How To Make Luck: Seven Secrets Lucky People Use To Succeed [Paperback]

Marc Myers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you want to be lucky, throw away that lottery ticket. How to Make Luck by Marc Myers lets you in on seven secrets of successful and lucky people, from former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and the Today Show's Matt Lauer to money manager James O'Shaughnessy and poker champion Barbara Enright. Myers believes that people make their own luck. "The people we think of as lucky behave in ways that are so special and seductive that nearly everyone they meet feels compelled to offer them great opportunities. And it is this wealth of opportunities that allows them to continuously improve their good luck," he writes. Luck, advises Myers, means mastering one or two of these lucky behaviors: Make life look easy, but don't rub it in; make yourself appealing; be as curious as a child; improve the lives of other people; let power brokers own a piece of you; don't burn your bridges. The book includes chapters on each of these secrets as well as interviews with successful people and tips for limiting bad luck. Myers is a fortunate person himself, having risen quickly at the New York Times, Adweek and elsewhere. He is now editor of two national consumer newsletters, Bottom Line/Personal and Moneysworth. The book could be a lucky charm for anyone looking to get ahead, in business and in life. --Dan Ring

Product Description

The executive editor of "Bottom Line/Personal" and editor-in-chief of "Moneysworth" takes his unique talent, resources, and investigative and research skills to the subjects of luck and success and tells readers how they can make them work in their lives.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Renaissance Books; 1st edition (December 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580630588
• ISBN-13: 978-1580630580
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #652,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A practical and useful book, July 29, 2002

By	D. Thomas - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: How To Make Luck: Seven Secrets Lucky People Use To Succeed (Paperback)

This book is great. The title can be a little misleading. The book is about behaviors you can adopt to influence things to go the way you want them to. It's not a new age hocus pocus book. It is a real world street smart book on a variety of ways to influence people and situations to go well for you.

There are a lot of suggestions on improving your luck in addition to the seven main methods that the author lists in the table of contents. Some of it is commonsense, but sometimes we need a reminder. Some of the advice is immeadiately applicable. Get this book!!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book since How to Win Friends $ Influence People!, November 2, 1999

By	Gerri Detweiler "Ultimate Credit Solutions Inc." (Gulf Coast, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: How To Make Luck: Seven Secrets Lucky People Use To Succeed (Paperback)

There are a lot of self-help books out there, and many of them just saying the same boring thing. This book, however, is really smart and practical. It should rank up there with Napolean Hill and Dale Carnegie as a classic book on creating success. I felt his strategies were very realistic, made a lot of sense, and are doable! Easy to read and very enjoyable. I'd definitely recommend it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Luck doesn't just happen--you make it happen, February 21, 1999

By	Gordon Williams: [e-mail] (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How To Make Luck: Seven Secrets Lucky People Use To Succeed (Paperback)

It's easy to credit the success of others to luck--just happening to be at the right place at the right time. Not so, says author Marc Myers. Successful people make their own luck, the author says, and he cites case studies to prove his point. What we see as luck is usually the product of lots of hard work, and a willing to take some chances. (I personally know how hard at least one of his subjects worked--which, to me, proves the author's thesis). Certainly worth reading for anyone who wants some clues on what "luck" is all about--and about how the harder you work, the luckier you are apt to be.