Opening the Door when Opportunity Knocks

Anyone who knows me realizes the importance I place on “getting things done”. Procrastination is the enemy to practicing good business, not to mention personal endeavors. My philosophy is I would much rather make a mistake, learn from it, then move on. It is the in-action sometimes that can lead to bigger problems that if one had taken an action and learned if it was the correct action to take. I was once in a real estate seminar where one of the speakers used this same philosophy. Many people, myself included, suffer from analysis paralysis… an inability to make a decision by analyzing every detail… every “what if” scenerio….

So back to the seminar… The speaker offered $10 to the first person who would come up and snatch it out of his hand…. What do you think happened? Do you think he was bombarded with people going up to the front grabbing the money out of his hand? Quite the opposite actually… until finnally a few people came up, but it was only after one person took the first step or “action” that others followed suit. She was rewarded not only with the $10 but with a free course that he was selling at the seminar.. a course that cost everyone else over $1k.

He did the same thing a second time around later in his presentation, what do you think happened? Do you think he was bombarded with people coming to snatch the money out of his hand? Do you think the audience assumed the same thing would happen the second time around? Well… to my astonishment, the exact same thing happened as the first… people hesitated, and it was not until the lady who recieved the first $10 came and ran for the money that others followed her lead. I am not advocating that people make irrational, careless decisions, that is very far from the truth… but when the risk is low and the reward is great, what holds people back? Are they afraid of the consequences of their actions? Maybe too lazy to do anything about it? Psychology plays a big part in the business world.. people win or loose, many times, based on how they reason and how they interact with others. Some people, when they hear opportunity knocking, grab it and run with it… others may hear the knock, but are unprepared or unwilling to answer the door. Where do you stand? Are you ready to open the door when opportunity knocks?