Step Out of Your Village

"The best opportunities are the ones you never expected." - David Perell

Growing up, I was not a voracious reader; I could never relate to when people referred to the “classics” or neither did I own many books I cared for. Reading was boring. Until that one day recently I decided to take the path I previously never cared to travel. I read a book that I was spontaneously recommended (Klara and The Sun), listened to an audiobook about a rockstar I knew nothing about from a brunch (David Grohl - The Storyteller) and tried journaling my first morning pages 57 days ago after watching Ali Abdaal's video. Since then I haven't looked back.

Now with my foray into the world of writing, I've dived completely into the universe of all things related to books, stories and literature. I feel like I've jumped in with more than just both feet. I'm completely submerged. I'm not drowning though. I'm thriving and the words give me air. On the daily, I'm swimming in books and words during every moment I can make for it.

So this is why I make a habit of stepping out of my "village", to seek out the unexpected awesomeness I have experienced so much as of late.

What is a Village?

A village is can be seen as the space, contexts, areas of focus and people you interact with as part of your day-to-day, AKA your routine. For example, those who live in your village are the regulars you see at work, the places you frequent, the friends who remain atop your WhatsApp chat list, how you spend time with family,  the top visited sites in your browser or even the road you take you to work.

The Best Is Out There, Waiting For You

All people grow and change. It's an inevitable and universal truth of what it means to be human. Naturally, as part of our personal growth and discovery, you may find yourself drawn to a new exciting hobby, skill, perspective or path in life. And through my own experiences, the chances that what is already within your "village" can help cultivate it is slim.

David Perrel highlights that it's generally once you find something new, that the people within your current "village" are unlikely to be perfectly resonant with your idea. Can you recall the last time you discovered a new skill or passion but then noticed your closest mates or family nod politely and move on? This kind of experience can be a bit disheartening at times and extinguish the spark.

Do not let your spark be extinguished.

I am sharing/telling/shouting to you that you HAVE to know that there are people and places out there which will be exactly what you need and will connect with you on the levels you are yearning for. And once you discover them, they become your champion, fuel, support, inspiration and the push you need and want. This could be anything including starting a business idea, creating a game, being an artist, a musician, learning a new martial art, discovering spirituality or even trying your hand at NFTs.

But you have to be deliberate and get out there by taking steps beyond your norms.

Find your Serendipity Vehicle

David Perell's concept of a Serendipity Vehicle is the key to stepping out of your village. It's anything you can think of that you can use to invite moments of serendipity into your life. These moments include coming into contact with new ideas, new experiences, realisations or people. Whilst serendipity may seem like something left to chance, David talks about the fact that you can actually be more deliberate and therefore practice serendipity more often. It's a skill you can cultivate through the use of a serendipity vehicle.

My serendipity vehicle is my personal blog website. Whenever I bring up my site in conversations and how it's a part of my journey into writing and reading, without fail it organically spurs people on to share all sorts of wonderful recommendations or engage with me in another way.

Here are some serendipitous moments I've had since starting this website:

• Discovering friends who are themselves writing a book
• Engaging with people who also are keen to start blogging and forming a support network to accomplish this together
• Pitches to explore YouTube Videos myself (Coming soon!)
• Engaging with authors around the globe
• Been given awesome constructive feedback on my blog
• Recommendations to some of the best books and audiobooks I've read to date

For those of you who are reading this and are toying with a new idea or exploring a new skill, know that there's an entire global community out there waiting to be your support and energy to succeed. You just need to find your serendipity vehicle today, deliberately use it in your day-to-day life and take a step out of your village.

P.S. I hope my hand-drawn illustrations have given you a good laugh.