My friend Sarah has the most annoying superpower: everything works out for her.
Last month she “randomly” bumped into someone at Whole Foods who became a $15K client. Three weeks ago, she took a wrong turn in downtown Austin and discovered a coworking space that’s now her favorite place to write. Yesterday she mentioned casually that her Uber driver is starting a podcast and wants her as a guest.
Meanwhile, I’ve been “networking strategically” for two years. I follow all the right people on LinkedIn. I have my elevator pitch memorized. I even bought those fancy business cards with the raised lettering.
Her results: opportunities falling from the sky like confetti.
My results: a drawer full of business cards from people I never followed up with.
For the longest time, I figured she was just one of those naturally lucky people. You know the type—everything they touch turns to gold while the rest of us are over here trying to turn lead into slightly shinier lead.
Then I spent a week shadowing her. And realized something that completely changed how I think about opportunity.
**The Attention Experiment That Broke My Brain**
Sarah isn’t lucky. She’s paying attention.
Here’s what I noticed during our coffee shop work session last Tuesday:
**11:23 AM**: Barista mentions her side business is struggling with social media. Most people (including old me) would nod politely and move on. Sarah asks three follow-up questions. Turns out the barista needs exactly the kind of content strategy Sarah does for work.
**12:47 PM**: Guy at the next table is loudly complaining about his website. Sarah doesn’t interrupt, but when he gets up to leave, she hands him her card. “I couldn’t help overhearing—I might know someone who can help with that.”
**2:15 PM**: Random conversation with the parking meter guy reveals he’s launching a food truck. Sarah’s immediately interested, asks about his marketing plan, offers to introduce him to a friend who runs food truck events.
Three potential opportunities. In one afternoon. At a random coffee shop.
I would have sat there for six hours with my noise-canceling headphones on, completely oblivious to all of it.
**The Science of Being in the Right Place at the Right Time**
Turns out researchers have actually studied this. They call it “luck readiness” and it’s not mystical at all.
People who consistently describe themselves as lucky share three specific behaviors:
1. **They talk to strangers** (Sarah chatted with literally everyone)
2. **They follow weak hunches** (like asking the barista about her business)
3. **They stay open to unexpected outcomes** (instead of rigidly focusing on predetermined goals)
Unlucky people do the opposite. They’re anxious, focused, and goal-oriented. Sounds good in theory, right? Except they’re so laser-focused on what they’re looking for that they miss everything else.
It’s like searching for your keys while they’re in your hand. The harder you look in the wrong places, the more invisible the right place becomes.
**My Week of Accidental Networking**
I decided to test this “luck readiness” thing. For one week, I’d pay attention like Sarah instead of networking like a LinkedIn robot.
**Monday**: Overheard someone at the gym complaining about their email marketing. Old me would have pretended not to hear (gym conversations are weird, right?). New me waited until they finished their set and mentioned I’d just solved a similar problem for another client. Led to a consultation call.
**Wednesday**: Took a different route to lunch because construction blocked my usual path. Discovered a bookstore I didn’t know existed. Started chatting with the owner about their social media struggles. Guess what I do for work?
**Friday**: Said yes to a work happy hour I normally would have skipped (I hate small talk and my couch was calling). Ended up in a 20-minute conversation with someone who’s launching exactly the kind of business I love working with.
Three real opportunities. From just… being present and talking to humans.
The opportunities were always there. I was just too busy optimizing my LinkedIn strategy to notice them.
**The Three Superpowers of Engineered Luck**
After studying this for months (and interviewing about a dozen “lucky” people), I’ve identified three specific abilities that create more opportunity:
**Superpower 1: Peripheral Vision**
Most of us walk through life with tunnel vision. We’re running mental movies about yesterday’s meeting or tomorrow’s presentation while real life happens around us.
Expanding your attention means actually being where you are. Looking at people when they speak instead of preparing your response. Noticing the detail someone mentions casually that turns out to be exactly what you needed to hear.
**Superpower 2: Curious Anticipation**
Not the anxious kind where you’re bracing for disaster. The open kind where you expect something interesting might happen today, without controlling what form it takes.
I used to go to networking events with a specific agenda: meet three people in my target industry, exchange cards, schedule follow-ups. Very efficient. Also very limiting.
Now I show up curious about what I might discover. Way more fun. Also way more effective.
**Superpower 3: Micro-Courage**
Lucky people act on weak signals. They send the email even when they’re not sure it’ll go anywhere. They stay for the second half of events they were about to leave. They say yes to invitations that don’t obviously fit their current plan.
These aren’t dramatic gestures. They’re small acts of courage that expand the surface area where opportunity can land.
**The Coffee Shop That Changed Everything**
Sarah told me about her morning runs past a homeless shelter downtown. For six months, she jogged past the same group of men with her AirPods in, focused on her pace and her playlist.
One random Tuesday, she forgot her headphones. Heard one of the guys mention he used to run marathons before his life fell apart.
For no particular reason, she stopped. Started talking. Asked if he’d want to run with her sometime.
That conversation led to an idea: what if running could help these men rebuild structure, confidence, and forward momentum?
That idea became a volunteer program. Which led to a speaking opportunity at a nonprofit conference. Which led to consulting work with other organizations. Which led to a book deal about community building.
None of that was on her vision board. It started with forgetting her headphones and actually hearing what was around her.
**Building Your Luck Surface Area**
Want to engineer more opportunity? Start with these three micro-changes:
**1. Share Your Messy Middle**
Stop waiting until your work is perfect to talk about it. Share the problem you’re wrestling with. The project you’re starting. The skill you’re developing.
When you share work in progress, you attract people working on similar challenges who might have pieces you’re missing. You also signal what you’re about, so people know to send relevant opportunities your way.
I started posting about my marketing experiments while I was still figuring them out. Led to three client referrals from people who were facing similar challenges.
**2. Cross Your Boundaries**
Most opportunities come from loose connections—people at the edges of your network who move in different worlds.
Your close friends mostly know what you know. Your acquaintances have access to everything in their world that you don’t.
Go to one event this month that’s not obviously relevant to your immediate goals. Read something outside your field. Have coffee with someone from a completely different industry.
**3. Follow One Weak Hunch Weekly**
That random idea to email someone you haven’t talked to in years? The urge to attend that weird meetup? The impulse to comment thoughtfully on someone’s post?
Follow it. Most won’t lead anywhere. But the ones that do will surprise you.
**The Seven-Day Luck Experiment**
Here’s how to start immediately:
Each evening for one week, write down:
1. **One thing you noticed** that you normally would have filtered out
2. **One small action you took** to expand your opportunity surface area
3. **One unexpected connection** that happened, however minor
After seven days, read your notes. You’ll be amazed how much was already happening around you.
The experiment doesn’t create luck. It trains you to recognize it when it shows up.
**Start Paying Different Attention**
You don’t need to become a networking machine or overhaul your entire approach to opportunity.
Just start noticing differently.
Talk to one stranger this week. Follow one random hunch. Share one imperfect thing you’re working on.
The surface area of your life expands in proportion to the breadth of your attention.
Start paying different attention, and different things will begin arriving.
Ready to engineer your own opportunities? The complete system is in “Rewired” – grab your copy on Amazon Kindle for $9.99. [Expand your luck surface area here →]
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