If you can make conversation, you can make your own luck.

Good communication isn’t passive. And good luck, says Tina Seelig, is the same. There’s “what the world gives us,” and then there’s “how we respond to it.”

Seelig is executive director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program at Stanford University and author of What I Wish I Knew About Luck. For her, good fortune doesn’t find us, we find it. “Opportunities for lucky things to happen are ubiquitous. But they're invisible and most people don't see them,” she says. In the same way that communication requires active listening, making our own luck requires presence to the people and possibilities that come our way.

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Seelig and host Matt Abrahams explore how communication creates luck. From curious listening to resolving the conflicts that block opportunity, Seelig offers practical ways to respond to what life offers — and turn everyday interactions into the foundation for good fortune.

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Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(02:32) - Luck vs. Fortune
(03:41) - The Idea of Making Luck
(04:26) - Building Your Luck Framework
(05:35) - Listening Creates Opportunity
(06:42) - Focus on Others
(09:43) - Staying Connected to Others
(10:55) - Appreciation as a Habit
(11:50) - How Conflict Blocks Luck
(13:21) - Apologies Create Opportunity
(14:19) - Ask, Don’t Assume
(16:12) - Communicating for Your Audience
(17:59) - Prepare Your Stories
(21:45) - The Final Three Questions
(26:15) - Conclusion

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282. The Language of Luck: Why Fortune Favors Those Who Pay Attention