Posts Tagged ‘twitter’

Can You Think Yourself Luckier?

Posted on: March 16th, 2009 by Lori Deschene - 12 Comments

luckyIn honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve been thinking a lot about luck (and beer—but that’s irrelevant).First you have the survived-a-freak-accident kind of luck, like Frank Selak who escaped from a derailed train, a burning car, and a bus that plummeted into a river on separate crazy occasions. Then you have the right-place-at-the-right-time variety—case-in-point, Bryan Brinkman, the Jimmy Fallon audience member who became a Twitter rockstar in a matter of hours. And then there’s the most traditional definition—good fortune or advantage—which might not depend so much on serendipity.

According to Richard Wiseman, author of The Luck Factor: Changing Your Luck, Changing Your Life: The Four Essential Principles, anyone can be lucky. He argues that our thinking defines far more of our reality than chance, and notes that lucky people:

  • Are open to possibilities
  • Expect good fortune
  • “Turn bad luck into good” when things go awry

This got me thinking: is luck a consequence of being a positive thinker? Are negativity and fortune mutually exclusive? (more…)

The Benefits of Having a Small Twitter Following (For Now?)

Posted on: February 25th, 2009 by Lori Deschene - 20 Comments

Since I’ve used Twitter to find and (hopefully) offer inspiration, I couldn’t have been more thrilled to read this post by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh: How Twitter Can Make You a Better (and Happier) Person. In this post, Tony explains how Twitter:

· Reminds him of his values

· Helps him see the positive aspect of different situations

· Allows him to help other people

· Makes him appreciate more

All beautiful things! I’m better for having read that post, and I highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t. However I can’t help identifying the tweeting elephant in the room: Most people probably want to emulate a little more than his optimistic perspective. They also want his 130,849 followers to grow their business or other endeavors. It’s natural; we all want to be respected and successful. In this economic climate—with most people feeling the crunch in some way—those goals seem far more urgent.

In this post, I want to explore bright side of not being Tony Hsieh, whether you’ll get there eventually or not. (No offense Tony—I really do admire you!) (more…)