Luck is what we call success when we can’t see all of the factors that go into it; it looks sudden and random. Unpredictable, uncontrollable things influence us in predictable, self-defeating ways that often escape our awareness. Can You Learn to Be Lucky? is a guide on how to improve your life despite the world’s randomness.
Luck is code for the invisible forces that guide our lives, like privilege, faith, and optimism. I wanted to read a book that looked at these factors from an objective lens and couldn’t find it—so I wrote it.
So is success the product of these internal traits? Or are our fates just at the whim of the cosmos? What links these two things? (After all of these years, speaking about luck is still one of my favorite things to do!)
Don’t just take my mom's word for it
★★★★★ 5/5
A clever, captivating read on how seemingly random events sometimes have predictable patterns behind them. If you believe chance favors the prepared mind, this is the book to prepare your mind.
Adam Grant
NYT Bestselling Author
★★★★★ 5/5
Can You Learn to be Lucky? is a rollicking journey through the land of luck-an entertaining and insightful tour of stories and science that explores the origins of luck, why some people are luckier than others, and how we can all raise our chances of becoming luckier by design. A wonderful book that manages to be fun, smart, and important all at once.
Adam Alter
NYT Bestselling author
★★★★★ 5/5
It's a time-honored truth that we make ourselves miserable trying to change things beyond our control. But as Karla Starr shows, many of the things we don't bother trying to control—because we assume they're a matter of luck—are actually subject to our influence. Luckily for you, this insightful and frequently hilarious book is the perfect guide to understanding how.
Oliver Burkeman
Author, 4,000 Weeks
★★★★★ 5/5
Getting lucky is not about luck. It's about being prepared and having the right attitude. Based on years of research and decades of hard-won experience, Karla Starr reveals how to navigate social judgment, find your own hidden talents, and "kick ass" at life-all with wisdom and humor.
Matt Hutson
New Yorker staff writer
★★★★★ 5/5
Luck seems elusive, a force well out of our control. But in this fun and persuasive book, Karla Starr explains how the choices we make shape our fate- and offers smart, science-based advice for making luck break our way.
Dan Pink
NYT Bestselling author
★★★★★ 5/5
Karla's charming wisdom offers lessons for improving nearly every aspect of life. If you can't find a leprechaun, buy this book!
Chris Guillebeau
Author, 4,000 Weeks