Success needs luck and luckily you can create your own

There is no written formula to entrepreneurial success. Your idea may be bold, your passion elevated and your IQ exceptional, but there will always be external factors beyond your control.

Those factors could help to boost your business, or serve as last-minute killers. A promised financial loan may disappear, equipment may fail, or the economy could crash overnight - any of these factors can affect or perhaps kill your business before it even launches. But then again, you may be one of the lucky ones. And when it comes to business, luck matters.

Your business idea, although basic, may come at the perfect time - as if it were meant to be.

Warren Buffett, the American business icon and one of the world's richest men, is one who considers himself lucky. He famously credits all of his success to pure luck and states he must have won a lottery of being born at the right time in the right country that allowed him to accumulate great wealth.

In another example, my late grandfather's business success was attributed to perfect timing.

He opened his brick manufacturing factory in the 1960s when the Arabian Gulf was witnessing a boom in construction and development. He made more money in a day than most families made in a year.

If he had launched it 20 years earlier or 30 years later, he may not have succeeded, or got to where he was in life.

I believe luck matters when it comes to entrepreneurship - by which I mean creating one's own luck. This is achieved by adopting a lucky person's attitude and being connected to a network of lucky people who will help your business forward.

A lucky state of mind can be established by adopting the qualities of those who are successful in their fields. Interestingly enough, they all share general qualities and by adopting them they could bring you the type of circumstantial luck they have stumbled upon.

In my research about this topic and through my business experience I came to find core elements of successful people - those with a lucky attitude have humility, optimism and curiosity.

Successful people are humble and are always on the lookout to learn more and continuously develop. They sign up for seminars, attend conventions and never decline an opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences. They give advice and appreciate constructive criticism. They are never "too old" or "too experienced" for knowledge.

Luckily for us, the UAE now has several platforms for successful or "lucky" Emiratis and GCC nationals to showcase and share their knowledge.

One of the latest is ThinkUp.ae, an initiative by a young Emirati from Dubai, Saleh Al Braik, which provides a platform for GCC talents and entrepreneurs to share their business knowledge, experience and advice for those who are interested. ThinkUp features interviews and knowledge videos by leading GCC talents.

Moreover, successful people are also intellectually curious and are always keen to discover new ways to develop a product or a business venture. They genuinely like to make relationships with different people and such sincere intentions enable them to bump into the right people at the right time.

Last but not least, optimism is the driver that motivates the lucky ones to push their business forward and develop their product or idea when everyone else tells them it is not going to work.

The American inventor Thomas Edison did not quit even after failing more than 100 times before perfecting the light bulb.

Chances are, people who are perceived as lucky and successful share the characteristics of those with a lucky attitude.

The lucky ones are humble. They are forever curious and always optimistic. They develop great relations less through planned targeting but more by genuinely caring for and being interested in people.

If only everyone with a good concept adopted a lucky attitude, where would we be?

Manar Al Hinai is an award winning Emirati fashion designer and writer. Follow her on Twitter: @manar_alhinai