Door knockers and window openers

For those of you productivity nerds out there who frequent Youtube, you may have come across a Youtuber by the name of Ali Abdaal. Ali is a self-confessed productivity advocate and at the same time, a waste man and grease monkey. He's a doctor living in Cambridge, who also runs his own Youtube channel with interests in five businesses.

Ali talks about the concept of door knockers and window openers which was an analogy he came across on episode of 'My First Million' podcast with Arianna Simpson

Window Openers

Window openers are the types of people who go through life looking through windows and when they find something they like, they step through and they achieve the outcome which they envisioned. The window openers see doors, but they can't see what's behind them so they pass on by them. For example, a window opener opportunity could be studying for a musical theory exam because you know when you complete it, you will have achieved it or if you get a classification in a degree, you'll be qualified for a certain job.

Door Knockers

On the other hand, door knockers are people who are the type of will knock on the door and walk through without being able to see what's behind it, or the outcome. They are risking the odds of going through the door in anticipation of something being worth their time on the other side. By going through the door, the outcome may be something unexpected or may present different opportunities compared to the window openers. An example of door knocking opportunities could be starting your own business because generally, you'll have no idea where it'll lead you.

Just because you can't see what is behind an opportunity doesn't mean it's invalid or you should ignore it. Just because you can't see the outcome of doing a certain task doesn't mean it won't have a great impact. Door Knockers are knocking on many doors with an unknown outcome which increases their chance of success because they can't see the end result and judge the opportunity based solely on it. Also, increasing the number of doors you knock will likely increase your chances of success.

Your turn

I challenge you to be a door knocker if you aren't already, even if it's for one day or even for one opportunity. Do something that you've thought about before and felt wouldn't make an impact or present an opportunity as you may never know what the end result can be if you commit to it and put in the hard work.