Is it “Wayback Wednesday” already? Must be because below is a Grasshopper note from long ago:

“A More Active Life Leads To More Happy Accidents.”

I’ve always liked the word “serendipity” but never knew its origin. It comes from the fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip where the three princes were making accidental discoveries while they were in search of something else.

Seems that we all have made accidental discoveries when in search of something unrelated. Serendipity is alive and well in our lives and we would do well to set the stage for it to appear more often.

The trick is not to go looking for serendipity but to commit to doing something vs. thinking about something. Doing gets you out and about; thinking keeps you shuttered and stout. Taking action gives serendipity the opportunity to find you.

The arithmetic works like this: The more you get out and do, the more often you have a chance of serendipity visiting you. It’s most often the byproduct of activity and interaction. Action will lead you to people and places that thinking can never take you.

Have you ever had a chance meeting that turned into something larger than you could have ever imagined? It happens to someone every day when they get their isolationist thinking out of the way.

Here’s the big secret: Serendipity will not come knocking on your door. You’re more likely to bump into it if you put yourself where it lives – outside of your head.

Serendipity is in direct proportion to you putting yourself out there. And when you do, please don’t act too surprised when it taps you on the shoulder and asks you to dance.

All the best,

John