Some people simply live their life by the luck of the draw. They wait for what life has in store for them. They are always in react mode and are consistently under the control of others. They play the lottery everyday, hoping for the big win that always seems to evade them. They roam from situation to situation lacking any sense of adventure. These people go to work everyday, do the same things, run the same routine day after day, week after week and year after year, afraid to step out of their comfort zone.

The good news is this: There is no such thing as luck. I once saw a definition of the word "luck" that stuck with me. I believe it to be a wonderful statement, an accurate description and one that teaches a great lesson simultaneously. Luck is simply "the point where preparedness meets opportunity!"

Wow! Preparedness and opportunity, what concepts! Opportunities are always presenting themselves, whether we are aware of them or not. They come in waves, like ocean waves, gently washing the shore. Many people have made millions of dollars by simply being aware of the right opportunities and then taking immediate action. They are prepared to act in advance, knowing what to look for as the right opportunity presents itself.

How do we prepare ourselves for opportunity? First is a mandatory change of mindset. We must be ready to step out in faith and expand our comfort zone. Unless we do, we will never position ourselves to walk on the shore as those incredible waves wash over our feet. We must be in the right place at the right time. Is it by coincidence that we arrive at that point? No! We must pro-actively prepare ourselves and get positioned in front of the wave by conscious choice. Stretching our limits and growing out of our current comfort zone are the means of achieving this.

We must have dreams. We must establish goals and write them down, reviewing them daily and fixing them in our minds-eye. We must also believe that we deserve opportunity and that we can and will achieve our dreams. Be confident in this.

Learn everything you can concerning the area of growth that you are interested in. Learning will profit you in ways you cannot possibly imagine at this point. Study every nuance of your interest so that you confidently become an expert in that area. Research companies, associations and groups that are active in your areas of interest. Discover what makes them successful. Learn of their failures. Learn from their mistakes so that you do not duplicate them. Study trends in the marketplace, looking for signs of opportunity in this field. Fine-tune your opportunity awareness channel.

In taking these actions and adjusting your mindset, you are now properly prepared to act when the right opportunity wave confronts you. Others will never see it coming and will be unaware that the wave ever came in, but you will be found actively riding that wave to your success.

Luck is a lie. Luck is blind chance. Luck is that point at which your planned preparedness intersects with the incredible opportunity you have been watching for and patiently waiting to confront you. Your confident action assures your growth and success.

Daniel Sitter, author of the popular, award-winning e-book, Learning For Profit, teaches simple, valuable, step-by-step accelerated learning skills. Mr. Sitter has extensive experience in sales, training, marketing and personal development over a 25 year career. http://www.learningforprofit.com/ .