Meta-Interpretation
Coincidences may arrive as fleeting sparks—an encounter in a corridor or on an aeroplane, a remark overheard at just the right time. Each feels singular, but when placed side by side, patterns begin to emerge. Beneath the surface of randomness lies a constellation of shared features that points to a common taxonomy.
From the coincidences explored in this Writing Project, three critical elements stand out: Timing, People, and Acting. They are best understood not as a sequence but as a cycle—each feeding into the other. Timing creates the opening. People provide the connection. Acting transforms it into change.
Timing
Coincidences begin with timing—our readiness to notice the unplanned. We tend to see them when we are prepared, or when we need them. As Rumi wrote: “What you seek is seeking you.”
Sometimes this readiness is explicit: finishing university and getting my first job, applying for a scholarship, or leaving work in search of something new. At other times it is implicit, reflected in subtle dissatisfaction that precedes awareness. This was the case with The San Francisco Article, which eventually led to a business and later to selling and exiting. Such moments illustrate synchronicity: the outer world echoing transitions already stirring within us.
From another perspective, chaos theory shows how tiny origins can cascade into outsized consequences. A stranger on a plane becomes the path to a board career and INSEAD. Fresh connections in Seoul and Barcelona become lifelong friendships.
Openness is essential. Even when we are not actively seeking change, coincidences can find us if we remain receptive. Life is less rich if we only repeat what we know, insisting we cannot do otherwise.
Attention is the gateway. Yet modern habits push us to judge too quickly, to categorise before we have truly observed. Instead, we should pause—to see the whole before reducing it to parts, to resist rushing to conclusions, and to avoid dismissing what may seem unremarkable but is unfolding before our very eyes. Perception sharpens when we are present. And noticing is always the first step to recognising coincidence as more than noise.
Coincidences favour those willing to notice, to explore, and to risk small experiments with the new.
People
Once the timing is right, coincidences often hinge on people. Strikingly, they are less often our closest friends than our acquaintances—those who bring new information, unexpected introductions, or life-changing nudges. Sociologist Mark Granovetter called these “weak ties.”
My stories illustrate this well. B. and L. were central in getting me my first job. Professor C. mentioned a scholarship in passing. H., my writing teacher, encouraged me to write a book that became a business. None were close friends. (More in Part 2 – My Coincidences – The Stories).
Coincidences thrive at the edges of structural holes—the gaps between groups—where fresh ideas and partnerships emerge. A chance encounter bridges these gaps, connecting otherwise separate worlds.
Here, posture matters: trust in instinct, curiosity, humility. To speak, to listen, to suspend certainty. Network science reminds us of the small-world effect: we are all only a few steps away from almost anyone. Coincidences expose this hidden closeness. Seen this way, coincidences are not only personal—they are network phenomena.
Acting
Coincidences remain sparks until acted upon. With reflection and persistence, they become transformative. Acting is what converts chance into change.
Preparation, commitment, and resilience bring coincidences to life. I studied carefully for the Accenture interview. I wrote the scholarship essay. I took H.’s advice and wrote the book, endured negotiations and months of writing, then promoted it. I responded to enquiries, turned them into consulting work, built a team, scaled a business. I gave someone a chance who later initiated its sale. I applied for NED roles, prepared rigorously, and invested in training at INSEAD. Without hard work and persistence, none of these coincidences would have unfolded into transformation.
Acting also means embracing the left field. At INSEAD, a small number of places are deliberately offered to candidates who don’t fully meet the usual criteria—an intentional bias-break designed to surface unexpected talent. Some of those students go on to succeed spectacularly. This practice illustrates the essence of serendipity: chance opportunities that reveal their value only when someone is willing to take them seriously.
The same principle applied in my own business. I once hired someone who, on paper, did not perfectly fit what we needed at the time. From a conventional perspective, the decision looked misaligned. Yet by treating the encounter as a serendipitous opening and pursuing it, that appointment became pivotal—eventually leading to the successful sale of my business. Serendipity, then, is not about blind luck. It is about recognising promise in the unexpected and acting on it with conviction.
Conclusion
Coincidences reward spontaneity. They don’t happen if we fail to notice, if we never leave home, if we don’t talk to people—including strangers. They don’t unfold if we don’t reflect and act.
As Julian Barnes observed: “Getting mature is losing spontaneity and being stuck in your own ways.” Coincidences ask us to resist that drift.
They also remind us that life is rarely linear. Plans may collapse, expectations fail—but small disruptions can redraw whole maps. Missing a bus, finding a restaurant closed, being assigned a bad seat—each can be the starting point of a new path. Chaos theory reminds us: starting points matter.
Narrative reflection shapes meaning. Coincidences are not only events; they are interpretations. They reveal who we are becoming. Coherence appears only in retrospect—we live forwards but understand backwards.
And coincidences are not one-way. You can be part of someone else’s. In Chance Encounters, I tell the story of S., now doing a PhD with G. It began when she joined us for a pro-bono painting class. At the time, S. was a weak tie. She saw something in the connection, explored it, and acted. That simple step reshaped her life. This is the power of opening networks: connecting people, offering opportunities, sharing stories—not to dominate, but to invite theirs.
This Writing Project itself began as a coincidence: telling my story to new friends, realising the role coincidences played, and choosing to explore them more deeply. And here we are.
In Part 1 – Understanding Coincidence, I drew on frameworks of probability, synchronicity, serendipity, chaos theory, and spiritual traditions. Each is incomplete on its own, but together they help us interpret what unfolds. Others—quantum entanglement, complexity theory, accumulation theory—add further depth. My aim has never been to exhaust the list, but to explore the perspectives that illuminate lived experience.
What’s next?
This is not the end. Coincidences touch adjacent themes—luck, curiosity, entanglement, the ways chance accumulates over time. Writers such as Paul Auster and Julian Barnes have woven coincidences into their stories. I plan to keep exploring these threads, refining ideas as I learn, and sharing them as this project unfolds.
Watch this space. More to come.
Note: To protect the privacy of individuals mentioned, only initials are used.