Have you ever had one of those moments where something just “clicked” into place?

You could have been walking through the grocery store, watching something on TV, or even fast asleep, when:

BAM!

Out of the blue, you’re hit with some great realization that changes your entire worldview.

It only took 15 . . . 30 . . . maybe 60 seconds to re-establish Apple’s counter-culture image that it had lost during the 90s.

— Steve Jobs

Whenever we encounter them, it can feel like an earthquake shaking our core. Our very being is changed forever, with this one little piece of knowledge that we now have, this new thing we understand about the universe our ourselves.

This is a transformational shift.

Encountering a transformational shift is taxing; in order to achieve it, you will have fought through layers of resistance that you may not have even realized were there. Often, you’re mentally (and physically) exhausted, and now that you’re entering an unknown, you may be initially fearful of the new landscape. Indeed, some people never overcome that fear.

(It is no wonder that there are people who choose to ignore “new” information, and stick with the things they already know.)

When confronted with such change, you have a chance for true leadership. Here’s how:

1. Channel your emotions.

When given this chance, often people project their internal fears about themselves outwardly, on whoever happens to be the most visible target.

Humans will rally together, either positively or negatively, under someone they perceive is stronger than them, and use them as a conduit to express their own internal feelings about themselves.

Instead, this is an amazing chance to take the opportunity to calmly and rationally assess a situation, then act toward the best possible outcome.

In his later years, Steve Jobs was the master at taking the time to pause and evaluate before responding to external stimuli.

2. Articulate your vision.

The first step in being understood is to use a common language. When we encounter one of these shifts, it is important to share your vision with others in a way they can understand.

For Steve Jobs, the personal shift he created in his return to Apple was communicated to his team and the world consistently.

When speaking about Apple products and the company, he would always use superlatives like “magic, revolutionary, incredible, breakthrough, and unbelievable, or even with sound effects like boom!”

3. Lead with purpose.

Once you have your vision, and the ability to clearly communicate it to others, the last thing you need is your “Why.”

Under Steve Jobs, Apple was focused on producing well-designed, easy-to-use products This flowed easily from their purpose, which Jobs said was “to remove the barrier of having to learn to use a computer. “

As entrepreneurs, we often choose to take on someone else’s purposes and fears and let that incite us. This leads to massive communication failure.

However, if we want to have our best chance at success, we should first start with understanding ourselves better–and break this cycle.