How to use Littlewood’s law of miracles
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The best opportunities are the ones you don’t expect, where something beyond your wildest imagination happens. Serendipity. A miracle. The odds? One in a million. But according to Littlewood’s Law of Miracles, “miracles” aren’t as rare as they seem. It’s a numbers game. Cambridge University professor John Littlewood calculated that an “event” occurs about once every second. He estimates, conservatively, that we’re fully alert and paying attention for about eight hours a day. Over 35 days, that adds up to around 1,000,000 events. Which means that every 35 days, you’re statistically likely to encounter something with a one-in-a-million chance of happening — a miracle. And if you deliberately increase the kinds of events you expose yourself to, you can further raise the odds of encountering these “miracles.” Here are three ways to optimize for serendipity. 1. Tune your antenna. Set an intention to pick up on signals — messages from random conversations, songs, street signs or passing thoughts. Stop minimizing things that you can’t explain as “just a coincidence.” 2. Break out of autopilot. Introduce new stimuli into your day — anything outside your usual routine. Take a different route to the gym, wear a bright red jacket, eat with your non-dominant hand. 3. Get into motion. Create opportunities for the unexpected. Let yourself wander: explore new places, talk to people you wouldn’t normally engage with. You’ll find doors opening that you didn’t even know existed. In the latest episode of The High-EQ Founder podcast, Jehiel Oliver, CEO of Hello Tractor, shares how this mindset led to a cascade of events, including meeting then-President Obama, high-profile CEOs and one of their most important strategic partnerships.
"People who maximize serendipity balance the humility of not knowing where their next big break will come from with the arrogance of knowing that it will come from somewhere." David Perell Love, Renita p.s. When you’re ready to level up your leadership, here’s how I can help: 👉🏻 The High-EQ Founder, a cohort course where founders turbo-charge their leadership communication skills in just 3 weeks. Sign up for the waitlist here. 👉🏻 1:1 Founder Coaching. Schedule a call to get acquainted here and let's see if we're a good fit. |
Renita Kalhorn | The High-EQ Founder
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