What is Luck?
The £5 Experiment
Are some people “luckier” than others?
TL;DR- no.
Read on:
Richard Wiseman, a British psychology professor, was interested in testing ideas around self-perception and luck (and serendipity). To do so, he created an experiment that involved placing a £5 note on the sidewalk directly outside the entrance to a coffee shop, so participants would have to step over it. He then observed how "lucky" and "unlucky" people responded when walking past it1.
One participant, Martin, who identified as “extremely lucky,” noticed the money and picked it up. He went inside the coffee shop, ordered, sat down, and started a conversation with the person next to him, making a new friend.
Brenda, who identified as "extremely unlucky," walked right past the money, completely missing the opportunity at her feet. She also went into the coffee shop, ordered, and sat down, but remained silent until the end of the experiment.
Following the experiment, both participants were asked about their days. Martin described his experience as extremely positive, noting the £5 note and the great conversation he’d had. Brenda reported having a completely uneventful day.
How do you account for the difference in experience?
Martin had mindsets and behaviors of openness, seeking, and responsiveness to the unexpected. He was ready to encounter whatever came his way.
Brenda wasn’t paying attention. She was closed. She had tunnel vision and was unaware of the potential around her. She didn’t see what she could have encountered. It’s almost as if she were determined to have a bland, blah day.
Mindsets and behaviors matter. How one exists in the world matters.
How might you be open?
How might you seek the unexpected?
How might you utilize it to catapult yourself into an opportunity?
Learn more about serendipity and how you can bring the practice of serendipity into your work and life at practiceofserendipity.com.
This story is featured in Richard Wiseman’s book, The Luck Factor.