Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career [Paperback]

John D. Krumboltz (Author), Al S. Levin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2004

Unplanned events — chance occurrences — more often determine life and career choices than all the careful planning we do. A chance meeting, a broken appointment, a spontaneous vacation trip, a fill-in job, a hobby — these are the kinds of experiences that lead to unexpected life directions and career choices. LUCK IS NO ACCIDENT is the first career planning book that actively encourages readers to create their own unplanned events, to anticipate changing their plans frequently, to take advantage of chance events when they happen, and to make the most of what life offers. Krumboltz is one of the most honored and highly respected psychologists in the career development field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...this book celebrates unpredictability and teaches us to love it and live happily with life's surprises... -- Howard Figler, Co-author, THE CAREER COUNSELOR'S HANDBOOK; Author, THE COMPLETE JOB-SEARCH HANDBOOK

From the Publisher

LUCK IS NO ACCIDENT Features:
--The first career book to admit that life doesn’t go according to plan.
--The most realistic approach yet to life and career planning — Prepare for the unexpected.
--Packed with personal vignettes, practical advice, exercises, worksheets.
--Written by internationally recognized, pioneering career development professionals.
--Reader-friendly, warm, down-to-earth style.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 177 pages
• Publisher: Impact Publishers; annotated edition edition (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886230536
• ISBN-13: 978-1886230538
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Off-Roading Your Way to Success, April 20, 2004

By 

Cricket in the Corner (Virtual North Woods) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career (Paperback)

This is a book about attaining success through being human, in the freest sense of the word, embracing uncertainties, changes, and mistakes as opportunities. It's about redefining success as a lifelong work in progress rather than a set goal. If you can begin to see your future as Krumboltz and Levin advise, staying open-minded and letting chance occurrences, or happenstances guide you, the potential for learning experiences that improve the direction your life takes becomes a wide-open horizon.

You don't have to decide on the "perfect" job, career, mate, or lifestyle; commit yourself to a long-range plan at an early age; or wallow in misery when the choices you make fail to satisfy. You can and should, the authors insist, go another way -- responding to your life experience, your changing interests and needs, and your ability to react constructively to unexpected circumstances.

This is the book's core concept: You can't control the outcomes of unpredictable situations, but you can take charge of your own thoughts and actions to increase the probability that good will come of them. The essence of creating your own luck is seeing detours as potentially better paths even if they initially involve disappointment.

Making the most of these factors involves a willingness to risk mistakes and rejection, but the authors emphasize that you don't have to take bold leaps when venturing in new directions. Small steps are realistic and effective: Get involved in a new hobby, sport, or interest group. Research areas of interest. Network. Ask for what you want. Keep learning. Shifting your life just a notch can have a ripple effect and a big payoff eventually.

It's tough to stay timid about trying out these ideas when they're backed by inarguably good sense, creative thinking, and inspiring scenarios to boot. The workbook angle of this uplifting book offers thought-provoking questions and exercises to help you examine your aspirations and try out strategies for achieving them. Each success becomes a kind of plateau shaped to suit you right now; staying flexible lets you move on with faith in your own resourcefulness. This is refreshingly modern career advice that lends itself to all other aspects of your life. The only way you can fail to be motivated is if you opt to do nothing.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable Tool for Any Stage of Life, January 9, 2005

By 

Bonnie Neely - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career (Paperback)

Whether you're 21,51,or 81, it's never too late to create a satisfying life for yourself" and this book tells you how in a quick and easy read. The book encourages you to follow your dreams, not to feel stuck in your present situation, to be open to changes and to watch for circumstances and happenstances that are life-changing opportunities. Don't take the attitude of having to decide what you'll do the rest of your life...you'll change and so will your opportunities. Watch for them and mine them. Day dream and learn from yourself what you want to do and where you want to go in life. Don't allow yourself to remain in situations, jobs, or relationships that you don't enjoy. "Put yourself in charge of creating a satisfying life." If you can't say " I love going to work," this book gives you many, many guides to changing that. The author offers numerous ways to make contacts, to try new ideas and situations and people, and to get excited about your life again...by first removing your fear of failure and by recognizing that no one's life goes "according to plan" because circumstances always change and unexpected events occur. Learn to view these as opportunities and they will lead you to a better life than you could have planned, if you learn to stop sabotaging yourself by your expectations or those of others. In the book you will learn how to overcome obstacles and to know that "failure is a normal part of life and learning." The book is a valuable tool for people at any stage of life, and especially for students about to graduate and look for a job in this dismal job market. A perfect gift book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can learn to get lucky!, October 29, 2004

By 

Anne S. Headley (University Park, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career (Paperback)

Those of us familiar with the theory and stories of happenstance have been awaiting this book a long time. Thank you, authors, for making your theory available to anyone in need of inspiration. Thanks, also, for validation of those magic moments that have opened doors for us all at one time or another.

We career counselors encourage our clients and students to minimize the quest for the perfect resume format or interview outfit. They should rather maximize encounters and opportunities. When our coaching about the need to network is met with a glazed look, let's try recommending this book instead. It makes the point that failures, mistakes, rejections, and random encounters can be the seeds of a meaningful career direction. So go forth - speak to your neighbor, thank a former teacher, chat with the person behind you in the grocery line. To Krumboltz and Levin, it's not just whom you know, but what you do about it that will create your luck.