Serendipity is a skill

Practical tips on how to get more lucky

All my life I’ve tried to put myself in situations where luck can find me.

Because luck doesn’t happen when you're sitting on your couch watching Netflix.

It happens when you put yourself in an environment where the universe can reward you for being there.¹

My new apartment in Barcelona - a product of Serendipity.

These are a few ways I cultivate more serendipity and luck in my life:

1. I live in a walkable city

2. I talk to strangers

3. I write on the internet

4. I attend meetups/join masterminds.

1. Move to a walkable city

There is a direct correlation between population density and serendipity.

The more people you surround yourself with, the closer you are to each other, and the higher your chances for unexpected encounters. When I lived in the US, commuting to work in my climate controlled capsule car, it felt like the days blurred together.

This is a rough outline of what my schedule looked like:

5:00 AM - Wake up

5:30 AM - Commute to work

6:30 AM - All Hands Meeting

7:00 AM - Work

6:00 PM - Commute Home

7:00 PM - Exercise/Gym

8:00 PM - Dinner

9:00 PM - Read/Watch Youtube

10:00 PM - Sleep

Every day was so damn predictable. Hardly any casual bump-ins with friends and acquaintances. No surprises to brighten my day.

In a low-density environment, your chances of serendipity decrease dramatically.

Things are too spread out and you’re forced to drive around in a bubble, closed off to the outside world and other people. In places where you have a higher population density, life is more vibrant, you open yourself up to more possibilities just going about your day-to-day.

Here in Barcelona, every time I go for a walk it’s an opportunity to connect with my surroundings and those around me. In fact, the apartment I just bought here is a direct result of a serendipitous encounter.

One afternoon I was out for a walk when I ran into my old neighbor Jordi from the previous building I lived in. He happened to mention that one of the apartments in the building was going up for sale and that it wasn’t on the market yet. That week I went to see the apartment, made an offer, and it was accepted.

Prior to the encounter with Jordi, I’d been looking at the market just to get an understanding of what prices were like, but I had no plans to actually buy an apartment this year. Density equals opportunity.

I was surprised at how well Taylor Swift described the benefits of density:

Source

2. Talk to Strangers

I know this can be intimidating. I understand not all of us are naturally extroverted.

But take a second to think about your friends, weren’t they once strangers?

There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met. - William Butler Yeats

Yes it’s “easier” to meet friends through friends, but you can meet friends other ways too. (group exercise class, in-person events, at a third place like a cafe or bar) Next time you see someone interesting, ask yourself: “What’s the worst that can happen if I talk to that person?”

If your too afraid to talk to strangers in person, start by reaching out to someone you admire on the internet. Be okay with the fact that they might not respond to you. If you do it enough, eventually someone will respond, and who knows what that relationship can lead to.

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3. Show your work

Starting this newsletter is something I put off for a long time. I wish I had the guts and the foresight to start publishing sooner. Because something beautiful happens when you’re vulnerable and put yourself out there.

When you put stuff on the internet or publishing your work online, you become a magnet for attracting like-minded people.

They will reach out to you to say nice stuff, it will help build trust, and they’ll be more open to working with you in some capacity

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4. Meetups & Masterminds

When I want to learn something, I do my best to get around other people who are also trying to learn that thing. I apply this more so at the beginning when I’m just getting started. It helps for several reasons:

• You meet others a few steps ahead and a few steps behind

• You find new people to collaborate with

• You get accountability

I’ve been a part of Paul Millerd’s Pathless Path group for a little over a year and I’ve met up with a handful of people in the community in person. It’s led to some great conversations and insights.

It also helps to have other people in your circle who are working on similar things. Oftentimes, the mastermind or the meetup itself is not the key, it’s the people you meet at these events:

Source

This doesn’t have to be business-related. It can be applied to almost anything you want to do or learn.

For example, when someone tells me they’re trying to learn Spanish, the first question I ask is: Are you taking group classes or working with a private tutor 1-on-1?

If they say 1-on-1, my recommendation is always to do an in-person group class instead. I find cohort-based learning is more engaging and effective than individual learning. Someone else might ask a question you had never thought of which can trigger a massive insight. After class, you can meet with other students and review the material together so it cements in your brain.

Whether it’s IRL or virtual, a community of peers is powerful and will lead to more serendipity than trying to go at it alone.²

Remember that the law of attraction still requires action.

There is a secret to serendipity, it’s a mindset you carry with you, and you can manufacture luck if you know how to look out for serendipity triggers.

Until next time my friends,

<3 B

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1. Sometimes just being there isn’t enough, you have to also be good at what you do and take advantage of it.

2. This is why Steve Jobs obsessed over office design, even to the extent of where the bathrooms were located. He wanted to encourage serendipitous encounters as much as possible because he knew there was a direct correlation with creativity.