The Science Of Creating Good Luck - Dr Christian Busch - #464

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello, friends, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Dr. Christian Busch. He's the Director of the Global Economy Program at New York University Center for Global Affairs and an author. The science of creating luck seems like an oxymoron. How is it possible to create more of something which is totally random? Dr. Busch's lab has spent years looking at the habits and behaviors of people who have lots of luck to distill down exactly how everyone else can replicate this in their own lives. Expect to learn why Viagra wouldn't have happened without a good luck mentality, the best way to consciously cultivate more serendipity in your life, how to never feel anxious about approaching someone again, my Tim Ferriss based regret, why our mindset around luck is more malleable than you might think and much more. Just like the David Robson episode from a couple of weeks ago, this is another great science writer talking about something that we all have a sense of in our own lives, we all know what it feels like when things are going our way and it's nice to know that there is a reliable way to replicate this even if we don't feel particularly lucky every day. I really hope that you enjoy this one. In other news, this episode is brought to you by The 6 Minute Diary. It is the easiest way to do a daily gratitude practice. If you've been thinking that you want to get into doing gratitude, you've heard that it's great for happiness or positive psychology, this is the simplest way to do it. Three minutes in the morning and three minutes in the evening, it's a simple and science-based gratitude journal for a happier and more fulfilled life. More than one and a half million people use it worldwide and it is recommended by psychologists and therapists all over the world. Also, it lasts for six months and with discount is less than 20 pounds or $20. So that's six, half a year of gratitude practice for less than $20 and you can get an extra 15% off. If you go to bit.ly slash diary wisdom and use the code MW15 at checkout or if you're in the US, you can search on Amazon for the six-minute diary and use the code 15 minutes to get yourself 15% off. Comes in ton of different colors. They've got French linen in a bunch of different designs and there is tons and tons of signs that you get to learn whilst you go through this process. Bit.ly slash Diary Wisdom and MW15 or search on Amazon in the US and use the code 15 minutes. In other other news, this episode is brought to you by Craftd London. They are the number one men's jewelry brand on the planet. Literally the market leader worldwide in men's jewelry. And it makes sense. They have custom designs in gold and silver. They do necklaces, chains, pendants, bracelets, rings and earrings. They're sweat proof, waterproof, heat proof, gym proof and come with a lifetime guarantee. So no matter what happens to your piece, they will replace it no matter how long you've had it, no matter what you've done to it. If it breaks, they will replace it for the rest of time. And it's hard to find good men's jewelry. Everything kind of looks way too gaudy or way too girly or way too subtle. And they've nailed it. The designs are great. And I wear tons and tons of bits from that site. Head to bit.ly slash cdwisdom. That's bit.ly slash cdwisdom. And MW15 will get you 15% off. Plus they ship worldwide. So no matter where you are, you can get this to your door. And it is the only discount that they do. You can't get this anywhere else. So bit.ly slash cdwisdom and MW15 for 15% off. But now please welcome Dr. Christian Busch.
How do you get started on thinking about the science of luck? As far as I was aware, luck was some random chance, blessed to some and not to others, and the end of a rainbow and a pot of gold and stuff like that. Why does the science of luck come into it?

**Christian Busch** (4:18)
Yeah, that's a great question, because we always assume that luck is something that just happens to us, right? So being born into a nice family, stuff like that, that we can't really influence. What I found fascinating both in my work as entrepreneur, social entrepreneur, but also in my research is that somehow the most successful, inspiring people they seem to have in common, that they somehow intuitively cultivate a little bit more luck than others. And so I got fascinated by that question. Is there some kind of smart luck here? Is there some kind of process we can influence? So take the example, right? Imagine you have erratic hand movements like I do, and then you spill a lot of coffee. And so imagine you spill coffee in a coffee shop over someone, and they look at you slightly annoyedly, but you sense there might be something there. You don't know what it is. You just sense there might be something there. And now you have two options, right? Option number one is you just say, I'm so sorry. Here's a napkin. You walk outside. And you think, ah, what could have happened had I spoken with a person? Option number two, you speak with a person. That person turns out to become the love of your life or your co-founder or you name it. The point is our reaction to the unexpected, us making the accident meaningful in a way creates that kind of smart luck, that kind of serendipity. And so in a way, a lot of our research focuses on the question, is there a pattern behind all these different stories of serendipity? Is that always the same process of some kind of unexpected trigger happening, but then us connecting the dots and doing something with it? And so that's the first thing thing we can create more of those triggers, but also we can learn how to connect those dots better.