Serendipity
(Check out episode 4 "Serendipity Supercharged" on the Freedom Now! Travel podcast)
What is serendipity and how can it be supercharged for success in life and travel?
What is serendipity? Serendipity is defined as a fortunate happenstance or pleasant surprise. It’s the result of being open to the opportunity; being in the right place at the right time, taking risks, and seizing chance encounters. For many people, serendipity is seen as a lucky coincidence, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can actually increase your chances of experiencing serendipity by taking certain steps to create opportunities for it to occur. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how you can do just that!
How to create opportunities for serendipity to occur while expressing and experiencing freedom and passion during your travels.
So, how can you create opportunities for serendipity to occur? First, one way is by expressing your freedom and passion while traveling. When you’re open to new experiences and willing to take risks, you’re more likely to stumble upon something wonderful. Freedom comes from expanded boundaries (or no boundaries – not necessarily recommended, but who knows…) Passion comes in many packages: what floats your boat, your interests, what excites you or lights you up? In what activity do you feel enlivened and alive? These are questions you can ask yourself as you go about your day in making space for serendipity to show up, and especially as you travel.
Another way to create opportunities for serendipity is shared in the podcast Freedom Now! Travel – Express Yourself, episode 6. In that episode, John and Ocea share how they intentionally open themselves to meet people and have impact in others’ lives. They literally pray/declare for it to happen. Ocea calls it “Divine encounters.” This approach causes you to be aware of how you leave someone after they have just experienced you. Another way I think of it is, what and who are you leaving in your wake? Consider, similar to a ship or a boat on the water, as it moves, it’s presence and movement makes an impact and we see the trails of the impact in what we call a wake. For every person we meet, we leave them a certain way. Better off, worse off, freed, or stuck. Arguably, we never leave them in neutral nor are we left in neutral. Expressing freedom and passion while traveling is a sure way to leave someone more intact, supercharged, and simply, just better because they’ve encountered you.
So, the second way to increase serendipitous moment is to “intend” them. You don’t have to have a specific outcome, just have the intention to meet someone where you experience the joy of serendipity in the moment. Some fortuitous circumstance, blessing, word that elevated your thinking, some kindness that moved you, even if for a brief conversation. Or even better some kindness that you delivered or offered has a boomerang effect and what you intended to elevate someone else, actually elevates you. That intention sets you up to be a space for serendipity to land (and I don’t mean a gift from a bird flying over head).
A third way to increase your chances of serendipitous moments is by putting yourself in new environments and situations. Go to new places, meet new people, and try new things. “New” is key in these moments. Changing the route, being flexible in the plan, having an openness to unexpected benefits showing up is a pathway to experiencing serendipity while expressing passion and freedom through travel. The more you expose yourself to different experiences, the greater the chance that something unexpected and wonderful will happen.
In the podcast episode 6, “Serendipity Supercharged!” I talk about my hidden superpower, one that I didn’t know I had until recording this episode. For some reason people, tend to invite into their homes to stay for a visit. I’ve traveled all over the world and have had that experience often, in almost every trip. I haven’t always taken people up on the offer, but I’ve always been moved by such a kindness, especially because it wasn’t requested. Something happens and out of the blue people say, “Antonio, stay at my place.” or “Antonio, this is your room when you’re in town.” Wow. I love people!
How to recognize and act on serendipitous moments when they arise
Of course, even if you take steps to create opportunities for serendipity, it won’t always strike. But when it does, it’s important to be able to recognize and act on those moments. Serendipitous moments happen in an ebb and flow of moments and experiences. It’s not the same as creating an opportunity. It’s more like a gifted occurrence and people are left feeling accomplished, satisfied, at ease, in peace, and whole. AND, it can be an opportunity for more! My realtor is someone I bumped into in Puerto Vallarta. I didn’t know he was a realtor. I just like meeting people while traveling. Turns out, he was from Houston. We connected once back in Houston, went out and shot pool, hung out as I got to know Houston and more people. Lo and behold, turns out he’s a realtor. 6 months later, I’m in my first home and loving it!
There is no challenge or struggle in serendipity, no effort – just ebbing and flowing, connectedness, and moment by moment creation. What we call accidents are actually collisions of our energy with the energy around us. When we’re in alignment, there’s flow and what was an accident is simply a collision of two energies that were meant to connect.
Serendipitous moments often come when we least expect them, but if you follow these tips, you can create more opportunities for serendipity to show up in your life – and make the most of those moments when it does.
Examples of successful people who have benefited from serendipity
Some of the most successful people in the world have benefited from serendipity. Malcolm Gladwell writes about this idea of serendipity through the lens of outliers. Outliers are those who exceed even the most excellent, or the best. They would be the best of the best, even beyond the cream of the crop. They outlie the data points. Gladwell demystifies this type of success and, basically put, people were born in situations or met situations that provided an environment and conditions for such excellence or success. I call that serendipity.
I consider people of excellence and intention, like Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, are exemplars of how outlier success is buttressed by serendipity: family, time period of birth, what way was prepared for you before being born, etc. As Gladwell says, “The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all” albeit skillful in making choices and creating in life: serendipity has its say.
Steve Jobs said that “the best way to create value in the twenty-first century is to connect things,” and he credited much of his success to serendipitous connections. Bill Gates has also spoken about the role of serendipity in his success, saying that “most people don’t realize how important serendipity has been in their lives.”
Tips for increasing your own of chance encounters while expressing and experiencing passion and freedom through traveling
– Follow your intuition and act on impulse. If you feel drawn to someone or something, go for it!
– Talk to everyone you meet. You never know who you’ll connect with or what interesting conversation you’ll have.
– Be curious and open to new people and experiences
– Say yes to invitations, even if you’re not sure what you’re getting yourself into.
– Keep your mind and heart open to possibility.
– Don’t be afraid to take some risks.
– Embrace change and be flexible with your plans.
– Be patient and trust that whatever is needed will be provided when needed. Just be a space for it to show up.
– Be open to new experiences and new people, new places, new, new, new!
– Follow your heart. And, have fun! Life is an adventure! Go, be passionate and free through travel!
Did you find this post helpful? What tips would you add for increasing your own luck and making the most of serendipitous moments? Share your thoughts in the comments below! And, if you’re feeling inspired to plan your next adventure, be sure to contact me. I’d love to help you experience and express passion and freedom toward your committed partner/spouse through our travel treasure hunt games. Or a committed friendship. Or even your office or just you wanting to (re)ignite passion in what you’re doing at work. Antonio@AntonioGoodwin.org. Check us out on Instagram @TheAntonioGoodwin
