The 1,000,001 Reasons Trap
Three ideas about growth, perspective, and getting out of your own way
Three ideas have been looping in my brain this week:
The soundtrack of doing life differently
When two Aussies walk into The White House…
The 1,000,001 reasons trap
1. The soundtrack of doing life differently
I was meant to go on a three-hour hike. But I woke up, the day was stunning, and the jacarandas were in full bloom - these ridiculous, beautiful purple trees are all over Brisbane right now (see photo below).
So I just started running.
And running.
We think we have to pay a lot of money or attend huge events to feel great. Sometimes, you just have to do something you haven’t done in a while and fall in love with it all over again.
But as I was slowing down after 15kms, I got a sudden pep in my step when Bon Jovi’s “Livin on a Prayer” hit my AirPods.
There’s an epic moment in that song. It’s when the song pauses slightly, and then he sings the chorus three half-steps higher and suddenly everyone loses their minds.
(And if you don’t know, here’s the direct link to that moment)…
That’s a key change.
A key change in music is when a song shifts its “home base” from one set of notes to another, a process called modulation.
As I’m running (okay, jogging with photo breaks), I realise why these musical moments hit so hard. They snap you out of a pattern.
Maybe the reason we love a key change is because it feels both familiar and fresh.
In our careers and lives, we’re obsessed with the “Version 2.0” upgrade. We think growth means a total reinvention. Quitting the job. Moving to a new city. Blowing up our lives and starting from scratch.
But you don’t need to rely on these Big Moments™.
Sometimes, the small, intentional shifts are what it takes to bring back the mojo. A key change for your life, if you will.
Here are a some ways to introduce a key change this week:
Change your scenery: Work from a cafe, a library, or the park. Just get out of your usual four walls.
Change your route: Take your walking meeting or your daily commute on a completely new path.
Change your medium: Call someone you always text. Send a Loom video instead of an email.
Change your soundtrack: Start your morning with a genre of music you never listen to.
Change your physical state: Take a 2 PM cold shower. Or blast some music for a 3pm dance party.
That’s it. That’s the principle.
Give it a go.
You can’t expect to stay in the same key forever.
Question: What small key change could snap you out of your current pattern?
2. When two Aussies walk into the White House…
That title starts like a joke, right? (Two Aussies walk into a bar…) The reason I’ve given it that title is because I was laughing a LOT this week, watching the footage of our Prime Minister and US Ambassador Kevin Rudd meeting with POTUS in The White House.
If you missed it, POTUS basically told our Ambassador that he really didn’t like him.
As I was watching the replay, I did feel for Kevin Rudd. What a tough day at the office.
And then it dawned on me… my day could never be as bad as his day. So why on earth was I taking my work so damn seriously?
Whatever you’re dreading - a tough conversation, the presentation you’ve been putting off, the negotiation that’s making your stomach churn - there’s a lovely reminder here: even if the most powerful man in the world talks down to you, you’ll still wake up to face another day.
I don’t know about you, but I have an incredible talent for inflating the importance of my work.
I also know that the best outcomes often happen when we take things a little more lightly.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is zoom out and laugh at the cosmic absurdity of how seriously we take ourselves.
Question: What would you tackle differently today if you remembered it’s probably not as serious as it feels?
3. The 1,000,001 reasons trap
I’m already planning my next adventure before I’ve even left for Nepal in two weeks (yes, I know how this sounds).
The 2026 New York City Marathon is calling, and when I mentioned it to a friend, she said, “You’re occupying space in my mind, Leanne.”
Great, I told her. That’s step one…and added, “There are a million and one reasons not to do the New York City Marathon next year.”
And there are. Budget. Time. Work. Family. Training. Weather. Injury risk. Travel stress. Don’t want to drink American coffee (valid).
The excuses list could genuinely hit a million if we got creative.
Here’s what I’ve learned: for anything worth doing, the default is always no. There will always be more reasons not to do something than to do it.
Timing is never going to be ideal.
Recognise that if something genuinely excites you, the obstacles aren’t going away. You just have to decide if they’re worth navigating.
Question: What are you not pursuing because you’re waiting for the million and one reasons to magically disappear?
Btw, if you’re a key change nerd like me, you’ll love Aussie creator Pace Randolph, who’s built an entire series called “Imagine if this song had a key change.”
Here are some of my Pace faves:
So, tell me...
What’s your all-time favourite song with a killer key change? 11/10 recommend this one in MJs’ Man in the Mirror, thanks for asking!
🌴
Leanne “Changing Keys” Hughes
p.s. If this piece struck a chord (see what I did there?), tap that little heart 💙 below. It helps more curious humans find these stories, and it honestly makes my day.
p.p.s. Join Alan Weiss and me for our Halloween edition of Talk the Walk (30 Oct 5pm ET / 31 Oct 7am AEST) where we’ll unwrap the “tricks” consultants fall for and the “treats” that lead to repeat clients, referrals, and better projects. BYO coffee, martini, or work horror story.