September 30, 2025 | Issue Archive
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When change feels like it’s happening to you
Yesterday I was on another call with a prospective client. Another company navigating a merger and acquisition. Another group of leaders saying the same thing I keep hearing everywhere:
“Our people feel like change is happening TO them.”
And it’s not just them. Every industry is in this supercycle of change. Markets shifting. Roles evolving. Structures turning upside down. It feels heavy because it is heavy.
And here’s the thing: No one is immune. Not even on your birthday... as I learned last week.
Megan and I planned a hike. One of my favorite ways to start any day. But it rained. Okay...
Then I had a client consult that afternoon. (A good thing, but not how most picture their birthday.) Real life...
By evening, after running kids to three different sports, I thought I’d at least get BBQ from my favorite hut. Pulled in—lights off. Closed on Tuesdays. Ha ha...
Nothing went the way I scripted it.
And to state the obvious, a rained-out hike and a closed restaurant aren’t the same as a multi-billion-dollar merger. These are not crises. But the lesson is the same:
The moment we think we should be in control of everything is the moment we set ourselves up for frustration.
That’s where Stoicism meets Radical Adaptability.
Epictetus: “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
Marcus Aurelius: “You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
Calm—the first of the 5 C’s—isn’t passive. It’s power.
It’s remembering: change isn’t happening to you. Change is happening. Period.
The question is: how will you show up?
On my birthday, I chose gratitude. For the family, the noise, the love. Because I’ve had birthdays alone. And this one? It was full. I am grateful.
That same choice is available to every leader, every team, in the face of disruption.
This Ends Now
The illusion of control that leads to disappointment.
👉 Where do you need to let go of the belief that you should be in control?
This Moment Matters
Your true power is not in controlling events—but in choosing your response to them.
👉 How do you want to show up in the face of what you can’t control?
Wherever change finds you this week—whether in boardrooms or in the small moments of life—may you remember: calm is your strength, presence is your anchor, and your response is always your power.
Up we go—