Once you know you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur and you’ve decided to take the leap, the next step is simple: take action. Start moving. Do something. Begin building your dream.
But there’s something else you need to do at the same time—be patient.
That might sound confusing.
“Take action” makes you think it’s time to go full speed ahead. “Be patient” sounds like you need to slow down or wait. So which one is it?
Actually, it’s both.
Taking action means you’re moving forward and making progress. Being patient means you understand that big things take time. These two ideas might seem opposite, but they work together. And when you learn to balance them, you’ll avoid a lot of stress and frustration along the way.
In this post, we’ll show you how taking action and being patient go hand in hand, and why both are so important on your entrepreneurial journey.
“Take action” and “be patient” might seem like opposites but they actually go hand in hand. Think of them like teammates working together to help you succeed.
If you take action without any patience, you’re likely to burn out. You’ll expect big results fast, and when they don’t come, you’ll get frustrated and might even give up. You’ll feel like you’re doing everything right, but nothing is working yet.
On the other hand, if you’re patient but never take action, nothing moves forward. You’ll spend all your time thinking, planning, or waiting for the perfect moment. However, that moment may never come, and your dream remains just that — a dream.
That’s why you need both.
Taking action means you’re moving, making calls, testing ideas, learning from mistakes. Being patient means you understand that real success takes time. It’s about managing your expectations and staying steady when results are slow.
If you expect to find the perfect idea tomorrow, launch your business next week, and make $5 million by next year, you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment. Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you it took them years—sometimes a decade or more—to truly hit their stride.
So yes, take action every day. But also be patient with the journey. Keep showing up, keep learning, and keep building. That’s how real success happens.
Building a business doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, energy, and patience. Think of it like running a marathon—not a quick sprint. That’s why it helps to think in 10-year time frames instead of expecting everything to happen in one or two years.
This idea is called 10-year thinking. It means giving yourself plenty of time to reach your big goals. When Gino Wickman—creator of Entrepreneurial Leap—started using 10-year thinking at age 32, it completely changed how he felt. He stopped putting so much pressure on himself to succeed fast. Time felt like it slowed down, he started enjoying the journey more, and big opportunities started showing up.
Most of us will live to be 80 or older. So even if you’re 15, 35, or 65, you still have a lot of time to build something great. You don’t have to rush. You just have to keep moving forward.
If you give yourself 10 years to build something amazing, you’ll make better decisions, feel less stress, and enjoy the process a lot more. Instead of chasing overnight success, you’ll be building something real—step by step.
Read related article: The 8 MUST-DOS to Increase Your Odds of Entrepreneurial Success
You’ve probably heard stories about people who suddenly “make it big”—a new app goes viral, a small business explodes in sales, or someone is featured in the news as an overnight success. But here’s the truth behind those stories: they’re not really overnight.
As business expert Jim Collins said, “It takes twenty years to become an overnight success.” That means the people you see succeeding today have usually been working hard behind the scenes for many years—often with little recognition, lots of challenges, and plenty of ups and downs.
The problem is, many aspiring entrepreneurs want to skip the hard part. They want to fast-forward to the fun stuff—big sales, media attention, and financial freedom. But it doesn’t work that way. Building something real takes time.
Being patient doesn’t mean doing nothing and hoping something good happens. It means doing the work, day after day, even when results are slow. It means sticking with your vision long enough for your actions to start paying off.
So don’t worry if things aren’t happening fast. Stay focused. Keep learning. Keep building. Your “overnight success” might just be a few years of hard work away.
Motivational speaker Les Brown once said, “All you need is a good decade.” And he’s right.
If you stay focused and work hard for 10 years, you can build something truly amazing. You can grow a strong business, become a respected expert in your field, and create the life you’ve always dreamed of. But trying to do all of that in just one or two years? That’s where most people get discouraged.
In the early stages, progress can feel slow. You might not see big results right away. But if you keep going—learning, improving, and taking smart steps forward—those small wins start to add up. By year five, things will look very different. By year ten, you might not even recognize how far you’ve come.
Think about it this way: 10 years are going to pass no matter what. So why not spend them building something that matters?
A good decade of consistent effort can change your entire life. You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to have everything figured out. You just need to keep going.
Building a business takes time, energy, and courage. You have to take action—even when it’s hard. And you have to be patient—even when progress feels slow. But if you stay the course, keep learning, and give yourself time, you’ll be amazed at what you can create.
Remember: success rarely happens overnight. But with steady steps and a long-term mindset, you can build something truly great. One day, people may even call you an “overnight success.”
Learn more about: 10 Important Steps to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur
If you know you’re an entrepreneur-in-the-making and you’re ready to start your journey, Entrepreneurial Leap is here to guide you. Explore free tools, take the assessment, and discover the path that’s right for you at e-leap.com.
The time frame between when you confirm that you are an entrepreneur-in-the-making and when you discover the business you want to start will vary. For
