Redrawing your canvas

When we’re born, we step into this life as blank canvases—like empty slates with nothing drawn on them yet. As children, we don’t have any perspective about the world or who we should be. We’re just here, soaking up experiences, absorbing everything our environment throws at us. Parents, siblings, teachers, friends—they all hand us different paintbrushes, they add colour, they shade in certain areas. By around six or seven years old, we end up with a rough sketch of who we believe we are. That outline, for most people, becomes the map they follow for the rest of their lives.

Sure, as we grow older, we might toss on a couple of new brushstrokes or tweak a few colours here and there, but we rarely break the entire canvas down and start over. That’s why you’ll hear people talk about returning to a “childlike state”—it’s the idea of wiping the slate clean and becoming open again, collecting brand-new perspectives without all the baggage that’s weighed us down. But doing that can be tough, because we’ve been trained through our education system, through our parents, and through society in general, to cling to what we already know. We assume that the painting we have is all there is.

The Comfort Cage

This brings me to what I call the comfort cage. It’s that mental and emotional space we lock ourselves into. Why a cage? Because even though it’s got the word “comfort” slapped on it, it’s still a cage. We feel safe in there because it’s familiar: the same old beliefs, the same old stories, the same old ways of doing things. You know the script. But even if it’s comfortable, it keeps us stuck. It limits our potential, our joy, and our ability to create new realities for ourselves. We assume that everything we learned in those early years must be the absolute truth, when in reality, it’s just a perspective we picked up from the people around us.

Yet most of us stay in that cage. We try to solve life’s problems with the exact same mindset that created them. Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems with the same level of thinking we used to create them.” For me, that means we can’t shift our results or break through obstacles if we’re stuck in the same identity that shaped those obstacles in the first place. A new level of performance, a new level of success (whatever that means for you) requires a new identity, or at least a willingness to explore one.

The Trap of Not Evolving

So, what if you don’t evolve? Let’s paint a picture (pun intended). If you refuse to break out of your comfort cage, you’ll probably find yourself swimming in cynicism and resignation. You’ll start rolling your eyes at new ideas, telling yourself, “Oh, that’s just how life is. Nothing ever changes.” Ten, twenty, thirty years might pass, and you’ll still be singing the same sad tune, trapped behind the same beliefs and perspectives you picked up as a kid. You might become that person who’s jaded about money, about relationships, about self-improvement—about everything. Eventually, you might not even try anymore. It’s like you’ll be staring through the bars of your cage, complaining about how small your world is, while refusing to admit that the door’s been unlocked this whole time.

This is not some doomsday prophecy. It’s just a reality check for what happens when you let the painting of your identity stay exactly the same for decades. If you can’t let in any fresh perspectives—if you can’t be that child again, wide-eyed and curious—you’ll end up missing out on the life you could have built for yourself.

Why Childlike Curiosity Matters

So, what do we mean by “childlike state”? It’s not about being childish or irresponsible. It’s about being open to learn again, open to seeing the world without all the clutter of biases, fears, and assumptions. Babies are like sponges, right? They’re constantly processing everything around them. They’re not rolling their eyes or shutting out new information because of some ancient grudge or assumption. That’s exactly the energy you want to tap into as an adult if you’re looking to level up in your life or business.

For me, I had to learn this the hard way. My early life was a bit of a mixed bag—private schools, public schools, a stint in homeschooling. I got to see firsthand how different environments shaped people’s outlooks. Some folks had money and saw it as just a tool, no big deal. Others acted like money was the be-all and end-all, or the root of their struggles. I used to blame money for everything. I watched my mom hustle like crazy, yet there always seemed to be something just out of reach. My frustration with money turned into anger. I had the perspective that money was either evil or a nuisance—something that caused nothing but problems.

Fast forward a bit: I ran away from home, started working wherever I could, including a recycling centre, but I still held onto that belief that money didn’t matter. Because of that mindset, I never really embraced opportunities to earn more, learn more, or take myself seriously in a professional sense. It wasn’t until I decided to question my perspective on money—to see it as a tool that could save me time and help me learn faster—that things shifted. Suddenly, I saw doors open up. I invested in coaches, training, property. I hit my first ￡20,000 month. The big change wasn’t the money itself; it was my identity around money. It was me stepping out of my comfort cage just enough to say, “Wait a minute, maybe I’ve been wrong all this time.”

Breaking the Old Framework

The real kicker here is: How many perspectives are you holding onto that are quietly limiting your experience of the world? How many core beliefs that felt so solid at age seven are still running the show in your thirties, forties, or beyond? If you want a breakthrough, if you want to create a new future, you need to be willing to question all of it. That means questioning your own truth, your own assumptions, and even the new things you learn. It’s a continuous process of collecting perspectives, testing them out, and adopting what serves you.

Think of your life as a series of experiments. There’s no moral judgment in trying something new and deciding it doesn’t fit. That’s just part of the discovery process. This is what I mean by “childlike curiosity.” Kids don’t shame themselves if they try to pick up a crayon with their left hand and it feels awkward. They just switch hands or grab a different colour. As adults, we have to relearn how to do that without all the self-criticism.

Your Vision, Your Power

This might sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Start by clarifying your vision for yourself. Who do you want to become? What life do you want to create? What would actually make you feel alive, energised, and purposeful? Then, look at where you are right now. See what’s holding you back—be honest about it. Maybe it’s your belief that you’re not talented enough, or that relationships always end badly, or that money is evil. Write those things down and start poking holes in them. Ask: “Is this really true? Where did this belief come from? Do I actually still agree with it?”

As you do this, collect fresh perspectives like souvenirs from a new adventure. Read books, watch videos, talk to people who have the results you want. But don’t just accept everything blindly—stay sceptical. Remember, you’re building a brand-new painting, not just slapping new paint on an old one. You’re free to experiment. If something clicks, awesome. If it doesn’t, keep looking.

The Cost of Inaction

Look, the harsh truth is if you decide to stay in your comfort cage, you won’t die (most likely). Life will just pass you by in a series of “meh” days. You’ll get used to being unfulfilled. You’ll get used to resentment. Cynicism will creep in like a slow poison, until you find yourself ranting about how everything’s rigged, how it’s all pointless, and how you knew you’d never make it big anyway. Not exactly a fun headspace.

I’m not saying this to scare you; I’m saying it because I’ve been close to that place. I’ve flirted with cynicism. I’ve seen how it kills ambition and traps us in these little boxes. Luckily, I managed to pry open that cage door and walk out, even if it was just a few steps at a time.

Stepping Into Your Next Level

The fact that you’re reading this right now suggests you’re looking for something—a secret, a key, a push. You want to shift your identity, to perform at a higher level, to actually create the results you’ve been dreaming about. And the big revelation? It all starts with letting go of who you think you are. Your “who” is not set in stone. That identity from age seven doesn’t have to dictate everything about your future.

If you’re serious about it—if you really want to accelerate your growth—get a mentor, invest in training, surround yourself with people who live in the space you want to occupy. That’s exactly what I did with property, with money, with relationships, and it collapsed time for me. I skyrocketed to a level I never thought possible when I was stuck working at a recycling centre, cursing money under my breath.

Will You Stay in the Cage?

Here’s the final question: Will you let the old painting—the one formed by childhood experiences and other people’s perspectives—define your entire life? Or will you grab a new brush and start repainting the canvas of who you are? Because the only real difference between the person who breaks free and the one who remains caged is the willingness to question everything, to be that child once more, open and ready to see the world differently.

I invite you to step out of that comfort cage. Reach out if you want to talk about how to accelerate this shift, how to balance your business, your relationships, your personal growth, and step into the most powerful version of yourself. Take it from someone who’s been there: once you poke your head outside the bars, you’ll see just how vast and colourful life can really be.