You know that moment when life hits you with an unexpected problem?
A sudden emergency expense. Broken plans. A door of opportunity completely slammed shut.
Most people freeze.
They wait. Some of them complain. They hope something external shifts.
But a small group reacts differently.
They lean in. They ask, “Alright… how do I solve this?”
This mindset is called high agency.
And it’s the single most important quality for self-improvement.
Everything else — discipline, intelligence, connections — means nothing if you don’t believe you can actually move the needle.
If you want to grow fast in today’s world, you need this trait more than ever.
Let’s break it down.
What Is High Agency (And Why It Matters Now More Than Ever)
High agency is the fundamental belief that you can shape your world, not just react to it.
High agency is the difference between someone who sees a locked door and walks away versus someone who tries three different keys, picks the lock, or builds a new entrance.
Think about a child who sees a chocolate bar on the kitchen shelf.
They want it. The child climbs or drag a chair. They improvise.
That’s raw agency.
You were born with that drive. Everyone was. But as life goes on, many people let it die under layers of excuses, fear, and conditioning.
High agency is simply taking back that original state.
It’s the belief that:
- You can shape your life.
- You can solve your problems.
- You can figure things out even when you don’t know how yet.
In today’s society, this quality isn’t just useful. It’s survival.
The World wants to stop your High Agency
We live in a world where the rules change fast.
Technology evolves daily. Opportunities appear and disappear overnight.
The people who thrive now are the ones who adapt quickly, learn fast, and take responsibility for everything they touch.
High agency is the conviction that you are an active participant in shaping your life, not a passive reactor to external events.
The Five Imperatives: Why You Must Develop High Agency
Developing a high sense of agency isn’t optional for becoming your highest self; it is the prerequisite.
Here are five major reasons why you must cultivate this quality now:
1. Nobody is coming to save you
If you rely on government, family, friends, or luck to rescue you, you’re done.
High agency kills the fantasy that someone else will do the work for you.
2. Problems don’t disappear; they compound
Avoiding responsibility doesn’t pause consequences; it multiplies them.
High agency forces you to confront things early while they’re still fixable.
3. Skill acquisition demands ownership
You can’t develop mastery with a passive mindset.
High agency pushes you to teach yourself, study on your own, and stay curious.
4. Your environment can’t be controlled, but your actions can
Life is unpredictable.
High agency gives you the ability to respond intelligently instead of reacting emotionally.
5. It creates momentum in every area
Once you start acting with high agency, everything speeds up: your learning, career, relationships, and opportunities.
People trust you more because you get things done.
These five reasons are the backbone of everything else in this newsletter.
The 5-Step Framework to Build High Agency
Let’s connect each reason to an actionable step. This is the part you’ll want to save.
STEP 1: Take responsibility immediately
The moment something goes wrong, claim it. Even if it wasn’t your fault.
Here’s what I mean.
If you say, “It’s not my fault,” you’ve surrendered all power to fix it. The problem becomes someone else’s job.
High agency begins the moment you say, “Okay, this is on me. Now what do I do about it?”
STEP 2: Identify problems early
Don’t let issues grow roots.
High agency people scan their life like a pilot checks instruments before taking off.
Ask yourself weekly:
- What’s broken?
- What’s slipping?
- What’s uncomfortable that I’ve been avoiding?
Solve small issues before they become life-changing ones.
STEP 3: Become a self-teacher
High agency people don’t wait for perfect conditions.
They Google. Some of them watch videos. They experiment.
High agency people fail and try again.
If you want agency, stop waiting for someone to show you how. Learn the skill yourself.
Every skill you gain increases the number of problems you can solve.
STEP 4: Control your controllables
You can’t control the economy, but you can control your output.
People can’t be controlled, but you can control your standards.
Bad luck is unpredictable, but you can control preparation.
High agency is about focusing on your levers, not the world’s randomness.
STEP 5: Build fast momentum loops
Momentum is created through repeated small wins.
Make a habit of taking action within five minutes when an idea hits.
Send the email. Make the call. Start the draft.
Move quickly because the faster you act, the faster life rewards you.
The 5 Step Framework to Build High Agency
How To Spot High Agency People and Learn from Them
Once you start building this mindset, you’ll notice something funny.
High agency becomes magnetic. You see it instantly in others.
Here’s how to spot them:
1. Look at their history
Are they the kind of person who makes things happen despite obstacles?
Or do they always have explanations for things not working out?
Patterns don’t lie.
2. Watch how they handle “no”
A low agency person hears “no” and quits.
A high agency person hears “no” and gets creative.
They find another door. Or another route.
Or they build something new.
3. Pay attention to their questions
Low agency asks: “Why can’t someone fix this?”
High agency asks: “How can I fix this myself?”
The question tells you everything.
4. Check their default bias
Do they wait? Or do they act?
High agency people move.
They prototype. The high agency person experiments. They don’t sit around hoping.
5. See how they learn
Do they teach themselves?
Or do they hunt for information? Do they take initiative without being asked?
If yes, that’s the person you should be around.
And here’s the secret:
Agency is contagious. When you’re around people who get things done, you start to rise to their level without even noticing.
Examples of High Agency People Who Built Their Success
These real-world examples are people who took control, acted, iterated, and outworked every excuse.
1. J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling was a single mother on welfare, dealing with depression, when she started writing Harry Potter. Publishers rejected her manuscript twelve times. Instead of giving up, she kept submitting.
She believed she could change her circumstances through her work. That agency transformed not just her life but created an entire cultural phenomenon.
2. Thomas Sankara (Burkina Faso)
As President of Burkina Faso, Sankara embodied national high agency.
He refused to accept that his country was doomed to poverty and foreign aid dependency. He launched unprecedented campaigns for self-sufficiency, vaccination, women’s rights, and environmental protection.
Sankara famously urged his people to “produce what we consume, and consume what we produce,” a powerful call for collective agency.
3. Patrick Collison (Stripe)
Collison taught himself how to code as a teenager, built multiple products before 20, and refuses to accept limitations.
He’s the embodiment of “I’ll figure it out.”
4. Tony Elumelu (Nigerian Entrepreneur)
Elumelu is a high agency machine.
He spotted opportunities others ignored, built UBA into a continental force, and created the Tony Elumelu Foundation to develop African entrepreneurs.
Elumelu didn’t wait for the system to change. He changed it himself.
These people didn’t follow a rulebook. They wrote their own.
So, Why Does High Agency Matter So Much?
Because everything you want requires movement.
And movement only happens when you believe you can move something.
High agency is the belief that the world is bendable.
Not easily, not instantly, but bendable if you push consistently.
When you demonstrate high agency, your environment shifts.
People trust you more. Opportunities find you.
You start solving problems others are scared of. And that attracts even bigger opportunities.
This is how teams transform. Businesses scale because of high agency people.
High agency is how you change your life from the inside out.
If there’s one thing you take from this entire article, let it be this:
You are far more powerful than you think.
Agency is your birthright. You had it as a child. Reclaim it now.
Start taking responsibility.
Solve small problems fast. Teach yourself the skills you lack. Surround yourself with people who make things happen.
Start acting with urgency.
The pattern is clear. The locked doors aren’t there to stop you. They’re there to filter out everyone who isn’t serious about getting through.
Be one of the people who finds the key.
High agency isn’t a personality trait. It’s a choice. Make it daily.
And watch how fast your life compounds.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
- Become Your Highest Self Newsletter: Every Sunday, I share actionable tips from successful people on how to master money, mindset and meaning.
- Fast Track Book: Stay relevant, master new skills, and be ready for whatever life throws at you. This is the complete roadmap to speed up your learning process and expand the opportunities available to you. Available on Amazon.
- Personal Wealth Maximizer: Take control of your finances and build financial freedom. The Personal Wealth Maximizer give you the exact knowledge and tools to break free from money struggles and build financial confidence.