Have you ever thought about what qualifies someone as lucky? Are they good at gambling? Do they guess correctly at trivia all the time? Or do they just get out of ridiculous situations that they shouldn’t? Don’t those people just piss you off? Ever ask yourself “why am I so unlucky?” Well, I’m telling you to stop. Stop right now. Quit wondering if or when you’ll get lucky, because chances are, you won’t. That’s why the definition of lucky is “occurring by chance.” No one wants to live their life rolling the dice; unless they’re getting paid for it (when few actually do).

On the other hand, if you’re alive, you are getting paid for it (WTF did he just say?!). Hear me out. I should be DEAD today, people. Here’s a story:

When I was 16 years old, I was driving in Oregon on Mt. Hood to go see my high school varsity soccer team play in the playoffs. I was approaching a turn along the drive called Dead Man’s Curve. The reason they called it this was because so many people had lost their lives going over the edge (due to poor road conditions and the fact that it had a 300 foot drop off… you get the idea). Anyway, on this particular day, I was not being myself and was actually being quite a safe driver and going the speed limit. Then I came to the curve, and my grip tightened, my vision was sharp, all my reactions ready for the curve, just in case. Well you know what, somehow, with the roads dry, and the temperature outside being a brisk 45 degrees Fahrenheit (meaning no ice), my car began to lose control. No explanation why, but it acted as if I hit a massive patch of ice. Then my car began to slide toward the outside edge of the mountain, but as my momentum was carrying me outward, my car hit something-a rock, I don’t know-and my car started to roll… toward the INSIDE of the mountain. And it kept rolling until it hit the inside wall of the curve, not going toward the edge at all. So what happened?

No one knows-the police did a traffic evaluation (which are actually quite accurate) and could not explain it. Why am I telling you this? Because I want to show how lucky I am? Honestly, besides that instance, I am very unlucky actually. I suck at gambling, I’m only good at trivia when I actually know the answers, and I always get caught when I mess up or break the rules. Maybe every person has an alloted ‘luck usage’ and all of mine went to the crash. I don’t know. What I do know is: that day I woke up.

I started to see things differently from then on. I started to believe Will Smith’s cheesy line in the movie “Hitch”: “begin each day as if on purpose.” But that is exactly what each and every one of us should be doing. Everyone has been through a lot relative to their own life; I would never presume I’ve had a “tough” life in the grand scheme of things, but it’s been tough for me. So how do I deal? I create my own luck. At my past job, a man named Johnny Rhee told me to do that and it stuck.

The message is this: you are in control of your own life. Don’t wait for things to come to you: if you want it, go get it. Don’t sit at a table and roll the dice. That puts control in the hands of chance. Instead, rig your own dice so you win. EVERYTIME.

So now, you’re probably asking, how do I create my own luck? You have to be fearless. Fear is what holds people back. They think “whatever happens will happen.” Wrong. If you believe in yourself, love yourself, and tell yourself you can accomplish it: you can. People told me I couldn’t get into good schools like Berkeley and Cal Poly because I was from a low quality high school-but I did. They said I couldn’t get a job after school because I had a DUI-I got 3 job offers; some of my friends have none. I’m not smarter or better in any way, I just believe I can and tell myself I will. then I DO.

It’s not rocket science: there’s no secret trick to creating your own luck. Believe you will be lucky, believe you will succeed, believe you will be the best and you WILL. Any great leader, professional athlete, wealthy business owner, or simply any truly happy person will tell you that. Anything is possible.

Always remember: no dream is too big, as long as it fits inside your own imagination. Begin each day as if it were on purpose, don’t let the dice dictate what you do, and you will create your own luck. I promise you this.

I realize this post doesn’t have much actual advice: I wanted to make you THINK this time, not give you specific actions to follow. If you really think about this, and begin to believe, you will achieve. Now go out there and create your own luck!