In my live Wealth Academy seminars, I usually do an exercise where I get people to stand up, go to as many people as they can and introduce themselves. From this simple activity, I can tell immediately if they exhibit this very important wealth habit. I notice that there will always be some people who will go around introducing themselves first and getting to know as many people as they can. These people exhibit the pattern of being proactive.
People who are proactive are people who take the initiative to make things happen. When there are no opportunities, proactive people are those that go out and find opportunities. If they cannot find any, they will create their own opportunities.
When problems get in their way, proactive people will take action to solve their own problems! On the other hand, there would always be an even larger number of people who will just stand around and wait for others to come and shake their hand. These people exhibit the reactive mindset. People with the reactive mindset have the habit of waiting for things to happen to them. They tend to act only in reaction to others' actions.
As a result, they have a lot less control and choices over results that affect them. When no opportunities present themselves, reactive people just sit and wait for the opportunities to come to them. They are characteristic of people who complain about everything that is happening around them and hope that something will change. When reactive people face problems, they will just wait for others to come and solve their problem.
When the Asian currency crisis hit Singapore in 1997, many companies saw their sales and profits plummet. Many business owners were reactive and just sat tight and prayed for the bad times to pass. Instead, Ron Sim, CEO of Osim International (a company that develops luxury massage chairs) took the proactive action of entering new markets like Hong Kong and Taiwan.
As a result, his company profits were not only unaffected by the crisis but they continued to increase. When the Asian economies recovered, over 60% of Osim's business came from outside their home country of Singapore, leading to even higher earnings growth of over 30%! By having the proactive mindset, you put yourself in the position of power and choice. You are in command and will take action that leads to wealth and success. However, when you act in a reactive pattern, you will find that your finances will never be within your control.
Adam Khoo is an entrepreneur, best-selling author and a self-made millionaire by the age of 26. Discover his million dollar secrets and claim your FREE audio CD program '7 Steps To Financial Freedom' here.
