Seek Out a Different Environment, Increase Your Experience -- and Change Your Life Why is it that so many people meander day-after-day through the same quagmire of crap? It's simple: It just doesn't hurt enough.

By Ken Dunn Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Shutterstock

I was just about to take the stage for my closing talk at a day-long training designed for entrepreneurs, who yearned to make more money leveraging an expertise. There are millions of people who have amassed thousands of hours of experience and information, on specific topics.

The world calls them experts -- but most of them are broke. They come to our events to learn to transition from expert to highly-paid authorities. By this point in the day, they had been given a complete blue print on how to pull off that transition.

Related: Stop Planning Your Career and Start Taking Action

As I prepared for my final segment, I reviewed my notes. My goal was to go over the roadmap and make sure that the attendees had captured the most essential elements, but as I looked at the crowd, I realized that they needed to understand how to make the change.

Throughout the day, we had provided them with science of this transition but not touched deeply enough on the heart. The thoughts I shared in my closing comments focused on the mindset of the entrepreneur. As I finished my presentation, I realized that I had used this same process to virtually change anything that I have wanted in my life. I knew that I needed to share this idea with you.

If you are an entrepreneur, then you are battling issues on a daily basis. You are constantly trying to determine how to make changes for the better, without making things worse. Well, this may relieve you to learn that making any change is as simple as changing your environment and increasing your experience. It's as simple as the "two E's."

Related: One Day, You'll Be 50 or 60 or 70, and You'll Either Have Achieved Your Dreams -- or Not

1. Change your environment.

Anything that you need to change in your personal or professional life can be tied back to your environment. If you change your environment, you eliminate the impact that the previous environment has.

If you are standing outside getting wet, you go inside, and you stop getting wet. If you are dealing with an abusive relationship, you leave the relationship, and the abuse stops. Now I realize that you will instantly say that I am over-simplifying things. But am I?

2. Increase your experience.

The next part of changing anything is simply getting a bit more experience. In 2001, I realized that I was a dead-broke police detective. I knew that I had a son coming, and I wanted to be financially free.

I knew I needed to become an entrepreneur, so I sought out the only business owner that I knew (the owner of an insurance company) and asked him to mentor me. He agreed. I started a mortgage company, made lots of money, left the policing business, and my life was changed forever. You can rapidly increase your experience by finding a good mentor or simply reading every book on the subject of the change.

Regardless of what you need to change, the art of the change is as simple as the two E's. So why is it then that so many entrepreneurs are struggling? Why is it that so many people meander day-after-day through the same quagmire of crap? It's simple: It just doesn't hurt enough.

Related: Seth Godin Explains How Taking a Risk Is Actually the Safest Thing to Do These Days

I hope that when you finally get sick of the life your living, the business that is failing or the relationship that is struggling that someone sends you this article. We all have the ability to change our environment and seek out new experience. You can get the changes you want in your life, and you will make them happen on the very day that the pain of the change becomes less than the pain of staying the same.

Ken Dunn

Founder of Authority Factory

From his original days in police investigation and interrogation, Ken developed a fascination with the human subconscious. Ken now teaches entrepreneurs to build coaching business in the new Knowledge Brokering industry. He has helped hundreds to build six-to-seven-figure coaching businesses.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

This Husband and Wife's 'Happy Accident' Side Hustle Hit $467,000 Revenue Fast — Now It Makes Over $1 Million a Year: 'We're Scrappy'

Charlene and Vince Li couldn't find the snack they wanted to see on the shelves, so they created it themselves.

Growing a Business

'Boring' Businesses Are Making Millionaires — and You Can Borrow Their Strategies For Success

The silent growth strategy reveals how understated, steady businesses are quietly creating wealth for entrepreneurs in 2025. By focusing on long-term consistency and incremental progress, these "boring" industries are proving to be gold mines for those willing to embrace stability over hype.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

YouTuber MrBeast Makes More Money From His Side Hustle Than From His YouTube Videos

The 26-year-old creator has racked up hundreds of millions of views and subscribers on YouTube, but it isn't his main moneymaker.

Business News

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Says Only One Group Is Complaining About Returning to the Office

In a new interview, Dimon said remote work "doesn't work" and noted some JPMorgan employees were checking their phones while he was speaking in a meeting.

Growing a Business

How to Make Your Business Look Bigger Than It Is — Without Faking It

Perception shapes reality in business. A polished, credible brand attracts customers, investors and media attention — even if your team is small. But how do you project strength and scale without resorting to deception? Here's what you need to know.