The Serendipity Life Path
by Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D.
Serendipity is not "woo-woo."
It's a recognized element of career change.
We all know people who were going about their own
business not seeking new direction. Guidance came, unasked, from
sources outside themselves.
It's not enough to receive a message: you have to know how to listen
and interpret what comes.
Coaching can
help you prepare to recognize a serendipitous event.
Real-Life Examples
Charles found his career in junior high school,
when he literally fell from the choir loft into the church organ. He
was so fascinated by the repairs that the specialist invited him to
work in his shop.
Through high school, Charles did small chores and later graduated to
apprentice repair. He never bothered with college. Now his firm repairs
church organs all over the region
According to a story from long ago, the
California Highway Patrol stopped a man for speeding. Noting that he
handled the car exceptionally well at high speeds, they suggested he
apply to the CHP. Now he can drive ninety miles an hour all day long.
In her book Fighting Fire, Caroline Paul
describes the birth of her career. During one of her workouts in a gym,
a man greeted her, complimented her strength, and handed her a Fire
Department recruiting pamphlet. Caroline, a Stanford graduate who had
planned graduate study in fine arts, went on to become one of the first
women fire fighters in San Francisco.
A particularly good story comes from the owners
of Three Dog Bakery. When their dog refused to eat, the vet suggested,
"Why don't you cook for her?"
The owner had no idea where to begin. He modified
a cookie recipe and the dog wolfed it down. That was the beginning of
an empire.
In an audiotape about work, author Thomas Moore
says he had just decided to stop teaching psychology when someone asked
him, "Will you be my therapist?" That question gave him a new career.
Do the rest of us ignore those messages?
I'm trying to collect more serendipity stories,
but people who fall into work they love do not read self-help books or
call career coaches. I suspect the rest of us also receive messages,
but we ignore them.
A professor says to a student, "You have a knack
for this subject and you should major in it." A neighbor says, "You
ought to consider making a career out of your talent." And the
conversation is forgotten half an hour later.
Sometimes the message should be heard as, "Keep
this talent somewhere in your life, not necessarily as a profit
center." Nina gives pottery as Christmas presents, but she will not
give up her lucrative day job in advertising. She realizes the need to
market her wares would overwhelm her love of the clay.
True messages leave you feeling as if you've been
hit on the head by a flying two-by-four. They reach your heart. They
feel "right." You hear them as invitations, not advice.
As you open your intuition and become focused on
what you want, you'll find yourself attracting more invitations. And
one of them might take you to worlds you never dreamed of.