David Letterman, the late-night funny man, started his career with a flop. After a string of guest appearances on comedy shows, sitcoms and game shows, Letterman finally landed a hosting gig for a TV pilot called The Riddlers.

The series was a bust.

But Letterman got noticed by the producers of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He soon became a regular guest, and eventually a TV talk show host who earned $40 million a year.

Examples of coincidences often appear to be simply accidents. However, as Albert Einstein said: “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

If you have faith that the Universe is there to help you, you will find this concept easier to accept. But if you have never experienced positive coincidences, you may be wondering why. Here are a few reasons:

You have goals but no burning desire. You do not make enough effort to succeed, giving the Universe mixed signals and confusing the outcome.

• Your desire is not consistent.
• Your actions and desires are not aligned.
• You are not grateful for the good things that happen to you.
• You accomplish many things but don’t acknowledge or are shy to acknowledge your successes or are too self-critical, leading to weakening of morale and enthusiasm.
• You have poor awareness. You fail to see the connection between your desires, actions and results, eventually leading to missed results.
• You do not affirm and visualize your goals regularly.

Many of us avoid uncertainty because we fear negative outcomes. However, even a negative outcome can lead us in the right direction. An unhappy experience in your life, like losing your job, can open new career avenues for you. But if you ignore the learning and instead just focus on the negative experience; you will invite more of the same. On the other hand, if you treat them as another chapter in the narrative of success, you’ll find it easier to draw positive solutions.

The important thing to remember is that problems affect everyone.

Steve Jobs could have felt victimized after he was fired from Apple. He chose to react differently. After his dismissal, he saw opportunity where others couldn’t. He went on to lead a small animation company and turned it into the juggernaut that is now Pixar. When The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006, Jobs became the largest shareholder in Disney. Moral of the story: when unwanted changes happen, look beyond them and see the opportunity they might contain.

Challenge yourself with the following “How to” exercises:

1. BECOME aware of what is going on in your life and start actively looking for the coincidences.  You strengthen what you focus on.
2. RECORD all the coincidences you observe in a week and analyze them to see how they brought you closer to your goals.
3. EXPRESS gratitude for every event that brings you closer to your goals.
4. SET clear goals – yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly and visualize them twice every day. The clearer your goals, the more you invite positive coincidences.
5. ALIGN your goals with a larger selfless purpose. When you want to help others, the Universe wants to help you.
6. TRUST that all coincidences are there to help you, even though you may not think so at the time.
7. DURING each encounter, ask yourself: How does this incident bring greater awareness into my life?
8. WHEN you face obstacles, view them as learning opportunities.

What is important is that you learn to recognize coincidences, and use them to help you reach your goals. You then begin to look at every setback as a stepping-stone to success.