In 2003, Dr. Richard Wiseman, a British psychology professor, published a book called The Luck Factor, where he suggests that people can actually learn to be luckier. Wiseman arrived at this conclusion after studying people who were ‘lucky’ in life and those who were ‘unlucky’, and through his observations he discovered that the people who were ‘lucky’ shared a number of common traits that can easily be practiced and learned by people to improve their own luck.
“Lucky people generate their own good fortune via four basic principles. They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good”
– Dr. Richard Wiseman, The Luck Factor
Previously Unavailable founder, James Hurman, first read Wiseman’s book, and learned the principles, when his wife Annabel was pregnant with their first-born, Tripp. Hurman was struck with Wiseman’s idea that luck was something that could be learned, but he also realised that adults are typically pretty stuck in their ways, making it hard for them to adapt to a new way of thinking. Children, on the other hand, are essentially a blank slate in terms of their approach to life, and what better lesson could a child be taught than to be lucky? This thought lead Hurman to write The Boy and the Lemon, a rhyming children’s book that encapsulates The Luck Factors four principles and makes them digestible for kids.
With the help of illustrator Juliet Burton, James has written a wonderful story that follows Jack (below) has he goes on an adventure to remedy an unfortunate situation that has arisen at his house – a giant lemon has fallen from outer space and crushed it. Through his adventures, Jack learns to make his own luck and to find the good in a bad situation, exhibiting Wiseman’s four principles in the process.
A positive, can-do attitude is such a valuable thing in life, and while parents can tell their children to follow their gut and listen to their instincts, seeing it put in front of them in story form with a relatable character is much more impactful.
Jacks characteristics, and the imperturbable nature that he embodies, is luck personified, showing children that while life may throw a few lemons at us down the road and pull up a few road blocks along the way, a resilient attitude can soon transform these lemons into lemonade and reveal an unseen opportunity.
James & Juliet are currently seeking funding on Kickstarter to help get their book into production, and you can help them on their journey by liking the Facebook page, registering for the website – theboyandthelemon.com – or following them on Instagram.
For just $25 you can procure your own copy of The Boy and the Lemon and for every copy bought, James and Juliet will donate another soft cover copy to a school, library or less fortunate family so that children everywhere can learn the magic of being lucky.
Good Luck!
