HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK

How to get the breaks? By rousing yourself and helping yourself--which has been said before. But PR specialist Gittelson--a.k.a. the creator of computer astrology--has a flair for items of mass appeal; so he has quite a lot to offer the would-be entrepreneur, in particular. The steps: set a realistic goal (not a cool million, maybe, but a substantial increase in income); keep your eyes open for ideas that will meet pressing human problems or needs (the ""electric light bulb"" moment when you realize that people will probably pay for a home manicuring service); make ""connections,"" or contacts; and develop those contacts into a wider circle, or ""circuit,"" that will move your product into precisely the right market. In essence, Gittelson is teaching us something about public-relations work--except that we're to be our own PR think tank, or ""research lab."" And the instruction works pretty well because Gittelson never lets up with the stories and examples: from Jean Nidetch founding Weight Watchers out of her own crying need, to a neighbor's son re-thinking a wreck-repair business into a more profitable rent-a-wreck opportunity--an example of what Gittelson calls ""taking off the blinkers"" and approaching your assets from a different, more unusual, and potentially more profitable perspective. The book's focus is more on ingenuity and perseverance, happily, than on piling up riches per se--and those in the market for its service may actually find it fun.