The Right Idea at the Right Time

Epiphanies change the way we see ourselves and the world, creating a powerful shift and opening the door to possibilities. Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash

“How can you possibly make a difference in people’s lives by saying words on a stage for an hour?”

I’ve heard some version of that question a bunch of times in my career. There was a time in my life when I asked the same question of other speakers. Sometimes words seem so… soft. It’s hard to believe that hearing a story or an idea, especially one you may have heard before, could be enough to actually change something that matters.

But then again, if you’ve ever experienced the right words at the right time shared in the right way, you know the power they contain - one idea can change everything. It can shift our perspective, and that shift can unlock possibilities. 

“Nothing else in the world…not all the armies…is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.” —Victor Hugo

A friend of mine recently reminded me of how powerful ideas can be.

He’d been in a bit of a funk. He was still showing up for his life and doing the things he needed to do, but under the surface he was feeling drained, and anxious, and at times a bit empty. I’ve felt that way too sometimes. I call it “functional depression.” You’re upright, but barely.

Then one day a podcast stumbled across his desk. The hosts were talking about the brain, and one of them mentioned the limbic system, sometimes referred to as the “reptilian brain.” It’s the part of our brain responsible for survival, triggering fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses.

This part of the brain doesn’t do nuance. It sees stress and interprets it as threat and it’s been crucial to our survival over millions of years. But while it served us well when we were fending off predators, in modern life it often sets off alarm bells over things that aren’t actually life-threatening - like inboxes and late bills and uncertainty.

My friend knew all this already. But hearing it again, in that moment, something shifted.

“My brain’s just trying to protect me,” he said. “It’s sounding the alarm, trying to activate survival mode. But if I really think about it, I’m okay. I’m not in danger. And the moment I reminded myself of that, I could feel the weight lift off my shoulders.”

And just like that, everything felt different.

Nothing had changed externally. But a single idea reframed his entire experience and helped him feel better. 

“It was like flipping a switch. Being reminded of the nature of my mind transformed my state of being.”

The Epiphany Effect

What helped my friend climb out of the fog wasn’t a pill, or a vacation, or a raise. All it took was a  well-timed idea. A reframing of something he already knew, but had forgotten how to see.

Epiphanies work this way some times. They’re not always new ideas. I mean, sometimes they are, but more often, they’re old truths we’ve drifted away from. And then something, or someone, brings them back into view in ways that feel fresh and urgent.

For me, epiphanies have always been magnetic. I chased them as a teenager and through university. I loved learning big, poetic, and profound ideas, the kinds of ideas and realizations that blew my mind. I suppose that “mind-blown” sensation is part of what pulled me into the world of magic too. 

What I Really Do

It’s my love for those mind-blowing moments that inspires the work that I do on stages. The more I understand the power of ideas, the more I aim to create space for others to experience epiphanies with them. 

I work to help my audiences see something they might be familiar with in a new light, or from a different angle. To help them take something old and make it useful and powerful again in their lives and work. 

How to Experience Epiphanies More Often

You don’t need to hire me to help you re-discover the power of ideas (although that IS a possibility). Here are some of my favourite strategies to see the world in new ways. 

1. Expose your mind to new ideas regularly.

Books, podcasts, conversations, TED talks… These are the delivery vehicles for fresh perspectives. You don’t need a hundred insights. You just need one that finds you at the right time.

2. Revisit old ideas with new eyes.

Go back to that book that changed your life ten years ago. Watch the movie that opened your eyes in high school. You’re not the same person anymore and you’ll likely see something you missed the first time.

3. Slow down and reflect.

The faster we move, the less we see. Epiphanies need time and space to land. I like journaling, walking without my phone, or just staring out the window. It’s amazing what thoughts sneak in when my brain isn’t busy.

4. Surround yourself with people who think differently.

Other people’s perspectives can spark insights you’d never arrive at on your own. Ask questions and practice listening more than you speak.

5. Create meaning in what you’re already doing.

Viktor E Frankl wrote a treatise called Man’s Search For Meaning where one of his central arguments is that we don’t find meaning, but rather we create it. Often, epiphanies arrive when we start seeing meaning in the mess. Next time you’re “in it” ask yourself “What could this be trying to teach me?”

What About You?

What idea found you at the right time?

What story, insight, quote, or perspective changed how you saw the world, right when you needed it most?

One idea can change everything. Maybe today’s the day one finds you.