AI Summary of 10 key ideas
1、There are several kinds of serendipity, but they’re all different than “blind” luck of the draw – they’re about creating “smart luck.”
What is serendipity, exactly? The word itself dates back to 1754 when British writer Horace Walpole used it to describe a kind of discovery that was made unexpectedly, by accident, or through a certain foresighted wisdom known as sagacity.
This definition has more or less stood the test of time. For our purposes, we’ll think of serendipity as a positive occurrence, one made when your actions collide with chance. This means serendipity is different from pure chance, or luck on its own.
The key message here is: There are several kinds of serendipity, but they’re all different than “blind” luck of the draw – they’re about creating “smart luck.”
Generally speaking, there are three types of serendipity:
The first is Archimedes Serendipity. This is when you’re looking for a solution to a specific problem and the solution arrives in an unexpected way. The name comes from the story of how Archimedes solved the problem of King Hiero’s crown. King Hiero had hired a goldsmith to make a crown – and he’d given him a precise amount of gold to make it from. The goldsmith forged the crown, and it weighed exactly as much as the gold he’d been given, but King Hiero grew suspicious. What if it was a forgery?
So Hiero called upon the brilliant Archimedes to test its authenticity.
Archimedes thought it over. And during his brainstorming, he went to the public baths. Here, serendipity struck. Archimedes noticed how the water levels rose as people lowered themselves into the baths – and, in a flash, he knew how to test the crown.
Gold is denser than silver. This means that, if a pure-silver crown and a pure-gold crown weighed the same amount, the pure-silver crown would be larger. And a larger crown would displace more water than a smaller crown. Thus, Archimedes correctly reasoned, if Hiero’s crown had been diluted with silver, it would displace more water than if it were pure gold. It was as easy as that!
The second type of serendipity is Post-It Note Serendipity. This is when a solution is unexpectedly found for a problem that wasn’t even being considered at the time. The name comes from the Post-It note. They were invented when Dr. Spencer Silver, a researcher for 3M, was trying to develop a new type of strong glue. One attempt fell short. It wasn’t very sticky at all. But Silver was curious to discover the potential for this weak glue. It eventually became the perfect ingredient for the Post-It Note.
Finally, there’s Thunderbolt Serendipity. As the name suggests, this is when you’re struck by a solution out of nowhere. You weren’t examining any specific problem or researching any particular solution. You were just going about your day when out of the blue an idea and exciting new opportunity presented itself.
Sometimes, serendipity might be a combination or variation of these types. But no matter what, these aren’t cases of blind luck. As we’ll see, hitting upon serendipity is something you can facilitate, as long as you have the right mindset.
2、Serendipity is usually about connecting dots that have previously remained elusive.
How we interpret or look back upon serendipity is important. In fact, it can make a big difference in the likelihood of serendipity occurring in the future.
For example, we shouldn’t think of serendipity as a singular event, even if it is one of those thunderbolt experiences. Instead, we should think of it as a process. Often serendipity is the result of seeds that were planted weeks, months, or years in advance. And it always requires something of you – whether it’s noticing a value that hasn’t been seen before, or drawing a conclusion that hasn’t been reached before.
3、Being attuned and alert to serendipity means letting go of ingrained biases.
Do you ever find yourself being a glass-half-empty type of person? It can happen to the best of us. In fact, having biases and preconceptions goes hand-in-hand with human nature, but that doesn’t mean it’s helpful in life. As far as serendipity goes, having strict, unbending preconceptions can be a big hindrance.
4、Organizations such as RLabs are good examples of having a serendipity mindset.
A great example of the functional fixedness bias is the Western approach to helping out nations that are trying to lift themselves out of poverty. For some humanitarian organizations, there’s only one way of doing things: the Western way. So, if a country doesn’t have the “right” kind of resources, the organization will throw up their hands and say, sorry there’s nothing we can do to help.
Fortunately, not all organizations are so fixed in their thinking. Take RLabs, short for Reconstructed Living Labs, a social enterprise out of South Africa. This is a group of free-thinking individuals who are trying to improve communities in areas like Iringa in Tanzania, and they’re doing it by finding value where others have only seen problems.
5、To stay alert and motivated, remain focused on a meaningful north star.
What motivates you on a day-to-day basis? Is it money? Or are you searching for something more meaningful?
There’s a good chance you’ve read or heard something about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This was developed by the philosopher Abraham Maslow over 50 years ago, but it’s left a lasting impression and continues to influence many of today’s social theories.
6、You can increase the chances of serendipity in simple ways.
At this point, you should have a pretty good idea of the kind of frame of mind that is best for spotting and acting on serendipity. So let’s see what we can do about generating more of it in our lives.
Sure, the whole idea of serendipity is that it’s unpredictable and unexpected, but that doesn’t mean you can’t increase the chances of it being a regular occurrence in your life.
7、There are easy steps for planting the seeds for serendipity to occur.
Do you remember the Icelandic volcano eruption from 2010? One of the reasons it’s so memorable is that it brought air travel between Europe and the US to a standstill. Due to the amount of smoke and soot in the air, planes were grounded and many people had to suddenly change their plans.
One such person was entrepreneur Nathanial Whittemore. But while some people shook their fist at mother nature for ruining their plans, Whittemore made the most of this unexpected development. He turned it into a great serendipitous opportunity by reaching out to colleagues and people from his networks and quickly putting together the event that became TEDxVolcano. This spontaneous symposium on creative entrepreneurship brought together hundreds of experts and featured a livestream that was watched by thousands more.
8、Serendipity can take time to develop, so patience is often required.
Another characteristic of the serendipity mindset is grit, or perseverance. The road to serendipity is often paved with rejection, failed experiments, and near misses. Many entrepreneurs will tell you that they were turned away countless times before they finally found the idea that clicked with investors.
You need tenacity. Not only because it can take time for the right opportunities to present themselves, but because it often takes time for your brain to connect those important dots.
10、A blink from the author: Navigating COVID-19 uncertainty with a serendipity mindset.
2020 has been a difficult year so far. Physical distancing has robbed us of the many opportunities for serendipity that arise from in-person interactions. Many of the traditional starting points of serendipity – like coincidentally running into someone in the corridor, or the legendary “watercooler moments” – are happening less frequently.
But there’s still a lot you can do to trigger serendipity, which is crucial during times of uncertainty. After all, it’s during uncertain times that many solutions, ideas, and opportunities tend to come from unexpected places.
