Hooked On Luck

Last weekend Leila (my daughter-in-law) and I caught 13 bass and 2 blue gills in two hours under the tutelage of my son, Jack. He is an avid and successful fisherman as well as a skilled teacher. Recognizing that my enthusiasm for fishing outweighed my skill he kept it simple.

“It’s a circle hook. Don’t jerk it up,” he explained. “When the bobber goes under count to five then reel it in quickly.”

He tempered this advice with “When the bass pulls the line out, quit reeling in.”

Before long Leila’s “1, 2, 3 . . .” bobber below the surface counting from the pontoon bow echoed my “1, 2, 3 . . .” bobber below the surface counting from the stern. Jack alternated minnow baiting Leila’s line and leech baiting mine with photographing our catches.

He’s a good son.

He’s a good husband.

Then Jack and Leila returned home leaving behind two containers of leeches and a desire in me to recreate the fast and furious fishing expedition. Since I wouldn’t have my son the avid and successful fisherman to coach me, I sought the next best thing – luck.

A Googled “Good luck . . . how to get it” yielded 561,000,000 results within 0.67. Richard Wiseman author of Luck Factor had been mentioned in about a half billion of them . . . give or take.

I chose to follow seven of the “9 Easy Ways to Increase Your Luck” mainly because nine was too many and “Easy” was always appealing.

Here’s what the article advised and what I did:

Believe You’re Lucky

Advice:

“As strange as it sounds, believing that you are lucky makes you more likely to be receptive to the opportunities around you.”

What I did:

In one of the half a billion Googled results a study sited that people who carried good luck charms believed they were luckier. I deemed my silver fish shaped necklace a charm and rubbed it between casts to summon the fishing genie.

Voice Your Goals

Advice:

“Why should you be clear about your goals? Because it makes you more aware of opportunities around you related to these goals.”

What I did:

“I’m going to catch bass today like I caught bass last weekend,” I said to Mike as we anchored. Mike let me have the bow seat where it’s easier to cast, so I guess it worked.

Be Open To Opportunities

Advice:

“Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone in order to accept luck into your life.”

What I did:

I impaled squirmy, sucking leeches with my hook – definitely out of my comfort zone. I accomplished this by flipping the sluggy bloodsucker out of the carton onto the deck. Out of water the writhing slowed. Then I held it down with a coffee can lid and stuck the hook in before it latched onto me. Although not the efficient baiting Jack performed, it worked.

Surround Yourself With The Right People

Advice:

“Your circle of fiends defines who you are. If you are surrounded by fearless people, chances are that you will take on bigger challenges.”

What I did:

I surrounded myself with Jack who baits hooks with leeches. That’s fearless!

Increase Karma

Advice:

“Karma is deeply rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism amongst others and states that good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness.”

What I did: I offered to bait Mike’s hook with leeches. That brought me a boatload of Karma.

Practice Gratitude

Advice:

“By expressing it (gratitude) more, others will be more likely to want to do things for you because they know it will truly be appreciated.”

What I did:

“It’s such a beautiful day,” I said aloud. “I’m happy to be out on the water even if I don’t catch fish.” Ok, I admit I crossed my fingers.

Relax

Advice:

“When relaxed and happy, we expand outwards and notice opportunities more easily.”

What I did:

Wine was involved.