge part of the achievement. Here’s how you can increase your odds.

Super-successful people believe in luck. They believe in it more consistently than they believe in education, creativity, investing, and a lot of other things commonly associated with building wealth.

A recent survey found that about 80% of self-made millionaires say luck is important in achieving success, compared with just 25% who said the same about getting a good formal education. However, the survey revealed that with ordinary middle-class people, the ratio was reversed. About 63% of average Americans put their faith in education, while just 42% believe in luck.

When it comes to luck, timing is always key. So, is there any scientific proof of real luck? It turns out… there is! Luck has been studied around the world by psychologists for many years. The research found that those people who consider themselves lucky have a distinct set of habits and attitudes that distinguish them from those who consider themselves unlucky. And guess what? Those habits and attitudes of the lucky closely reflect the self-made millionaire habits and attitudes.

It turns out that building your wealth and building your luck are roughly the same thing. They support each other in a virtuous cycle that can be seen when looking at the life-habits of such “lucky” people. As an entrepreneur, everyone hopes that they’ll get “lucky” with their new venture. For those seeking that luck and/or wealth we thought we’d share the five most direct ways you can start on your path toward getting luckier–and wealthier!

Lucky people and wealthy people both commit to their goals and make their own luck in the process. Having a specific objective makes it easier to recognize a “lucky” opportunity when it comes your way because luck always favors a prepared mind.

On the other hand, if you hedge your bets on a disparate set of goals, you can end up feeling lost and unlucky. As the ancient saying goes, “For a ship without a destination, there is no favorable wind.” As you narrow your goals, look for things that you are passionate about.

The lucky and the wealthy go at their objectives full bore, with a positive, winning attitude, and in doing so, they maximize their abilities to profit from chance. Take for example, the role of managing or setting up your business contracts. The most skilled and successful negotiators are always those who investigate the other side’s positions the most thoroughly.

The better prepared you are in any business dealing, the more ready you are to deal with bad surprises that a less-prepared person might deem as “bad luck.” When you look for opportunities that you are truly interested in, doing some extra research to prepare yourself will be more enjoyable rather than an obligation that can be easily thrown to the side.

If you associate with people who consider themselves lucky, studies show your luck will improve. Friend-of-a-friend connections often produce opportunities for successful people that appear to be lucky when they are, in fact, the result of good network design. When researching self-made millionaires, studies found a common denominator of having smaller and tighter professional networks comprised of highly-networked people whom they know very well, and represent a wide range of fields. Develop a network of that kind, seeded with “connector” personalities who are familiar with you and your goals, and you will see your “lucky” opportunities multiply. If you don’t have any “connector” personalities among your friends or acquaintances,  you will need to follow a plan.

When starting a business, this plan could be a powerful “make or break” moment when choosing between a franchise or starting an independent operation. High quality franchisors will offer more than a network of fellow franchisees but will also provide you with a customized strategic marketing plan to help build your business on a foundation of success.

Super-successful people consider their ability to work doing the things they are skilled at as a major contributing factor to their success. Not coincidentally, playing to your strengths is also how you develop such deep expertise in your work that you can pick up on patterns others don’t see. Having this strength makes you more likely to trust your gut in decision-making. Both are defining traits of lucky people! Knowing what you want to do is not only a strength, it is a success factor.

The two most impressive findings that these studies have revealed is how deeply the super-successful believe in the benefits of failure and persistence. Self-made millionaires, unlike the middle-class, go right back at the things they fail at and are determined to learn from their mistakes. Surveys of lucky people show similar traits. Lucky people say they see the positive sides of their misfortunes, don’t dwell on the ill effects, and take corrective steps to avoid misfortune in the future.

So, are the super-successful wealthy because they’re lucky, or are they lucky as a result of being so successful? I suspect most would respond to this question with “Yes.”

Wealth and luck seem inseparable, and the news that you can do something about both of them should make you feel lucky indeed!

To learn more about franchise opportunities with High Touch High Tech, visit us online at ScienceMadeFunFranchise.net.

High Touch High Tech is the leader in innovative hands-on science and nature experiences for children, serving over 4 million children annually with 27 franchise locations across the United States, Canada, Turkey, Singapore and South Korea.