How to Thrive When Everything Around You Changes | with Naehalani Breeland
The Story
We think clarity comes from certainty — but hers came from stepping into the unknown again and again.
Naehalani Breeland grew up between Moloka‘i, Maui, and the mainland, always in motion, always learning from the land and the people around her. Life on Moloka‘i was slow and cultural, grounded in fishponds, hunting, and Hawaiian values. But it also came with tension.
“It was a challenge being a light-skinned, light-eyed Hawaiian on Moloka‘i.”
When her family moved to Maui, she experienced a new kind of expansion. Surrounded by artists, cultural practitioners, and performers in her mom’s theater world, her curiosity grew. And at 15, that curiosity was so strong that she did something few island teens imagine:
She moved to a boarding school in Colorado, alone.
The shift was huge.
New climates. New cultures. New expectations.
But she leaned in. She learned. She adapted.
And each time she entered a new environment: Seattle, Brazil, New York City, California — she found herself returning more deeply to her Hawaiian identity.
“Every time I traveled to a new place, I was able to anchor myself more in Hawai‘i.”
Years later, her path led her back home through an unexpected doorway, a Noni shot sponsorship that turned into a job, then a partnership, then a company: Ola Brew. The mission became clear:
Increase Hawai‘i’s agricultural economy. Support farmers. Make value-added products from local ingredients. Build something the community owns.
But nothing about the work was easy.
Crowdfunding required educating thousands of people. Launching a brewery required knowledge nobody had. Covid forced layoffs — and yet employees kept volunteering because they believed in the mission.
“There is no right way to do something,” she said. “We take any road it takes to get there.”
Through every pivot, she realized the same thing: adversity wasn’t discouragement, it was refinement.
The insight
In psychology, researchers describe something called “adaptive expertise” — the ability to navigate unfamiliar situations not by relying on what you already know, but by learning, adjusting, and evolving as conditions change. Studies show that people with high adaptive expertise don’t fear the unknown; they use it as a laboratory for growth.
This is different from “routine expertise”, where success depends on repetition and predictability. Adaptive expertise thrives in complexity — new cultures, new industries, new challenges, new problems to solve. It is the mindset behind innovation, creativity, leadership, and real-world impact.
Naehalani lived this long before she knew the name for it.
She moved states, countries, climates, communities. She entered careers she had never formally trained for. She helped build an agricultural beverage company without a blueprint. She weathered setbacks with curiosity rather than fear.
Her strength wasn’t certainty, it was adaptability.
“With all these successes and failures, I can take these experiences… and now they’re tools in my tool belt I can pull from.”
In psychological terms, that’s adaptive expertise.
In her terms, it’s a tool belt.
the application
We all have moments when we step into something new; a job, a school, a responsibility, a challenge that feels bigger than our experience. And it’s easy to think: I’ve never done this before. I’m not ready. Someone else should lead.
But Naehalani’s story reminds us that readiness isn’t a requirement for growth — openness is.
You don’t need the perfect plan to begin.
You don’t need full confidence to take the next step.
You don’t need experience to care deeply and try boldly.
Whether you’re stepping into a new challenge or considering a path you’ve never taken before, the unknown isn’t a warning.
It’s an invitation.
And like Naehalani shows, every new environment, challenge, or mistake becomes another tool — something you carry forward into the next chapter.
Sometimes the most powerful growth happens far outside the familiar.
What We Can Steal
Embrace the unfamiliar.
New environments reveal strengths you didn’t know you had.Build your tool belt.
Every experience, success or struggle, becomes something you can draw on later.Stay rooted as you roam.
Exploration becomes powerful when you carry identity with you.Let purpose guide your pivots.
When your “why” is strong, any road becomes the right road.Don’t wait to feel ready.
Experience grows from action, not the other way around.
Mahalo for reading this week’s Mana‘o Bomb.
Next week, we’ll drop another idea from Hawai‘i. A story that sparks growth, resilience, and purpose.
Keep rising. Keep learning.