I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not true: The Pat Flynn Effect and The Baby Effect are not similar effects.

The Baby Effect

While The Pat Flynn Effect describes a massive increase in website visits, email signups and social media followers as a result of a feature on The Smart Passive Income Podcast, The Baby Effect describes an massive flip of the switch – where your mindset goes from thinking “I miiigght be able to make this happen…” to “I am going to make this happen!”

In John’s interview with Richelle Shaw, he talks about The Baby Effect being a common theme that comes up in so many Entrepreneurs’ journeys. It typically surfaces in response to questions like, “When did it all turn around for you?”, and “When were you able to kick it into high gear and really start to make things happen?”

Their answer? When I found out I was going to have a baby.

Suddenly, what’s at stake is much bigger than it has ever been before – it’s much bigger than “just you”.

It isn’t just you having to admit to yourself that you haven’t taken the time to focus on creating your own business; or that you haven’t made it a priority to live life on your own terms; or even that you haven’t sacrificed what needed to be sacrificed in order to set yourself up for success.

The Baby Effect marks the point in time when you decide that the waiting game is over. You realize that if there was such a thing as “the right time” to take the entrepreneurial leap, that the right time is now.

While you were previously scared, shy or reluctant to take the entrepreneurial leap, you suddenly find yourself with your back up against the wall.

You realize that it’s not just about whether or not you fail – it’s about whether or not you step up and create the life you want not just for you, but for your family. A life where you can actually spend time with them – where you’re in charge of your schedule and where you live – not anyone else.

You want to be the type of parent who is able to create a life for you and your family that is conducive to actually spending quality time together. A life that isn’t jeopardized by late nights at work, or weekend travel to visit clients. Most importantly, a life where you love what you do so that when you’re with your family, you can be the best possible version of you – not some of the time, but all of the time.

Your priorities shift and your goals become something you need to achieve, not just something that would be nice to achieve.

I’ve got a little something for those of you who might be reading this and thinking “I don’t have kids, I’m not pregnant, and this story doesn’t even come close to why I took the entrepreneurial leap.”

Think again.

The overall concept here applies to anyone and everyone who has ever thought about – or actually taken – the leap from Corporate America to the Entrepreneurial Landscape.

The Baby Effect for you might be that point in time when you simply stopped making excuses for yourself, or when you got let go from your job and thought, “What do I have to lose? I definitely have to find a way to pay rent next month, so I better make something happen right now.”

Or maybe it was when someone close to you passed away, and you realized how fragile life really is – that playing this waiting game doesn’t make things easier or more attainable.

All it takes is a strong commitment to something bigger than what you’re doing right now – to really feel what it’s like when you push yourself as if the stakes have never been higher; like there’s absolutely nothing to lose; like this is your chance to create the vision you’ve been dreaming of.

The entrepreneurial leap will always be a possibility; whether you take it or not is up to you.