One day your kindergartner comes home and excitedly tells you about the Code Red drill they did at school. It’s a gut punch. One day you’re at the bank getting $2 bills for Christmas, and see something about a shooting in Connecticut. You squeeze their tiny hand a little harder. …

It is a fact universally acknowledged that a planet with any amount of arable land would be in want of colonists. Such was the attitude during Earth’s third great expansion into space. It was at the time of one of Humankind’s Jane Austen obsessive periods, which came every 250–300 years. Men in britches and women in Empire lines crossed the Galaxy in search of a planet they could make honest, and the lucky ones were named for Austen locations and heroes. Pemberlys, Fairfaxes, and Kellynch Halls exploded into prominence around the galaxy. It was a high point for the humans: they felt that the universe was theirs to conquer.

How important is luck for success? Successful people typically put in lots of effort before their dream comes true. Without all the sweat and tears, they probably would not be where they are. Yet, hard-working people often ignore the importance of being in the right place, at the right time, around the right people and other external circumstances. These can open many doors to success. Having the bravery to express one’s wishes for the future is also critical — it is the way to accept what life has to offer. Luck is not the only factor to success, but all the efforts can ripe little reward without it. Can you actually affect your luck? Not in the literal sense of the word. Instead, you can hunt for opportunities. Essentially, planning what might create the setup for success is a way of summoning your luck.

You’re an idiot, and you’re an idiot because you think you’re so clever. You think that going to visit yourself in the future is going to work out? You think you’ll learn something that will help you be rich, or clever, or even just happy? Shows what you know. But…