12 Real Life Stories that Prove Luck Can Pick You Up Eventually

We never know when luck might surprise us. Sometimes, a small action—like saying hello to someone or trying something new—leads to a big, life-changing event. Other times, it’s the little things, like finding a forgotten note or hearing a kind word, that lift our spirits and make the day brighter. Even the tiniest moments of luck can have a powerful impact, reminding us that good things can happen when we least expect them.

• Got laid off two days before Christmas, had $10 in my bank account, bought a six pack and a $1 scratch off. Won $1200. © babiesonacid / Reddit

• A while back, I was unemployed, broke, and job searching like crazy. I had applied to at least 30+ places and had some interviews over the course of 5 months, but remained jobless. One night, I decided to walk to the local pizza place instead of getting it delivered. Well, on the walk back, I noticed a baby bird lying in the middle of the road. I stopped, stared at it for a moment before picking it up and setting it under a nearby bush. Next day, I received a call from one of the places I had recently interviewed at, asking if I could come to fill in some paperwork. Sure, yeah, absolutely! Well, it turns out, the hiring manager was with her girlfriend at a bar, having a drink on the patio, and happened to see me save the bird. Earlier in the day, she had been going through all of the potential applicants and after seeing that, decided to hire me right then. © Elaphe / Reddit

• At the end of my first semester in grad school, a bunch of the first-year class were having a party at a friend’s house. I had promised to go, but when that night rolled around, I started having a serious down-swing mood and decided the best thing to do would be to stay at home in the dark and hide from the world. About an hour or two into the party, my friend who was hosting it called and asked where I was. I tried to beg off, but he was persistent. It was nice to feel so wanted, so I put on my deal-with-the-world face and went. Long story short, I stayed for hours after the party ended, talking with one of the other students who I had known only slightly until then. She and I have been together for just about nineteen years now. © jxj24 / Reddit

• I hurt my arm and could not go to play soccer, so I went hang out with some friends and was introduced to my wife. We have been together for 15 years now (married for 3). Almost every decision I took in my life after meeting her has been influenced by her. And my life has just kept improving. Sometimes I do wonder how my life would have turned out if I had decided to not take a break from soccer that day. © kash_if / Reddit

• There was a raffle at my daughter’s nativity play a few years ago. They pulled my name out of the box and called me up to take the first prize, a big Christmas hamper. So I went up and as I stood there in front of everyone (about 300 people), the guy doing the draw pulled out the ticket for the second prize. And called my name again.
  It was a very funny, but very cool, moment. So I went home with 2 massive hampers of goodies that day. © fairypants / Reddit

• I had my car stolen when I was 19. A few months later I was driving my new car at 3 am, no other traffic around, and my stolen car passed me on my left. I followed the guy for about 120 miles back. At one point he pulled beside me and waved at me, thinking we were road-rally pals! I returned a death stare. Followed him home, called the cops, and got my car back. When I think of what had to align for my car to find me again, it blows my mind. © HarryColonicJr / Reddit

• My mother gave me a very nice necklace. One morning I went to scratch my neck and I didn’t feel it. I guess I didn’t put the latch on properly, and it fell off, so I got super bummed out because it was nice.
  A few hours later, I found it in my shoe. It fell down my shirt, down my pants (with a belt), and into my left shoe, which had been tightly laced. © Rough_Cut / Reddit

• On Friday my FIL was purging and offered my husband a pair of jeans because they were his size. The second I saw them I was like, WHAT. 24 hours later I sold them for almost $20,000. 1933 mint condition Levis 501s. © greeperfi / Reddit

• I applied for a job that was way out of my league and the pay was more than twice what I was making at the time, and included pension, full benefits, all that good stuff. I showed up quite early for the interview and had some time to kill, so I sat in the lobby reading some industry magazines. One article was about the top 10 threats to this industry, which I made a point of reading and soaking in as much as I could. Eventually, I get called into the interview, and everything is going OK for the most part. This industry and role are both new to me, and I think it may have shown during the interview as a weak spot....but then I get asked “What do you see as potential issues within our industry/business”. I was so excited I almost jumped out of my seat and went off in great detail about everything I had just learned. The interviewers were very impressed, and little did they know that had I been asked that same question just 30 minutes earlier, I would have had nearly nothing to say.... I got the job. © TheDude77 / Reddit

• I was in a foreign airport, running late, and just missed the train — like the sliding door slammed on my foot. Had to wait 10 minutes for the next one. Got chatting to a girl. Now married for 6 years. © hippocratical / Reddit

• My friend meets this girl in a cafe, which he never does, and decides to see her again. Well, the date goes well and he gets lucky. They are cuddling afterward, and she rests her head on his chest and notices an irregular heartbeat.
  This girl is a nurse and demands he go to the emergency room immediately. And they made him have a major heart surgery right then and said in a day he would have died. He didn’t even know anything was up. © OuchLOLcom / Reddit

• About 6 or 7 years ago, a couple of friends and I were stuck in traffic in my friend’s SUV in broad daylight. An old lady and probably her 35-ish daughter were in the car next to us, and the daughter rolled up the window to tell us something. My friend opened his window too, the woman said “I am feeling dizzy and my mother doesn’t know how to drive, could one of you boys please get in our car and drive us to a hospital nearby because I think I might faint.” They were pretty normal-looking people, nothing shady about them so we said why not among each other. However, we found out that their car had a manual transmission and none of us knew how to drive a stick. So we ended up saying sorry and went our own way, feeling sad for them.
  Fast forward 3 years later, one day I was watching the news and saw one particular story that some harmless-looking people — mostly old folks — use this trick to lure people into their car, only to be tailed by their partners in crime and then robbed them in some point. I have to state that the people mentioned in the news were not the old woman and her daughter we encountered a couple of years ago but an old man and a male teenager. Still, I think we’ve dodged a bullet. © hugostrange11 / Reddit

Some people catch a bit of luck and have an amazing day, week — or even a great life because of it. But others aren’t so lucky and end up having a tough day, knowing exactly what bad luck feels like.