There is one key difference I’ve noticed among successful business owners and the “wantreprenuer” crowd. One group is waiting for the right _______ (fill in the blank). And the other group decided to make things happen for themselves. Period.
I’ll let you take a lucky guess on which group is successful.
Today, I want to show you three perfect examples of what it looks like to “make things happen” for yourself.
Want the one email I send when I have something worth sending?
114,000+ entrepreneurs get it. One story from my business, one tactic you can use. No schedule, no fluff.
Example 1:
James Clear is a good friend and an impressive business guy. He’s built a number of businesses and travels the world taking incredible photographs. He was in Austin recently along with Brennan Dunn.
While we were driving, I asked James about why he is bald.
James told me that when he started to notice that his hair was thinning, he was going to create his own solution. Instead of waiting for his hair to completely go away, he decided shave his head.
Then like a muscular buddha he shared his bald-headed wisdom with me.
“If someone mentions that you’re balding, you have to say, ‘Oh, yeah, it happened to me.’ But if they mention you shave your head, then you can simply say, ‘I chose to do it.'”
The sense of personal agency behind that statement is huge. Shaving his head put James in control–not his genetics.
Example 2:
When I bike around Austin, I’ll look around to see if there are any for-sale signs. Even if there’s a house or apartment I like, I always have to wait (and hope) it’ll go on sale someday.
And real estate agents have to wait until a seller comes asking for help.
But here is a letter I received a few weeks ago:
Chloe isn’t waiting for those people to put their places on the market. She’s creating her own solution, creating an advantage for herself, by going after the properties that she wants to be able to sell.
She is creating her own unlisted market and building a ton of rapport with potential sellers.
Example 3:
Alright, here is a third example (and oddly enough it’s about real estate too) about how to make things happen for yourself.
My friend Matt spent more than 2 years looking at housing listings to buy a place in south Austin. Every couple weeks he would take a look at the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) to see what was on the market.
Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
He couldn’t find a single house that he wanted to buy. Then his wife got pregnant. Yay!
But they didn’t want to buy a new place (and move, buy new furniture, etc) if they couldn’t find it in the first few months. (Apparently moving with a pregnant wife is never fun.)
Instead of waiting and hoping they would get lucky, Matt got on Google Earth and scouted houses that were in their ideal neighborhoods and had pools.
He created a list of all of the houses he liked and then wrote a letter to the owners.
In the letter he explained that his wife was pregnant and that he was interested in buying the person’s house. Then he drove around for 3 hours and and left the letter on their doorstep or doors.
Within a week, three people responded to his offer and now he lives in one of the houses!
* * *
What do these three examples teach us?
There is an epidemic of waiting for the right circumstances, waiting for success, or waiting for everything to align just right before we take a step forward.
I call it conditional living:
“I’ll do that when…”
“It won’t work because…”
“There’s nothing available. I already looked…”
“I’ll wait until I’m fired…”
How many people wait to make a huge change or take a risk until they get fired, have a baby, or face some other challenge?
It’s way too easy to blame others instead of taking responsibility and creating the solution.
And now that this topic has been on my mind I hear and see it everywhere I go…even in Shakespeare.
I’ve hated Shakespeare since I was young. (Mostly cause the reading comprehension thing confused me…the “tis,” “thou,” “thee”…)
Luckily, a few days ago, a friend was reading Hamlet out loud. She read one of the most famous lines in all of literature. I was blown away by what Shakespeare was implying.
99% of you have heard this quote, but I doubt many have read the entire part:
“To be, or not to be- that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them.”
In summary, he’s saying should we put up with what’s happening to us (outrageous fortune)
Or we can take action and make things happen by ending our sea of troubles.
Ask yourself…
What am I doing when my day is going poorly?
What am I doing when a client/partner/customer rejects me and things aren’t moving forward?
What are you doing when there are no houses available? Or when my hair is thinning?
Ultimately, are things happening to you or are you making things happen? (Click to tweet)
What is 1 thing you are going to make happen today?
Leave your comment below
Start a business in 48 hours.
Million Dollar Weekend is the process I used for eight businesses, written down. #1 on Amazon and Audible.
Read the first chapter free
138 responses to “Make Things Happen: 3 Examples of Entrepreneurial Proactivity”
I went in search of a solution for my problem when My husband wants to divorce me. we was married for 9 years and we have been through a lot, he has cheated on me before but I forgave him because I love him and moved on but later again he met a girl at work and thinks he is in love with her, so one day he told me he wants a divorce, for me I don’t because I still loved him I know this must sound stupid but never wanted him go. I tried to make him see he is making a mistake but everything went wrong, I loved him so much but he refused to change his mind, i waited for him to come to his senses but nothing worked, i went in search of help and i was directed to contact a spell caster for help because i knew that will be the best solution, then i contacted dr_mack@yahoo. com to help me to unite i and my husband and finally i and my husband are perfectly together as one which was awesome, my husband is back to his senses, It felt good to have my Husband back
State: Texas
Country: United States
God Bless You
Start a new income stream. Seek unconventional housing.
Been on a slump lately. Thanks Noah for giving this great piece of advice.
I like this post Noah, means I need to get off my sorry butt and make something happen
Great post! Thanks!
You wrote this post for me Noah. Thanks for giving me a shot in the arm to get me off of my ass and back into the mix.
Great post Noah, thank you for sharing with clear examples of life!
From Nicaragua, Central America, best regards!
i will get more assertive towards problematic friends and let them know where i stand
How nice and dandy 🙂 It all sounds so cool and easy…All you have to do is act ..right? Like this Tony Robins dude “Act now” 🙂 Why don’t you tell this to the poor people in Indian slums and Brazilians flavelas 🙂 Better yet…to the dying kid in Africa..go and tell him..don’t die…act now..make your own fate! It’s your fault! I appreciate the efforts of Marketeers to try and inspire others with zazzy blogs and examples but the truth is that the world does not work that way! Of course the Marketeer is only interested in marketing so by definition he will tell you only what you want to hear .. It’s in your hands..grab it..move..you are lazy 🙂 Then you get cancer or get hit by a drunk driver and you suddenly realize that things are not really under your control and making the proverbial lemonade is nothing more than a catchy phrase…
Awesome post. Exactly what I needed to hear. Today, I will start my plan for getting out of the rut! I started to think my current situation was all I had to look forward to for the rest of my days. It is refreshing to remember we can let life happen to us, or we can make life happen the way we want it to! Thanks again!
To BE..that is the answer ! Im moving forward on many fronts today, Thanks for the wisdom and encouragement !
“What is 1 thing you are going to make happen today?” –
I wrote this sentence on my phone alarm to play in an hour. I’ll do it every hour during the day. Today will be a long day, but maybe this way I can make it less stressful.
As for you, have a great day. You’ve probably made my a little better.
Such a great post. This is something I have been realizing lately myself. There really is no right time for something to happen. You have to just choose to go and make it happen right now or else you will just come up with an excuse or reason. This present moment is the right time!
Love this, Noah, great post! I totally agree, a key difference between the successful and the wannabes lies in this principle. Keep up the good work 😉
Awesome post. Get off your butt and take control of your life.
My sentiments exactly. Thank you for sharing those great examples.
Your examples are fantastic! Great post.
Very inspiring post! James Clear is indeed an awesome guy whose stories always make me want to go out and create.
I also hope that others can see the opportunity that I have created.
Great Post! It is really inspiring. I always remind myself that I need to love myself RUTHLESSLY. This means going after the things that I want rather than being passive about it.
I really enjoyed this one. I keep trying to encourage this same line of thinking upon my own team. Thanks Noah!
Noah, once again thanks for the inspiration to persist. I was canned a few months ago after having made what seemed like a good career move. I mean when the CEO’s wife hires you for a position at an increased pay rate then you jump ship and go to the new job right? Yeah, then mysteriously after a week and two days they suddenly ‘don’t have a place for me”. That sent me into existential despair and a depression. You know how it goes, but you also gave very good tips on how to recover. I’m still trying to get going and back on the horse. Just wanted to say thanks for being a positive influence for me.
Love it, also I love that your articles on here are a mix of business acumen and personal story
Not an easy blend to mix well, and you do it easily!
The crazy thing is, most people in those houses where probably looking to move, but were waiting for a sign, didn’t think anyone would want to take their apartment off of them etc etc
By moving first you created the sign for the other people to react to
In martial arts there is a precept called sensen no sen…allow me to explain how I think this connects
There are 3 stages in this mindset, and are normally seen in the evolution of a martial artist
Stage 1 go no sen- to see the attack and then respond
stage 2 sen no sen – to see the attack and deal with it before it effects you
stage 3 sensen no sen – to see the the intention before the attack, and deal with it before it is launched
In business, (and how I feel it relates to this post) is that in the final evolution of the master tactician, you create the opportunity and act before others see the opportunity is there.
By going out and contacting these homeowners to buy the house, they went away from the mindset of seeing the house to be on sale, or waiting for the sale, but to create the opportunity.
Sorry to waffle on, but when you cross read genres its easy to see similarities!
Here’s a link to it, from an Aikido club, but its evident in most budo.
https://blog.aikidojournal.com/2013/10/14/sensen-no-sen-taking-performance-to-the-next-level-by-david-shaner/
Recently, I interviewed a group of remarkable people who had found their callings. They all told me the same thing, which was essentially this: “I found my life’s work when something unexpected, even bad, happened and I responded to it with the right attitude.” Finding your purpose, it turns out, is more about mindset than having a great plan. Stuff happens. What you do when it does determines who you become. Great post, Noah!
So true Jeff. It’s amazing how many great things come out of bad times.
Makes me think about of gorgeous plants growing out of cow manure 🙂
Hey Noah,
I will share this post!
Noah, thanks abunch for this post! Keep’em comin!
This is one timely piece Noah! Surely when there is a will we find a way when there’s no will we find excuses. Thanks for this piece.
So good! I love the real life examples. Resisting the gravity of life and making things happen is an art we all need to practice (how many sales people need to read this!?). Thanks Noah, keep it coming.
Awesome post, Noah!! Exactly the kick-up-the-arse read I needed this afternoon.
Once Noah saved the rest of the world with his Ark (vessel), now we are gonna be “saved” by his Article. Noah, your name really serves your genes! Sometimes one species of things is happening per se with even no imagination such may ever happen.. then next round of things may outflow from the latter or autonomously by our actions for them to smoothly happen.. Thanks again, the more such enthusiasm, the more success and satisfaction 😉
I love this while email. I did exactly that .I contacted a college I wanted to lecture in that I ha graduated in 10 years back and met up with the Director and after what wa supposed to be a 15 min meeting ended up as a 5 hour and I told them it was fantastic they were doing Business & Personal Development Coaching in the college. They said sorry we dont actually . I planted a seed and after 2 days they rang me back saying it ws a great idea where now I am lecturing one weekend per month to try it out . I will now apporach other companies and the reference of the academy name will put me on a higher level.
Lillian Courtney coaching is on its way to the top
Love your emails.
Lillian
hi noah…great post. This is what i always believe…if you want it,then do it like you mean it..if you don’t want it,simply don’t do it..we always have choices in life..
Great post Noah. It reminds me of something Robert Kiyosaki says in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He says that one of the differences between poor people and rich people is how they approach investing. Poor people* says things like “I would buy that apartment building if I could afford it”. Rich people, on the other hand, ask “How can I afford it?”. They look for creative ways to come up with the cash to make investments.
Poor people are reacting to their circumstances and waiting for things to change. Rich people are rich because they made things change.
Aaron
* I use the term “poor” loosely here, referring to pretty much anyone who isn’t wealthy. I realize that poverty is more complex than this.
I was wondering what does “demand” look like? You know, “Supplyy & Demand”. Demand looks like not waiting for things to happen for me, but going out there and getting what I want to happen. So with that I strike!
CB
This is my first time here Noah, but I’ve read a lot about you. It’s like you were thinking about me when you wrote this post. I have this habit of always waiting for success to come in my business. Maybe I need to step out of my comfort zone and just do something that would make a difference.
Hey Noah! I love your posts and it is the first time I choose to leave a reply here (: That happened because I am having many experiences of “things happening”. I have had many positive results in a specific project that was stationary for a long time and I realized that things just started changing since I created my own luck: when I connect with good contacts or advance with my hypotheses, I run after creating my own luck. Thanks for reminding me once again of the importance of never settling 😉
Today I’m going to finally start the PPC campaign to the landing pages I set up ages ago. Thanks Noah!!
Noah – I have been enjoying your postings that I read and find most everything you say is basic common sense! (The latter sentence is intended as a compliment and not as an insult.) It furthers my criticism of our educational system of which I was a part for close to 40 years – it does not teach students what it should teach!!!!
Today I am going to comment on Noah’s blog post for the very first time!
Done.
Yay!:D
Hey Noah, thanks for sending. Glad I took the time to actually read the email instead of putting it into the neglected “read later” pile!
Powerful insight bro. One day soon we’ll actually hang out. I was asked to speak at IMP… I know that is in your hood.
Remember… be a servant, (<=that's you)
Cory Boatright
Thanks Noah, this post is really awesome.
I’ve been procrastinating to get my inbox to zero unread emails, and voila, today, after few hours i finally did it! INBOX ZERO BABY!!!
Now, i’m getting back to finishing up my guest post for Lifehack.org, after that i will prepare an email outline to be sent next Monday to my Mailing List.
Cheers, and have a nice day brotha 🙂
Thanks for the reminder. Great motovation.
Step 1 is the hair idea. My wife will kill me at first but respect the take charge confidence the next day. Step 2 is getting in to and adding value to my brothers contracting company. Need to brainstorm over some tacos!
One of my favorite posts of yours. Definitely fits my life right now.
Thanks for the reminder to “make things happen”.
I never finished my College degree. I’m 53 years old and stuck in a dead-end job. Today I am going to apply to do a Masters Degree. I found one that accepts you on your experience. That I have plenty of! I see this as the beginning of taking control of my future employment (or self-employment) opportunities. I’m excited!
Just wanted to comment and say how much I enjoyed this email / post! Thanks Noah.
Knowledge is worthless without action!
This should be the only course in universities.
Great post, thank you for sharing.
Hitesh, reminds me of what a teacher of mine once said:
“You don’t know something till you’ve done it”.
Great Post and perfect timing Noah,
I will send invitations to join my pre-launch startup – Azorly.
It’s a Feedback as a service platform that helps SMB
Excelent article Noah
It gives me inspiration today and it’s giving me more pieces to avoid that kind of thinking. Thank you so much 🙂
wow. What an awesome thing to read to start my day. Thank you.
OK, already… I’ll go shave my head!
Strangely, this e-mail was exactly what I needed to read today … So Thank you.
Dude! Cool way to find the house of your dreams. Nothing personal against the normal way of buying a home.. But really dig the “look on Google Earth” method.
I had to comment on this one. Very good article. Tomorrow I’ll be flying to Greece just to see my friends from undergrad. I haven’t seen them since 2011. Lots of money spent on tickets without a “good enough” excuse (like seeing parents or other family).
Some people have questioned my choice, asking me about work and what might stay behind because of the trip, but should I wait till I have completely lost contact with everyone to actually do something about it – if, of course, I still have the option to do something?
thanks for the reminder! it’s easy to stay consistent when taking action for a couple hours a day and head hunt for new opportunities.
it’s also easy to forget to take action once you’ve strayed away from it for couple of days or months… which is my case now.
this post was perfect timing for me…and another well written, detailed and high value post.
stay awesome brother!
Nailed it. This is exactly how I got my current job at an awesome company. I didn’t know if they were hiring. I didn’t care. I loved the company. So, I wrote them a letter and said, “Let me do your marketing” (maybe not quite like that), and within 10 days I was hired.
Taking a first step towards creating a business that makes me and others happy.
I started my own small business networking page because I couldn’t find anything on Facebook that would help my business out. This way I can help myself and others.
I wanted to delete this email without reading (yeah I am so sorry) but then I read it and I was blown away.
Thank you
I am going to finish a layout of our house to help things move forward:)
I dodged a bullet 🙂
Have fun finishing the layout!
We generate our own luck and I’m lucky!
Who wants to get lucky with me?
I got this in the email and actually read through the entire post.
I love it.
Way to put things into perspective. Exactly what I needed to hear.
My wife said not to shave my balding head. She also says no beard, and especially goatee.
The rule that trumps this is happy wife, happy life.
I am hiring a virtual assistant off of fiverr.com to find me every church within my area. I am going to contact them via email and ask if they would allow me to drop off some flyers/postcards advertising my services to their mass.
That’s awesome Gigi!
Hey Gigi! Try this site called Faith Street https://www.faithstreet.com/
Thanks Tyler V! It would be funny if this is what my VA uses to get the address’ and contact info! Whatever gets the job done. Cheers!
Great post Noah, thank you! Two weeks ago, I decided to empty out all of our cupboards & drawers, and purge all items we haven’t used in years. Now, my home is beautiful, minimalistic, and I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. What one thing will I make happen today? Today, mine is: Host my very first Google+ Hangout in Air for my survivor community. Super pumped! Have a phenomenal day, Noah!
Thanks for the swift kick in the A$$ Noah, well put. If what you want isn’t happening, then you need to change your approach.
Funny how the, ego and the old “trying to pass the buck and blame game” prevents us (by virtue of buying into it) from achieving our goals.
I too am in mid product launch (now relaunch) for our new WordPress framework https://www.seodesignframework.com that I thought would jump off the shelves (just because people loved our free plugin SEO Ultimate to the tune of over 1 million downloads) but man, was that ever a wake up call when we got crickets chirping after a soft launch back in April.
It really bummed me out after spending years in development fine-tuning the framework, surviving a what would be tragic motorcycle wreck (120 MPH without gear on) I know, long story but should never drive mad…., recovering for 2 years after a below the knee amputation, divorce and almost going out of business (from being in the hospital so long) most people would have simply thrown in the towel.
But, thank God I wasn’t built that way. This was all another opportunity to evolve. Instead, I am grateful, that even though “all that had to happen to make it happen”, made me a stronger and more genuine person.
Despite the shortcomings of the launch, it made me realize that approach is everything and I have to go back to the drawing board and reposition the brand.
So, we’re throwing on a new coat of paint on the site, adding some skins (themes), pimping out the demo, coming up with some great bundles, and will soon relaunch the product (with verve) and not so much emphasis on telling you what it does (like the current site) but rather showing people how powerful it is instead. Would love to talk offline for an Appsumo blast as well.
People love the show don’t tell with the information overload we waddle through daily. So, I should have taken that to mind. But, the gist of the story is, OWN it, good bad or otherwise, change yourself to embrace new change and no matter what never give up (or limit yourself to underachieving).
Take your lumps, get back up and create some change. Thanks again for the inspiration to go 110%. Watch out WordPress Theme Companies, there a new champion in the wings,
Also, my business partner has a place in Austin, so, next time I’m there, I’ll hit you up and we can Gnosh on some delicious tacos and drink a few beers.
All the best man.
Kudos!
Great post Noah! I personally tend to let fear stop me in my tracks, especially when I’m unsure of my path. Today I’m going to take a step forward and register the domain name for the new business idea I have, then draw up a plan of action.
Rockin’ post, Noah!
The idea of “I’ll do X when Y happens” is something I struggled with for years.
Even after I earned enough money as a freelance writer to live off of (and then some), it took me months to quit my boring job. The X in my “I’ll quit when I have $X in the bank” was a moving target.
As soon as I quit, I thought to myself: “I totally could have done this months ago”.
Not saying I’m cured, but I’m much better since I started following superhuman entrepreneurs like you and Neil Patel.
Started Validating my product today. Hopefully I get enough responses. If not I will be moving on to the next project. Thanks Noah! You are such an inspiration.
Today I’m going to contact a few people letting them know I’m designing logos. Work won’t magically appear!
Thanks for the jump start. That was the post I needed to shake off yesterday and put a little gas on the fire.
( Also, enjoyed – in a weird, train wreck, shouldn’t but can’t look away – watching you drink shots of hot sauce. ouch. ) My ghost peppers are almost ready. I’ll send you one!
The one thing I’m going to do today is look through my contact list and find a few people I can email letting them know I can work on logos for people as a side project. Work won’t magically appear!
Go get em! Nice post man.
Nice post. No matter what podcast i listen to or blog I read about entrepreneurship or any bold endeavor for that matter. Two preconditions of success are always on top: develop personal awareness through an intentional practice of some kind and getting started. Leave the driveway, don’t wait for perfect, avoid conditional living. Thank for providing the community that reminds….
Need to get updates to a designer that I’ve been putting off for a while for various weak reasons.
Gonna finally look into paying for mailing software (rather than using several of the free options on groupmail) and save myself about 3 hours a month and a lot of hard work and brain power. I have been putting the research off…don’t know why.
Thanks for the kick in the @ss today Noah.