Kevin Bemel ·
How to Use Serendipity to Improve Your Relationships
2 minutes to read
You might think I eliminated words such as chance, fluke, or providence from my vocabulary. Your point is well taken. My motto, “Are You Living Intentionally?”, gives you solid grounds for thinking so. Would it surprise you to know that despite having 957 DVDs, I prefer watching Turner Classic Movies? I never check its schedule. It’s better to let TCM surprise me with an old favorite or a new gem. Serendipity is the BEST part. You miss unexpected delights when you plan everything out, don’t you?
Serendipity Doesn’t Happen by Accident
Over the last five weeks, I’ve laid out a step-by-step process for creating relationships that make your life better. You know how, where, and who. But working too systematically can cause you to overlook great connections. When you work to develop relationships in an area of your life, the process takes on a life of its own.
A while back a friend connected me with Dan Evans, a Marine who uses his deep knowledge of social media to help his fellow veterans. We saw links in our work. As part of building our relationship, he interviewed me on his podcast. We’ve continued to be intentional about developing our connection.
What I couldn’t have planned is that Todd James, one of Dan’s listeners, got in touch with me. Todd runs the Marine Corps’s Marine for Life program. He helps veterans make the connections they need to be successful in civilian life. See the natural affinity between us?
By being intentional about building a connection with Dan I serendipitously met Todd. The sum of what the three of us do together will exceed that of us individually or working in pairs. Call it luck, blessing, or whatever you want. To make unexpected good things happen, you must WORK to make similar good things happen.
3 Ways to Bring Serendipity into Your Life
Aside from being open to blessing or good fortune, you can attract it by:
- Looking for ways to bring serendipity into other’s lives. Don’t wait for your friends and business associates to ask you for something. Look for opportunities to wow them by being proactive.
- Going somewhere you’ve never been before. Go purely for the sake of enjoyment or self-improvement. If you make a new connection, great! If not, don’t worry. The time has been well spent.
- Getting out among strangers. Spend an hour at the mall or a busy park just walking around. Run a 5K or walk a 1K by yourself. You can get lucky anywhere you find a big group of strangers.
Enjoy engaging in whichever option you choose. When you like what you’re doing you’ll attract others.
[Tweet "Fortune favors the bold ∞ Virgil"]
You’ve done your planning. Now take action.
How can you unexpectedly delight a business associate? Please comment below.
