As the penny glides through the Mega Ball scratch-off ticket, paper shavings begin to gather around my palms. The slow reveal of numbers begins to appear and a glimmer of hope fills my body with every stroke.

For a brief moment, it feels as if Lady Luck has chosen me.

In those few minutes, the want and probability of winning are sufficient. The world seems to stop as I think about the possibilities. A winning ticket can change everything and it all depends on a thin piece of paper.

As the last scratch on the final square sets in, I want everything to change. Once the last number is revealed to me, reality starts to settle in.

I realize that I did not win, again, causing my dream of change to flee as quickly as it came.

A statistics study conducted by Motley Fool Money showed the odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are one in 292 million.

A staggering statistic that should discourage me from playing a losing game that is instead rooted in chance and not logic. The idea of luck is something not as tangible as a perfect slice of bread or something as easy as a piece of cake.

Forbes describes luck as a personality trait, but what really is luck? And how can we describe it and hold onto something intangible? Research shows that individuals who are more “lucky’ versus “unlucky” view the world uniquely, approaching life more optimistically.

Luck doesn’t exist in the world I know. I know a world that makes people work for what they want.

Dedication and resilience is what make me successful, not seeking good fortune from a wish bone or blowing the petals off a dandelion.

The idea of winning is something I can’t shake loose. That deep down inside me hope is alive and luck is on my side.

The Forbes article also showed that rather than those who are “unlucky,” “lucky” people are quite the opposite. They are relaxed and observant; they are able to stay positive and stick to their intuitions.

Unlucky individuals can be described as pessimistic, tense and vulnerable.

Luck is no force that chooses who wins and who loses. It’s a proper mindset that allows for change. A change in one’s psyche that grants them an opportunity to warp their thoughts, warping an individual’s mind to translate into chance.