Kane Hansen says success and finding your True North requires accountability, adaptability, discipline, and smart risk management.
For many, success and financial freedom feel like distant dreams. But as Kane Hansen shares in his book Find Your True North, those dreams can become reality when you align your values, vision, and financial strategies.
On the Get Invested podcast with KnowHow’s Bushy Martin, the creator of the True North Academy revealed how investors who feel stuck can move forward in their journey by changing their thinking, behaviours and habits over time.
“Now, you may not realize it yet or believe it, but you actually have all the freedom and choice in the world at your fingertips,” he said.
Finding Your True North: The Importance of Personal Accountability
Taking control of your financial future starts with personal accountability.
“We all need to take more accountability. It’s an ego thing, right? No one wants to accept their mistakes or shortcomings, but I think it’s a reality that to grow, you need to make hard decisions and do the things that are hard. And sometimes that stepping back and saying, all the decisions I make today will be a byproduct of the reality I live tomorrow, and there’s no one to blame,” Kane said.
“It’s easy to blame, and it’s hard to accept that there’s no one else to blame. And I talk about this in the book, where I played the victim mode…but I realized as a young man that I can sit there and hold onto my past and let it dictate my future and be stuck in potentially the same situation I am 10 years later, or I can start to take accountability, step back and say, well, now it’s on me moving forward. What am I going to do about it? Let’s let go of the past and just see what we can create with the rest of my life. Because the story’s not over, and you write each chapter on your terms.”
Finding Your True North: Embracing Change
Growth and success require continuous evolution – both in mindset and actions. Embracing change is essential to achieving your version of freedom and sustainable success.
“We need to change too. We have to become different people. Like Kane, I can guarantee you that I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago, let alone who I was 15 or 20 years ago. My way of thinking, my mindset, attitudes, expectations, actions and behaviors have all changed and kept evolving to enable me to achieve my version of freedom and sustainable success,” Bushy said.
“While we don’t talk much about any of this, Kane and I have made some pretty big sacrifices and taken on big responsibilities in order to stay the course and on the difficult path we’ve chosen to create and build our ideal lifestyles. So the cold hard truth is that if the person you are now isn’t capable of achieving your desired definition of success, then that person needs to change.
“I’m not saying you need to change who you are deep down, but you can adjust your attitude, your behaviour and the way you operate to have the best chance of attaining and then maintaining your lifestyle goals. So ask yourself, what am I trying to achieve? What sort of person do I need to be to achieve it? Because that’s who you must become to be successful. Because if you’re really serious about changing yourself, your situation and the world around you, you must be 100% clear on your values and beliefs, as together they become your true North Star.”
Finding Your True North: Discipline and Structure for Growth
Financial freedom isn’t about luck – it’s built through discipline, structure, and consistent habits. Kane shared how creating the right environment and routines can set you up for long-term success.
Achieving financial freedom is not about luck; it’s about discipline and structure. Kane outlines his self-discipline blueprint, which includes setting clear goals, building productive habits, and maintaining consistency.
“If you put someone in an environment where they’re constantly testing their willpower, you have a higher chance of failure or going for the chocolate bar when you’re meant to be on the diet. But prior preparation and structure helps with discipline. It’s setting that alarm the night before, it’s not having the food you don’t want to eat in the fridge. It’s about creating the right environment and structure to build good habits, and then taking a step forward. Then, if you consistently do those habits, the brain will actually zip file that memory, cognitive or thought pattern, store it as an automated response, and you start to build those into your psyche or subconsciousness essentially,” Kane said.
“What we all can agree on is that it’s the consistency. If you have one bad day, don’t let it throw you off. If you get six days out of seven, it’s better than doing none. We need to have a positive feedback loop internally. But it’s just having those blueprints for discipline, and just setting some goals, having some structure, building healthy behaviors, healthy thinking, and healthy relationships.
“It’s just building habits, right? It’s creating new routines that push you towards a better future. Once again, what is that future that you’re trying to create? What’s the plan? What’s the outcome? What routines can I do to move me forward? And then it’s rinse and repeat. It can be a little bit monotonous and boring, but that’s where the results come from.”
Finding Your True North: Mitigating Risks
By implementing these strategies, you can minimise risks and take greater control of your journey. However, a common misconception about successful entrepreneurs and investors is that they are high-risk takers.
“People think that entrepreneurs and successful people are high-risk takers. It is the complete opposite. It is controlled downside. Then you look at the upside opportunity once you can control downside, because if there’s uncontrollable downside risk, a smart investor entrepreneur will not even entertain that. And I think that is my story / quote that I really want people to resonate with and start to change the narrative on entrepreneurship – It’s not high risk. It’s not irrational decisions,” Kane said.
Listen to the full interview here.
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