R.I.D.E. or Get Run Over: Dealing with Change in a Rapidly Changing World

“Change is like a locomotive steaming down the tracks; you’re either going to get on and ride or be run over by it.”

I first heard that quote in my 20s in a seminar I was attending. Back then it sounded like a warning. Now it sounds like a description of everyday life.

The train is moving faster than ever—technology, customer expectations, workplace culture, marketing channels, costs, competition, the whole landscape. And here’s the kicker: we don’t get a vote on whether change shows up. We only get a vote on whether we’re going to ride it or resist it.

And when I say “R.I.D.E. or Get Run Over,” I mean change is coming and not adapting is choosing to become irrelevant… slowly… while telling yourself you’re being “realistic.” See Blockbuster Video as example!

The real issue isn’t change — it’s our relationship with it

Most people don’t resist change because they’re lazy or negative. They resist because change pokes at real human fears:

• Uncertainty: “What if this doesn’t work?”

• Incompetence: “What if I look like I don’t know what I’m doing?”

• Loss of control: “I didn’t ask for this.”

• Comfort: “The old way may not be perfect, but at least it’s familiar.”

That resistance is understandable. But it’s also expensive—especially in business - because there are really only two lanes you can live in:

• Trailing edge: react late, complain often, protect comfort

• Leading edge: learn early, adapt fast, turn disruption into advantage

Here’s the hard truth:

Resisting change doesn’t stop the train—it just makes you late.

I chose optimism

One reason I’ve been able to embrace change is this: I decided to be an optimist. And I say “decided” on purpose—because it doesn’t come naturally all the time.

I don’t look back at the past as the “good old days” or the “glory days.” I’m grateful for my past, but I’m not trapped in it. In my mind: Today is the good days. And tomorrow could be even better.

Think about it: the quality of life, prosperity, and technology most of us have access to right now is far beyond what our parents or grandparents had at the same stage of life. That doesn’t mean life is easy. It means we live in a world loaded with tools, options, and opportunities they couldn’t have imagined.

And once you choose to see life that way, change stops feeling like an interruption… and starts feeling like an invitation.

That’s why a quote from Charles Swindoll has stuck with me for years: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” 

If that’s true—and I believe it is—then the most powerful lever we have in any season of change is our attitude.

The mindset shift: from “Why is this happening?” to “How can we use this?”

Here’s the shift that separates people who get run over from people who ride:

• Instead of “Why is this happening to us?”

• You start asking “How can we use this to get better?”

Because change is always one of three things:

1. A constant (like weather—you can’t cancel it)

2. A signal (something is moving, and it’s telling you where the world is headed)

3. A tool (you can leverage it, if you’ll stop fighting it)

So the question becomes: How do you actually do that?

Here’s the framework I use to stay on the leading edge.

R.I.D.E.: Recognize, Interpret, Decide, Experiment

R — Recognize the train early

If you want to ride change, you have to spot it before it becomes a crisis.

Ask:

• What’s changing whether I like it or not?

• What are customers doing differently than last year?

• What’s becoming easier, faster, cheaper, or expected?

A simple habit: do a 10-minute weekly scan. One article. One podcast clip. One conversation with someone “ahead” of you (often someone younger, or someone in a faster-moving industry). You’re not looking for mastery—you’re looking for early signals.

Because the earlier you see the train, the easier it is to board. I watch youtube videos weekly on new functions being added to tools I already use like AI, Google, Microsoft, etc...

I — Interpret the opportunity

This is where optimists separate themselves from cynics.

Same change. Same facts. Different interpretation.

Ask:

• What could this make better?

• What does this make possible?

• Where is demand moving?

• What problem could this help us solve?

A simple habit: keep an “Opportunity List” in your notes app. Anytime you catch yourself complaining, force a rewrite:

• Complaint: “Nobody reads posts anymore.”

• Opportunity: “We need video + stories + direct invitations.”

• Complaint: “Everything’s going digital.”

• Opportunity: “We can serve people faster and wider than we used to.”

When you train yourself to look for upside, your brain becomes a tool instead of a protest sign.

D — Decide your move

Fear loves endless discussion. Change agents make decisions.

When change shows up, pick one of three moves:

• Adapt: change how you do it

• Upgrade: build skills/tools/team capacity

• Drop: stop doing what no longer pays off

A simple habit: do a regular “Stop. Continue. Start” review. Ask: What are we doing out of habit that no longer produces results? What's working so that we can continue that? And what do we need to start doing that we're not based on changes coming our way?

A lot of businesses don’t fail because they do the wrong things. They fail because they keep doing yesterday’s right things for too long.

E — Experiment in small bites

This is where people get stuck. They think embracing change requires a massive overhaul.

It doesn’t.

Small tests beat big debates.

Run small experiments:

• one new tool

• one new offer

• one new process

• one new marketing rhythm

• one new customer follow-up system

Measure. Adjust. Repeat.

A simple habit: once per quarter, commit to a skill upgrade. Not a full reinvention—just one step: a new tech tool, an AI workflow, a customer service improvement, a better system for scheduling, billing, or follow-up.

Here’s the power line:

You don’t need a perfect plan. You need a next step.

The payoff: what riding the train produces

When you consistently R.I.D.E., you gain things the “resisters” never find:

• Momentum (you stop feeling behind - and that's HUGE)

• Confidence (self-trust grows through action)

• Relevance (you stay aligned with what people want now)

• Resilience (you recover faster when disruption hits)

• Advantage (you become an early mover, not a late adopter)

And the best part? When you choose optimism, the whole process becomes energizing.

Change stops being a storm you dread—and becomes a wave you learn to ride.

Pick your seat

The train is coming either way.

So here’s a simple challenge:

1. Name one change you’ve been resisting.

2. Run a 7-day R.I.D.E. experiment.

3. At the end of the week, ask: What improved? What did we learn? What’s the next step?

The fact is that change isn’t slowing down. But you can get better at riding it—and you can lead your business to the leading edge, instead of waking up one day realizing you’ve been dragged to the trailing edge by comfort.

Because the “good old days” aren’t behind you.

If you choose to see it clearly… today is the good days. And tomorrow can be even better.