Stephanie Melodia

What if luck isn't something that happens to you?

For most people, luck feels random. Something you either have or you don't. A force that favors some and skips others for no discernible reason.

But the research tells a different story.

Whether you lead a company, a team, or your own career, the evidence is clear: the luckiest people aren't the most talented, the best connected, or the ones who got the best start. They think differently, behave differently, and make decisions in ways that consistently put them in the path of better outcomes.

This session unpacks the science and the psychology behind luck, drawing on peer-reviewed research from Dr. Richard Wiseman, Daniel Kahneman, and Pluchino et al. to show what separates people who seem to catch every break from those who don't. You'll meet the eight principles that make up the Hacking Luck framework, including how to build the kind of network that opens doors you didn't know existed, why resilience alone isn't enough, and the counterintuitive case for zagging when everyone else zags.

When we apply the learnings from Hacking Luck, we stop waiting for fortune to find us. We understand which habits are quietly closing doors, which mindsets are keeping us stuck, and precisely what we can change. We leave with a formula, not a feeling, and the agency to engineer better outcomes from wherever we are right now.