I recently read "The Luck Factor" (Dr. Richard Wiseman) which described scientifically studying luck. After three years of study, Dr. Wiseman determined that "Luck is something that can be learned". His research boiled down to four simple principles:

* Principle One: Maximize Chance Opportunities

In business, do you spend more time trying to sell your product than paying attention? Increase the number of people you interact with (not just the obvious business networking groups). Increase your relaxation. Listen more. Pay attention to what people are saying and doing.

* Principle Two: Listening to Lucky Hunches

If you know what the return on investment (ROI) is, the decision-making is easy ("black and white"). Unfortunately, many business decisions have incomplete information ("gray"). To be lucky in business, increase your "centered-ness" to build (and trust) your intuition.

* Principle Three: Expect Good Fortune

We create our own realities. If your expectation is an increase of sales, you'll be less affected by problems and focus on things that can produce good fortune. Others will sense your focus on the positive, and will react accordingly.

* Principle Four: Turn Bad Luck to Good

Big business opportunities come from fixing what's broken or missing, not from improving the status quo just a little bit. When something breaks, remember it could always be worse, and find the gift in the problem. Don't take the problem personally. Then fix it.