Tania Luna- Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected
This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Tania Luna. The original live interview was 10/23/15.
Do you prefer when: A) Things go according to plan? or B) When the unexpected happens? Most of us pick control and predictability. Yet research reveals a counterintuitive truth: surprise is the key that unlocks growth, innovation, and connection. It is also the secret ingredient in our best memories.
Through colorful narratives and compelling scientific findings, authors Tania Luna and Dr. LeeAnn Renninger shine a light on the world’s least understood and most intriguing emotion. They reveal how shifting our perception of surprise lets us thrive in the face of uncertainty.
As a young child, Tania Luna left her home in post-Chernobyl Ukraine to take asylum in the US. Tania Luna has an unusual title: she calls herself a “surprisologist.” The co-founder and CEO of Surprise Industries, Luna thinks deeply about how to delight, and how to help individuals and teams thrive in uncertain circumstances and develop the bonds needed to get through them.
The book also shows us how surprise acts as a shortcut that turns a typical product into a meaningful experience, a good idea into a viral one, awkward small talk into engaging conversation, and daily life into an adventure.
When Luna was invited to take part in TED’s Worldwide Talent Search in 2012, she expected to give a talk about surprise and the importance of not being attached to outcomes. However, she was inspired to tell a more personal story — one many of her closest friends didn’t know — about her Ukrainian family getting asylum in the United States when she was 6-yeard-old and arriving in New York with virtually nothing. She sees her work as connected to her upbringing — in which a piece of Bazooka bubble gum, a thrown-out toy or a mis-delivered pizza was magical — because it gave her an appreciation for the joy of little surprises.
-Surprise intensifies our emotions by about 400% (making special occasions even specialer)
-Our happiest memories contain an element of surprise
-Surprise deepens and brightens our relationships
-We feel most comfortable when things are certain, but we feel most alive when they’re not
Surprise Industries is a collection of non-routine experiences for non-routine people. They’ve curated activities that are designed to spark connection, wonder, and play and take you in unexpected new directions.
Her websites are https://surpriseindustries.com and http://lifelabsnewyork.com/
To order the book click HERE
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