“Serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.” coined in 1754 by Horace Walpole.
We often underestimate how much of our career is built not just on discipline, effort, or strategy, but on the unexpected. Call it luck, timing, or alignment, serendipity plays a bigger role than most people admit. The question isn’t whether it exists, it’s whether you’re positioning yourself to catch it when it shows up.
September is a season of new beginnings. It’s the psychological reset button after summer. Kids go back to school. Professionals sharpen their focus again. Markets get more active. This makes it the perfect month to talk about serendipity, because new beginnings are rarely scripted, they’re discovered.
Think about the last time a conversation shifted the direction of your life. Maybe you met someone at an event, reached out to a stranger on LinkedIn, or said yes to a coffee with no agenda. Suddenly, one connection led to another, and doors you didn’t even know existed began to open. That’s serendipity. But here’s the catch: it rarely happens to the person who’s hiding, waiting for opportunity to knock. It happens to the one exploring new places, shaking new hands, testing their autonomy, and refusing to settle for a script someone else wrote.
In career growth, two forces matter: autonomy and mastery.
Autonomy is about taking control of your path, deciding you won’t let the company, the economy, or even your boss dictate where you’re going next.
Mastery is the work of sharpening your craft so relentlessly that when serendipity shows up, you’re not just ready, you’re undeniable.
One without the other doesn’t work. Autonomy without mastery is wandering. Mastery without autonomy is limitation. Bringing both together is what makes your strategic.
Networking often gets framed as transactional. “What can this person do for me?” That’s the wrong mindset. The real game is to water your network. Just like a plant, your relationships need consistent care. Not just when you need something, but year-round. The simple act of showing up, checking in, or adding value to someone else creates an ecosystem where serendipity thrives. You don’t know when that seed will grow into an opportunity, but it will.
Serendipity also rewards those who place themselves in motion. Go explore. Travel to a new city. Attend a conference where you don’t know anyone. Take a meeting with no guaranteed outcome. When you expose yourself to new places, ideas, and people, you multiply your chances of colliding with the unexpected. Too many professionals live inside - same offices, same circles, same assumptions. And then they wonder why nothing new is happening. The truth is, nothing changes until you move.
There’s also a mindset component. Serendipity favours people who are prepared to see possibility where others see noise. It’s easy to dismiss a conversation as small talk. But what if inside that conversation is a connection to your next big move? Most people are too distracted, too rushed, or too self-absorbed to notice. The person who slows down, who pays attention, who asks the extra question...that’s the one who finds gold in places others overlook.
September is not just about starting fresh. It’s about creating conditions where serendipity can find you. If you’re in a career transition, instead of obsessing over control, focus on exposure. Put yourself in environments where chance can work in your favour. If you’re building a business, stop trying to script every client and start meeting people who may surprise you with doors you didn’t anticipate.
Remember that serendipity isn’t just about luck. It can be engineered. It may look like chance from the outside, but in reality it’s the outcome of consistent actions - the coffees, the learning, the risks, the watering of your network, that eventually converge into a breakthrough moment. When others call it luck, you’ll know it was strategy disguised as chance.
So as you step into September, remember this: don’t chase serendipity, create it! Live with autonomy, master your craft, water your network, and step boldly into environments that stretch you. Because when serendipity arrives, it doesn’t knock twice.
Want to make sure your next moves are in place?
Reach out to me, and let’s ensure your career continues to progress this Summer.
Book in via info@careerships.com for a free 30-minute Zoom call to learn how we’ll clear your path to success.
Richard
CEO & Career Coach | Careerships
Careerships help professionals across 31 countries make substantial changes in their careers and lives.
Using our unique blend of international experience, passion, AI, commitment, and an ability to understand how to progress, we have maintained our 100% success record for our client partners, and it is our mission to keep this intact.
