Dr. Richard Wiseman's book The Luck Factor takes a psychological approach to the seemingly irrational phenomena of luck, concluding that, while luck may appear unexplained, it is actually the product of behaviours that anybody can acquire and practise. According to Wiseman, lucky people have four distinct habits that set them apart from their less fortunate peers. These four principles can be enlarged and explained further, yielding twelve sub-principles, according to Wiseman, that mentally distinguish lucky people from the rest of the crowd. Wiseman says that by adopting these beliefs and practises as your own, you may dramatically improve your luck and your life.

Wiseman divides his focus into two chapters in the first section of The Luck Factor, titled "Initial Research."

  1. “The Power of Luck” looks at the impact of luck on an individual's happiness and even a society's prosperity (as Wiseman points out, many of modern science and technology's breakthroughs have come as a consequence of chance and/or unexpected discoveries, such as penicillin, Velcro, and safety glass). Second, this chapter informs us that according to Wiseman's research, 64 percent of the population self-identifies as either consistently lucky or consistently unlucky, with the lucky folks finding that their good fortune extended to multiple aspects of their lives rather than just one.
  2. “Lucky and Unlucky Lives” examines the data gathered from the research conducted in “The Power of Luck,” focusing on the highly fortunate and extremely unlucky individuals to see what factors influence their fortunes. Wiseman discovered the four fundamental differences and twelve sub-principles that predict and identify lucky people through this research.

Chance possibilities are created by lucky people.

  1. Lucky people are pleasant, building and maintaining a network of luck that consists of a broad web of friends and acquaintances that genuinely care about their well-being.
  2. Lucky people have a laid-back approach toward life, which makes it easier for them to spot unexpected possibilities (because they aren't slavishly pursuing a particular path that blinds them to all others).
  3. Because lucky people are open-minded and willing to try new things, they are able to take advantage of opportunities that an unlucky person might pass up.

Lucky people believe in their instincts and hence "think lucky."

  1. People that are fortunate pay attention to their gut instincts and do not underestimate the power of their "gut sensations."
  2. People who are fortunate take steps to heighten, respect, and strengthen their intuition's potency, such as meditation and reflection.

People who are fortunate believe they are fortunate.

  1. Lucky people believe that their good fortune will continue in the future, and that everything will turn out for the best.
  2. Those that are fortunate strive to achieve their objectives regardless of the likelihood of success.
  3. People who are fortunate regard their encounters with others as potential wellsprings of good fortune and happiness, hoping that others will be ready and willing to assist them in their endeavours.

People who are fortunate refuse to accept their fate.

  1. People who are fortunate are able to identify the silver lining in dark clouds and concentrate on the positive parts of negative events.
  2. Lucky people believe that bad things happen for a reason, and that they will eventually see the positive side of whatever circumstances appear to be unpleasant at first.
  3. People who are fortunate refuse to become stuck in a rut and do not dwell on the things that make them sad.
  4. In order to improve their luck in the future, lucky people take proactive actions to avoid bad luck from recurring.

This educational and entertaining book includes activities and analogies to assist you in realising your full potential as a lucky person. The Luck Factor description offers to provide you the motivation to change your behaviour and thinking in order to create a luckier and happier life for yourself by helping you understand the psychological principles that underpin good fortune.