mrpink essays

Serendipity and the Fallacy of Planning

Leaving space for the unexpected — how to build in motion with flexibility and intention to uncover hidden opportunities.

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” — Pablo Picasso

I love that quote. And it’s worth remembering who said it: someone who certainly didn’t lack creativity or inspiration.If even Picasso understood that the essential part is showing up and doing the work, why do we think we need to have everything planned before taking action?

In the world of startups — especially in the early stages — too much planning can become more of a burden than a tool.Of course, planning can be a great exercise to spark ideas, but it should be done lightly. The goal isn’t to design a rigid, detailed plan, but to open possible paths without falling into the illusion of the “perfect plan.”

Why Planning Can Be a Fallacy

A “solid plan” relies on at least three key ingredients:

1- A clear current state — not only of the startup (that part is easy), but also of the context: customers, competitors — both known and unknown — and market trends.

2- A desired future state — a vision of where we want to take the company.

3- The ability to predict how our decisions will influence that path, and how the environment will respond.

This might work in controlled settings, like a chess game — where the rules are clear and options finite. But a startup operates in a chaotic ecosystem, full of uncertainty and incomplete information. In that context, detailed planning loses its meaning.

What truly matters is conscious experimentation, flexibility, and the ability to adapt quickly.

What to Do in a World Full of False Prophets

Here’s what I tell founders: listen, learn — but focus more on the process than on universal truths.There are no absolute rules.The success stories you hear, the advice from those who’ve “been there,” the supposed formulas that guarantee results — none of them necessarily apply to your case.

Every startup is unique, because every context is unique.What worked for one founder in another industry, at another time, doesn’t guarantee it will work for you now.

Trust your instinct.

Listen to the prophets — but filter them. Take little, act more. Focus on what really matters: the problem you chose to solve with your startup.
That reason why you invest your time, capital, and emotional energy into this journey.

Remember: this is your movie. You’re the lead actor. Don’t just copy someone else’s script. Write your own.

The Map Is Not the Territory

Here, I see a parallel with meditation. In that world, there are maps of progress describing where a practitioner is and where they might go next. Personally, I’ve read little about these maps because, as many teachers warn, the risk of confusing the map with the territory is huge.

The same happens with startups: we confuse the plan with reality.

In nature, evolution doesn’t unfold through master plans — it happens through constant, incremental adjustments. Biology teaches us a powerful lesson: it works with real-time feedback from its immediate environment, making robust and adaptive changes.

Startups face a similar challenge. They’ll never have perfect information for a detailed plan, nor infinite time or resources. Their job is to generate reasonable hypotheses and test them fast.

Startups aren’t built on whiteboards — they’re built in the real world, full of noise, inconsistencies, and surprises. The key isn’t achieving absolute precision, but making directionally correct decisions, trusting adaptability over certainty

Serendipity: The Art of the Unexpected

And this is where serendipity comes in — those unexpected discoveries that appear only when we leave space for the unpredictable.It’s not magic, nor “manifestation.”It’s a practical strategy for those who see life as an exploration.

When outcomes surprise us, instead of labeling them as mistakes or failures, we can see them as opportunities to learn and pivot.Serendipity requires flow — the humility to accept what comes and the intelligence to connect dots others can’t see.