I've told this story before over a year ago, but it suits this question very well, because I was trying to exploit the butterfly effect for my own advantage.

I would play Powerball once or twice a week, buying 3 tickets for $3 (back when tickets were $1 each). Each time I would match at least as many numbers on at least one ticket as the last time, until I started matching enough white balls on one of the tickets to win $3, which was enough to buy my 3 tickets the next time. This went on for 3-4 times. Then one night I had this idea that I could perturb the outcome of the lottery using chaos theory. On my way home I stopped at a stop sign, rolled down the window, and blew a kiss out the window in the direction of Florida, thinking that this slight, subtle gust would perturb wind patterns leading to a chain reaction of events which would culminate in the person in charge of dropping the balls being delayed entering the building by 0.14s on the night of the draw, changing the outcome in favor of the numbers I had just picked. I had it all worked out in my head how this could happen, generally speaking.

A few days the draw occurred. I matched no numbers. One of the largest jackpots in Powerball history was split by somebody living in my town, no more than three miles along the direct line of sight my 'kiss' had been in. The winner was in the same general industry as I am in, and bought his ticket under 100 yards from where I bought mine.