“Things may come to those who wait… but only the things left behind by those who hustle.” - Abraham Lincoln

林肯说过：“原地等待的人也许会有所收获，但收获的都是那些努力的人剩下的东西。”

If only I was as lucky as he. Or she. Or as so-and-so. Have you heard this excuse? (Have you used it?)

如果我像他或者她或者某某那样幸运就好了。 你听到过这种借口吗？（你也用过这种借口吗？）

But, for those waiting to get lucky… it can be a long wait. Sometimes forever. Do you sit around and wait to get lucky? Or do you go out and make your own luck?

然而，那些等待幸运光临的人，恐怕要等上好长时间。有时候幸运永远都不会来。你是无所事事等待幸运到来？还是走出去，寻找你自己的幸运？

I am always amazed at those who think they are going to drift along until everything just falls into place for them. It’s just not going to happen.

有人认为他们应该顺其自然，命运到时会为他们安排好一切。对于这种想法我总是很惊讶。这根本不会发生。

You can sit around waiting for the world to bring you your dreams on a silver platter. Or you can go out and get them. And do them yourself.

你可以无所事事，等着这个世界把你的梦想装在银色盘子里送到你面前。或者你也可以走出去，去寻梦，自己去完成梦想。

Take a close look at those that you consider successful. Did they just wait until it happened? Or did they work long and hard to get where they are?

仔细看看那些你认为成功的人。他们是在原地等待成功到来的吗？还是拼命努力了很久才获得的成功？

Being lucky is about doing, and that being said, you can increase your luck. Here are just a few ways to increase your luck:

好运意味着行动，也就是说，你可以让你的运气提升。下面就是几种让你提升运气的方法：

1. Be Early

抢占先机

Being early breeds serendipity. Really. When you are early for things, even meetings and appointments, magical things tend to happen. That is when chance happens.

早一步就蕴藏着意外的运气。这是真的。当你凡事抢占先机，哪怕是开会和面谈，神奇的事情就可能发生。机会就是这样来的。

2. Finish Before Deadlines

提早完成

Similar to being early, is finishing tasks or projects ahead of schedule. When there is adequate time to review and deliver right, is when extraordinary results occur.

比计划提前完成任务或项目和抢占先机类似。当你有足够的时间去回顾事情，并确保准确性，结果将不同凡响。

3. Go Outside Your Domain

跳出你的圈子

We all tend to stay in our comfort zones. It is when you stray outside your normal elements that you often discover new luck. So, get out there and go beyond your normal boundaries.

我们都倾向于留在自己的舒适区域里。你必须要打破常规才有可能发现新的运气。所以要走出去，跳出你通常的界线。

4. Raise the Bar

提高目标

Amazing results happen when you aim higher than you normally do. You will never reach new levels of achievements if you don’t reach for them. Stretchyourself and your goals.

当你把目标定的比通常高一些时，可能会收到令人惊叹的效果。如果你从来不去争取新的成就水平，你就永远不可能达到。跳起来去争取更高的目标吧。

5. Don’t Follow the Rules

不要循规蹈矩

Rules were meant to be broken. Or rather maybe they are “just guidelines.” This is not about doing anything crazy or unethical, it is about challenging the status quo and the norm. Don’t be normal when it comes to the rules.

规矩就是用来打破的。或者它们只不过是“指导方针”而已。这并不是说要做些疯狂或者不道德的事，而是说要挑战现状和常规。在规矩面前，不走寻常路。

6. Be Prepared

做好准备

Being ready means you are ready to take advantage of new opportunities. You don’t want to miss or have to turn down a new opportunity because you were too busy catching up.

做好准备意味着你已经准备好利用新的机遇。你不想因为太忙没有跟上而失去或放弃一个新的机遇。

7. Do One More Thing

多做一件事

Those who are lucky do more than those who are not. Make it a habit to always “do one more thing.” Whether it is finishing a job right, or one last task at the end of a long day. Do it every day for a year and you will have taken 365 more steps towards your goals than those who don’t give the extra effort.

那些好运的人总是比霉运的人做的多。养成总是“多做一件事”的习惯。不管是做好一项工作，还是完成漫长的一天里最后一项任务。每天坚持多做一件事，那么一年下来你就比那些不肯多努力的人朝着自己的目标多迈进了365步。

It is all about hard work. Want to be lucky? Make your own. Get out there and do instead of waiting for it to come to you. Being lucky is easy, but it takes a lot of hard work.

努力才有好运。想要好运吗？自己去争取吧。去努力争取你的好运，而不是等待好运向你走来。好运其实很简单，但需要付出很多努力。

资料来源：新概念英语网校