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@ O.M
2025-03-11 07:17:28Introduction: What Is High-Agency Thinking?
Most people wait.
They wait for the right opportunity, the right moment, or for someone else to solve their problems.High-agency individuals don’t wait—they act.
High-Agency Thinking is a mindset embraced by Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman—it’s about taking control of your life, solving problems proactively, and creating opportunities instead of waiting for them to appear.
If you adopt this mindset, you will:
✔ Stop making excuses and start finding solutions
✔ Push past obstacles where others give up
✔ Take ownership of your success, rather than relying on external factorsThis is the ultimate advantage in business, investing, and life.
What Does It Mean to Have High Agency?
A high-agency person believes:
- "If something isn’t working, I’ll fix it."
- "If I don’t know how to do something, I’ll figure it out."
- "I don’t need permission—I’ll take action."A low-agency person says:
- "I can't do this because of X."
- "I need approval before I move forward."
- "I’ll wait until things are perfect before taking action."The world rewards high-agency people because they solve problems instead of making excuses.
Examples of High-Agency Thinking in Action
1. Elon Musk and SpaceX: Ignoring Limits, Creating Solutions
Before SpaceX, only governments built rockets. Private companies weren’t even considered capable of doing it.
Instead of waiting for NASA to make space travel more efficient, Elon Musk took control:
✅ He built SpaceX from scratch, despite zero experience in aerospace.
✅ He rethought how rockets should be made, cutting costs by 10x.
✅ He ignored doubters, pushed through failures, and revolutionized the space industry.📌 Lesson: If Musk had waited for approval or the “right conditions,” SpaceX would never exist. High-agency thinking creates the future—it doesn’t wait for it.
2. Jeff Bezos and Amazon: Prioritizing Long-Term Vision Over Short-Term Pressures
Amazon wasn’t always a giant. In its early years, Wall Street pressured Jeff Bezos to focus on short-term profits.
But Bezos had high agency—he wasn’t going to let short-term thinkers dictate Amazon’s future:
✅ He ignored Wall Street’s demands and focused on long-term growth.
✅ He reinvested profits into AWS, logistics, and Prime, creating new business models.
✅ He pushed forward even when Amazon stock collapsed in the early 2000s.📌 Lesson: A low-agency CEO would have followed the crowd. Bezos took control, prioritized long-term success, and built one of the most valuable companies in history.
3. Sam Altman and OpenAI: Betting on the Future of AI
AI wasn’t always the dominant trend it is today. In its early days, most people dismissed it as a long-shot technology.
Sam Altman didn’t care. He had high agency and saw the future before others did:
✅ He pushed OpenAI forward despite skepticism.
✅ He raised billions from investors before AI was mainstream.
✅ He ignored critics and kept iterating until OpenAI built ChatGPT—one of the fastest-growing products in history.📌 Lesson: High-agency people don’t wait for trends to be obvious—they create the trend before the world catches up.
How to Develop High-Agency Thinking
You don’t need to be Musk, Bezos, or Altman to have high agency. You can apply this mindset to your own life right now.
1. Stop Asking for Permission—Take Initiative
- If you want to start a business, start building today—don’t wait for the “perfect” moment.
- If you want a skill, start learning it—don’t wait for a class or degree to validate you.
- If you have a problem, figure out a solution instead of waiting for someone else to fix it.
2. Assume Full Ownership Over Your Situation
Low-agency people blame external factors for their situation.
High-agency people ask:
✔ "What can I do right now to improve this situation?"
✔ "How can I take control instead of waiting for conditions to change?"📌 Example: If you hate your job, instead of complaining, start acquiring the skills to move into a new role.
3. See Constraints as Challenges, Not Barriers
Low-agency people say, "I can’t because of X."
High-agency people say, "How can I solve X and move forward?"📌 Example: Musk didn’t have experience in rockets. Did that stop him? No—he taught himself aerospace engineering.
4. Take Action Before You Feel Ready
Waiting for the perfect conditions is a low-agency trap.
The best time to start is before you feel ready—because you’ll never feel ready.📌 Example: Most people wait until they feel “prepared” to launch a project. High-agency people launch first, learn along the way, and adjust as needed.
Final Thoughts: Be the Person Who Makes Things Happen
The world is divided into two types of people:
🚫 Low-agency thinkers: Wait for permission, blame circumstances, and avoid taking risks.
✅ High-agency thinkers: Create opportunities, solve problems, and take control of their future.If you want to win in business, investing, or life, stop waiting. Act now.
💡 Action Step: Identify one problem in your life that you’ve been passively accepting. What action can you take today to start solving it?
The best opportunities don’t come to you. You create them. 🚀
Resources to Learn More
- 📖 High-Agency Thinking – Farnam Street
- 📰 How to Develop High Agency – Medium
- 🎥 Elon Musk on Taking Initiative – YouTube
🚀 The world belongs to those who take action. Start today.