The Surface Area of Serendipity | Episode 39 | Everything is Everything

Good things happen to us when we give them the chance to do so. The more we put ourselves out there, the more we are likely to get lucky.

But Exposure is pointless without Excellence.

Welcome to Episode 39 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit shares his fascination with the phrase, the Surface Area of Serendipity. And together, Ajay and Amit explore the delicate balance between excellence and exposure that is required to be both good and successful.

And BTW, if you are in Mumbai, you MUST watch the brilliant musical play, MAGIC FRUIT, written by Vaishnav Vyas and including Nomsita MS Haritashya among the performers. They are the crew behind this show -- and generational talents at the start of their journey. You can be a part of it by watching MAGIC FRUIT on March 29 in Mumbai. Tickets here: https://in.bookmyshow.com/plays/magic...

Oh, and Amit's newsletter is furiously active again, so do read and subscribe at https://indiauncut.substack.com/

If you like watching Everything is Everything, please like, subscribe, share, comment. :)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
00:00 Packaging
00:13 Introduction: Two Unexpected Questions
06:13 Chapter 1: Good Things Happen to Those Who Walk
19:44 Chapter 2: Virtuous Cycle vs Vicious Cycle
25:41 Chapter 3: There Are No Strangers
43:34 Chapter 4: Amit’s Recco
44:39 Chapter 5: Ajay’s Recco – or Is It?
48:01 Before You Go...

USEFUL RESOURCES:
1. Amit on Twitter:   / amitvarma  
2. Ajay on Twitter:   / ajay_shah  
3. The Seen and the Unseen -- Amit's audio podcast: https://seenunseen.in/
(Also on all podcast apps. And YouTube, though less than 1% of listens come from here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSeenAndTh...)
4. Ajay's organisation, XKDR Forum, on YouTube:    / @xkdr  
5. In Service of the Republic -- Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah: https://amzn.eu/d/hwGILb3
6. The Art of Clear Writing -- Amit's writing course: https://indiauncut.com/clear-writing/
7. The India Uncut Newsletter -- Amit's newsletter at https://indiauncut.substack.com/
8. The Greatest Productivity Mantra: Kaator Re Bhaaji! -- Episode 11 of Everything is Everything:    • The Greatest Productivity Mantra: Kaa...  
9. Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance -- Claudia Mueller and Carol Dweck: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1998-0...
10. Fast Car -- Tracy Chapman at the Nelson Mandela tribute concert, 1988:    • Tracy Chapman - Fast Car (Nelson Mand...  
11. Surface Area of Luck -- Model Thinkers: https://modelthinkers.com/mental-mode...
12. CMIE: https://cmie.com/
13. The UNIX Episode -- Episode 32 of Everything is Everything:    • The UNIX Episode | Episode 32 | Every...  
14. Bollywood Masala and a French Art Film -- Amit Varma: https://indiauncut.substack.com/p/bol...
15. The Tipping Point -- Malcolm Gladwell: https://amzn.in/d/13a1t3R
16. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues -- Tom Robbins: https://amzn.in/d/6U8Hwa3
17. The Leap Blog: https://blog.theleapjournal.org/
18. Emerging Markets Conference: https://www.emergingmarketsconference...
19. Ajay Shah's writings for mass media: https://www.mayin.org/ajayshah/MEDIA/
20. XKDR working papers: https://xkdr.org/papers-list
21. To Kill A Mockingbird -- Harper Lee: https://amzn.in/d/i84XxkA
22. Six Degrees -- Duncan Watts: https://amzn.in/d/j4ggNkG
23. Dead Poet's Society -- Peter Weir: https://www.hotstar.com/in/movies/dea...
24. Anatomy of a Fall -- Justine Triet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy...
25. Anatomy of a Folly -- Amit Varma: https://indiauncut.substack.com/p/ana...
26. Amit's MAMI thread from 2018:   / 1056020643853033472  
27. Amit's MAMI thread from 2019:   / 1185063306979098624  

Produced by Amit Varma
Shot by Vaishnav Vyas and Nomsita MS Haritashya:   / vaishnav.vyas  
Edited by Nomsita MS Haritashya:   / nomsitaharitashya  
Thanks to Gaurav Chintamani for helping with sound:   / gaurav_chintamani  
Chapter images & additional illustrations by Simahina:   / i_am_simahina