Finding Alignment

It gets thrown out there a lot, doesn’t it? The term “alignment.”

What does it actually mean? How do you even know when you have it?

Past emails where I talked about alignment and synchronicities have been well received.

A lot of people reached out wanting to know more.

Some big questions on people’s minds:

How do I know I have the right business idea?

What does alignment look like?

Should I go in this direction, or a different one?

How do you stay in alignment?

What is the formula for alignment? Is there a formula?

Honestly, these are tough questions to answer.

It took me 40 years to get to a place where I feel like I’ve found alignment. And even now I still, although infrequently, go through moments of self doubt.

Naturally, a lot of people want a shortcut to get there.

Which, considering my process, sounds difficult.

But one key thing I’ve discovered that might be considered a shortcut is volume of interactions.

Meeting people constantly.

When you’ve got a surplus of interactions – both social and business – happening in your life, it’s easier to see what path stands out.

I said this to a friend the other day: 

“Synchronicity and alignment is directly correlated to the number of conversations you’re having.”

In my experience, the more conversations you’re having, the more successful you’ll become. 

We’re social beings and work best in collaborative environments. 

This has proven true for me, and it should for you too as an entrepreneur.

So many entrepreneurs these days are working, grinding, planning their product, planning an exciting attention-grabbing marketing campaign…

But they’re not out on the court playing.

They’re not actually speaking to people.

Whether it be customers or employees or advisors or mentors…

Even friends, or strangers you just met at a party.

Sometimes strangers at parties lead to multi-million-a-year ideas and long term business partnerships.

I’ve discussed this concept quite a bit in previous emails. The concept of creating space for alignment to manifest.

Call it setting aside time for natural networking if you prefer. Call it whatever you want. 

As I write this, I’m on a flight to New York. It’s for work but also because I do some of my best thinking whilst traveling. Away from the everyday routine of life. 

Just don’t cloud your schedule so much that you don’t have any space to think, and space to listen.

As an entrepreneur, you need to find a balance of moments where you have that lull, and moments where you put your foot on the gas.

It’s a bit of a dance.

A lot of people are just heads-down, trying to grind it out.

But the path to success can appear in many, many different ways.

There is no one single right path for everyone, in finding alignment, synchronicities, or just your business in general.

And you never know where the right connection, the right idea, or the right path is going to appear.

A member of the KINN, Mara Abrams, previously worked for the US Census Bureau and recently worked with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s non-profit organization the Archewell Foundation (as one of her social impact studio clients).

During a Startup Cafe interview, she told me that initially she didn’t know what kind of agency she wanted to launch.

The vagueness of the plan was giving her doubts until she started talking with a lot of different people about it.

Certain chats gave her a gut feeling or a natural interest – then she would follow that itch.

And then another one of these conversations, another piece of the puzzle, would manifest.

Eventually it became crystal clear.

That was it. That’s all she did. And that was literally the compass that led to the highly successful agency she’s now running. 

As for my personal experience, I can completely relate to that.

Allow for space. Talk to people. And follow that itch.

Eventually it’ll become clear.

Whether or not you believe in alignments and synchronicities, I doubt there’s a more practical way to find your path.

Talk soon,

Oliver

PS. Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. When it comes to finding alignment, how do you go about it?