EP 317 - Noah Ellis — Do The Thing

There’s a moment in every entrepreneur’s life when the universe stops whispering and starts shouting. A moment where the next level isn’t waiting behind brilliance or luck or timing — it’s sitting directly behind the one thing we don’t want to do. 

For Noah Ellis, founder of Ofland and a hospitality leader who’s spent his life building concepts, teams, and experiences, that moment became a clarity-inducing mantra so important that he didn’t just write it down… he tattooed on his body: 

Do the thing. 

Noah’s wisdom is the kind that doesn’t land with theory — it lands with truth. It’s lived. It’s earned. It’s carved out one uncomfortable step at a time. Over the past decade, he’s discovered a pattern that every leader secretly recognizes: everything you want is on the other side of something you'd rather avoid. 

That avoidance isn’t the same for all of us. For some, “the thing” is the grind — doing operations, building processes, cleaning up details no one applauds. For others, it's stepping into conversations, making asks, building relationships, or being seen. And for a few, the hard thing is the exact opposite of what they’ve been praised for their whole lives: slowing down, waiting, letting things unfold instead of forcing outcomes. 

This episode digs deep into that idea — not as a slogan, but as a leadership operating system. 

 

The Story Behind the Napkin 

A simple brown napkin, thick black marker, one sentence: Do the thing. 
Underlined. Period at the end. Nothing decorative. Nothing softened. 

This wasn’t drawn for branding or aesthetic. It was drawn because this is the thing Noah wants leaders to wrestle with: the simplicity of the truth and the difficulty of the application. 

Noah realized over the last ten years that every major breakthrough sits behind an internal barrier — and those barriers are different for everyone. He explains: 

“Everything you want (in both business and life) is on the other side of something you don’t want to do.”  

In the hospitality world Noah came from, he and a former partner represented two very different strengths. His partner was a dreamer — the type who could conjure ideas, gather money, win partners, wrangle contractors, build energy, keep momentum. Noah, on the other hand, could take a permitted building and money and turn it into a functioning, profitable operation. 

They each admired what the other could do. But the real lesson didn’t emerge until Noah noticed that many of the “dreamer-built” projects started to falter right after opening. The shiny part was fun. But sustainability? That came from the grind — from patience, discipline, humility, and daily, unsexy decisions. 

Noah realized it wasn’t enough to stay in his lane or admire his partner’s strengths from afar. His next level required him to do the thing he resisted: developing the same social and strategic abilities his partner possessed. And his partner’s success-long-term required something equally uncomfortable for him: building patience, structure, and commitment to the long game. 

“Sometimes the thing you don’t want to do is short term and physically uncomfortable… Sometimes, it’s much longer term and emotionally taxing.”  

This is the heart of Noah’s napkin: not everything hard is the same for everyone. Your thing is your thing. 

 

What Happens When You Actually Do the Thing 

Noah’s life changed when he stopped assuming that problems required immediate action. 

For years, he believed decisive leadership meant moving now. Fixing now. Addressing now. Jumping in now. 

But that instinct — while useful in some contexts — was also his crutch. 

“Even though I wanted to jump in, I needed to develop some patience and let things play out.”  

Waiting wasn’t passive. It was strategic. In that space, he collected more information, made smaller but smarter decisions, and began choosing sustainability over perfectionism. 

He had to temper his instinct to control outcomes and refine details beyond what mattered. 
Perfection in one area was often creating imbalance in others. 

That’s when Noah realized this wasn’t a motivational poster idea — it was a leadership truth: 

Doing the thing you avoid changes who you become. 

Sometimes that’s learning discipline. 
Sometimes that’s learning patience. 
Sometimes it’s saying yes. 
Sometimes it’s saying no. 
Sometimes it’s stepping forward. 
Sometimes it’s stepping back. 

But it always involves stepping. 

 

Why This Matters to Leaders Everywhere 

Noah calls out something profound and rare: success isn’t about working hard at what you’re good at — it’s about working hard at the thing you avoid. 

As he notes: 

“We gravitate toward leaders who support our worldview… but the real growth is in doing the opposite.”  

For the Jocko-style hard chargers, the work might be softness, breathwork, patience, and presence. 
For the quiet creative thinkers, the work might be decisive action, uncomfortable conversations, or stepping into visibility. 

Noah’s wisdom asks leaders to look directly at the asymmetry in their strengths and decide to grow on purpose — not default. 

This is why his message matters. Because leadership is never one-dimensional. Because excellence requires contradiction. Because growth hides behind friction. 

Because your thing might be the only obstacle between who you are and who you’re becoming. 

 

5 Key Takeaways & Take Action Items 

1. Your Biggest Breakthrough Is Behind Your Biggest Avoidance 

Take Action: Identify the one thing you’ve been postponing for weeks or months. Do it today. Not all of it — the first step. 

2. Your “Thing” Is Unique to You 

Take Action: Compare the tasks you love with the tasks you resist. Write down the patterns. This becomes your personal leadership map. 

3. Patience Is a Skill, Not a Personality Trait 

Take Action: Before reacting to an issue, impose a 24-hour pause. Track what changes inside that space. 

4. Perfectionism Is a Crutch When It Prevents Progress 

Take Action: Choose one area where you’re over-optimizing. Set a “good enough” line and move on. 

5. Opposites Build Balance 

Take Action: Follow one leader, thinker, or creator whose style contradicts your natural wiring. Let it stretch you. 

 

About Noah Ellis 

Noah Ellis is a hospitality operator, concept creator, and founder of Ofland — a company known for developing and operating unforgettable food and hospitality experiences. With a background that blends creativity, operational excellence, and deep understanding of the guest experience, Noah has built a career around bringing ideas from concept to reality and ensuring they can thrive long-term. 

More about Noah: 
Website: www.ofland.com 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/noah-ellis-b5118221 

 

Your Turn — What’s Your Thing? 

Every Paper Napkin Wisdom episode ends with one challenge: take the wisdom off the napkin and into your life. 

So grab a real napkin. 
Write down: 
What’s the thing you’ve been avoiding that you know would change everything? 

 
Post it with #PaperNapkinWisdom — I’d love to see your version of Noah’s idea.