The conditions for change

We all say we want change.

A new career. A breakthrough idea. A community that feels like home. A chance to finally be seen for who we really are.

But the thing is…

Most of us expect change to arrive without ever shifting the conditions we live in.

We keep circling the same routines, sitting in the same environments, having the same conversations.

And then we wonder why life doesn’t move forward.

Change doesn’t happen by accident.

It happens when you preemptively create the conditions for it to happen.

When I think back on my own journey, the biggest shifts in my life never came from sheer force of will.

They came because I set the stage for them, sometimes without even realizing it.

When I moved into a space of my own, I wasn’t chasing some grand external result.

I simply knew I needed an environment that reflected where I wanted to go, not where I had been.

That shift in environment (physically and emotionally) opened doors I couldn’t have planned for.

And I’ve seen the same happen again and again at KINN.

Leah, who now leads membership here, didn’t get her role by applying cold.

She first joined our public speaking cohort. She came to events. She immersed herself in the environment.

By the time the role opened, she wasn’t an outsider applying for a job; she was already living inside the culture.

The opportunity was simply a natural extension of the space she had helped create.

Most of us get this backwards... we think:

Once I get the job, I’ll show up differently.

Once I’m in the right relationship, I’ll become the person I want to be.

Once I have the opportunity, then I’ll be ready.

But it doesn’t work that way.

The inner and the outer have to shift first.

You shift your inner environment by clarifying what you believe, what you stand for, and how you want to live.

And you shift your outer environment by creating moments where others can actually hear you, respond, and align with you.

Warren Buffett has written about how the greatest edge isn’t brilliance – it’s rationality.

The ability to think clearly, stay steady, and not be pulled by the tides of what everyone else is doing.

That lesson applies far beyond investing. Because if we’re cluttered inside, conforming to what society expects, chasing trends, unable to control our emotions and impulses, then no new environment will save us.

This is why a still mind is the most important performance hack, beyond any expert knowledge, skill or talent.

So in the coming weeks, remember this:

It’s when we align our inner clarity with outer action that the conditions for real change take root.

Talk soon,

Oliver

PS. If you want another catalyst for change, public speaking might be your highest leverage move.

In just a couple weeks, we’re launching our next Public Speaking Masterclass at the KINN. 

We’ll help you use the skill of speaking to create change across your company, your team, or your brand.

Feel free to apply here.