The TEDx talk below is pretty amazing.

I have listened to the book Bill Burnett co-authored with Dave Evans titled Designing Your Life. It’s a topic that fascinates me personally, but I think any engaging human would find this talk (and possibly the book) interesting. Perhaps not to plan your life and what’s coming next (though most of us could probably benefit from thinking about that regardless of the stage we are at), but because he has great information about how to go about making decisions.

Here is one story that I find particularly interesting.

A study was conducted wherein people filled out a questionnaire. It included a question about whether they consider themselves lucky.

Then participants were asked to complete a task of counting headlines in a paper. If they get the number correct, they were paid $50.

However, in the text in the articles, were words telling participants that if they read that section, the study is over and they can collect an additional $150.

Those who marked themselves as ‘lucky’ at the beginning, were far more likely to read the text and collect the extra money.

So, are people lucky? Or just good at paying attention to what is going on around them to make connections and spot opportunities?