My son often says, "The harder I work, the luckier I get." Since that phrase popped into my head early this morning, I took it as my inspiration for the week and got to thinking about luck.

What is luck? Is it good fortune that comes out of the blue, totally unexpected? Or is it the Universe sending what we’ve signaled we desire? I think the latter. My son’s phrase doesn’t mean that just working intensely brings good fortune. It means that working intently, with passion, toward desired end results will bring those results to us.

The key word is passion. It is the depth of our emotion about our desires, and our ability to visualize the result, that sends the strongest signal to the Universe--the signal most likely to trigger the events some would call luck. But how do you create the passion? Passion comes naturally and effortlessly when your intentions align with and complement who you really are.

For example, if you are a creative, imaginative, and spontaneous person, it is not likely that you will generate passion around a job which is detail oriented and routine. If you happen to be in this job, and hold a goal of excelling at that job, you will likely find that luck avoids you no matter how hard you work. Oh, you may do OK at this work, but it is unlikely that you will see what some would call good luck in the job. In fact, bad luck may seem to follow you, sabotaging your career at every turn. You see, the Universe knows who you are at your core, and sends you what is right for you, even if it seems to oppose what you think you desire.

So it is extremely important that you understand yourself-- the real you. Not the you constructed by others based on their views of success, but the you at your core—the you that calls in your dreams. You know who that is, even while you try to hide from it. You have glimpses of who you really are--and these glimpses thrill you. Perhaps your mind is used to taking over at this point, frightening you with all the reasons you can’t be that person your soul is calling for. If that’s where your thoughts take you--to a paralyzing fear--think again. Think another thought!

If your favorite saying is, "If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all," spend some time in quiet meditation reflecting on who you really are. Consider where your passions lie. Recall your periods of great excitement, energy, and joy. During those times you are being who you really are. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live every day that way? And wouldn’t it be great to have luck on your side? It can be.