As a child, I once found a four-leaf clover. My father told me I had the luck of the Irish, and I believed him.

As an adult, something made me think of finding that four-leaf clover and the luck it represented. I longed to find one again. One night, I dreamed I found a four-leaf clover. It was distinctive, with one leaf smaller than the rest. When I awoke, I wandered with our dog out to the backyard, coffee cup in hand, and I saw it – the exact clover from my dream, with one leaf smaller than the rest! 

When I got to work that morning, I excitedly told my boss about the magical moment of spotting it. Ever the rational scientist, he gave me an indulgent smile and explained that because it was on my mind, I was predisposed to seeing that clover. 

There was, in his view, nothing magical about my discovery, but a matter of being primed to find it. I felt sorry for him, and his inability to embrace the wonder of my experience. In the decades since then, I’ve found dozens of four-leaf clovers, and I’ve thought often of his theory. 

Is it true that it’s simply a matter of science, that my brain is wired to see the pattern created by a clover with four leaves versus three? Perhaps. 

And then I think, how lucky I am to be able to see it. 

How to be lucky: 

1. Be open to possibility. 

2. Pay attention.

3. Believe you are.