I was having lunch with a good friend the other day and we got to talking about my plans for the future. Naturally, the topic of this blog and my general online endeavors came up.
I spent a good 20 minutes explaining the various things I had tried, what I am trying at the moment, and what I will be trying in the future. We spoke about niche sites, authority sites, SEO, content marketing, freelancing and so on.
Step 1: “Get It”
His reaction to all of the above was, “I don’t get it”.
That reaction is understandable to an extent — while he is technologically savvy, internet marketing and other related disciplines are a whole new world to him.
And that is the first barrier to being successful in this line of business. Not “getting it”. Fortunately, it is a barrier you can overcome. You have no excuse to use this as your excuse.
So what do you do?
Read. Analyze what others are doing. Gain a competent grasp of basic theories. Devour content. As Colin Wright said in 13 Steps To Leaving Work Behind: “self-investment is something that pays off immediately and forever”. So, make sure that invest in yourself. In time, you’ll “get it”.
Step 2: Take Real Action
You then face a much tougher task: taking action.
You have doubtless heard the phrase in this context many times before, but there is a good reason for that. Taking action, in the correct sense of the phrase, is far more difficult than it sounds. It is not simply ‘doing something’. It is doing the right thing.
This conversation with my friend continued and we got onto the topic of how ‘accessible’ success is. I claimed that it was highly accessible to the vast majority of people. I argued that there are a huge number of legitimate resources out there that can get you on your way. He claimed that could not possibly be true – if the free resources are available, why isn’t everyone chasing their dreams and living life as they truly want to?
And this is where we come around to what taking action really means. It may sound bloody obvious, but taking action is not passive.
I am willing to bet that you have bought at least one book or product that has the potential to change your life for the good. You may have even read it, cover to cover. But reading is passive. It is what you do with your newfound knowledge that really makes the difference.
Bringing It All Together
First of all, you not only need to believe that you can succeed, but you need to understand to a competent level how you will do it. Then you need to take action. You need to read how others have achieved success, build up your level of expertise, then execute.
If you remove just that last step, you make no tangible gains. Not only that, you may have spent a great deal of time getting that far. That is why so many disillusioned people claim that they have worked so hard for no reward. They may have worked damned hard, but they never actually took action, in the correct sense of the word.
Believe me, if you do take action, and do it in the right way, you’ll soon understand what it really means. The results will speak for themselves.
Over To You
This is a great opportunity to have likeminded people critique your goals. It could just be an eye opener, and you have nothing to lose. Let us know in the comments section below what you are doing to take action.
Photo Credit: geograph
Will Claxton says
Adding jobs/projects to elance and other various sites. Once I get something listed, it really gets the ball rolling on that particular project and confirms that that new project is going ahead. About to start a massive project, need to design the site itself and how it works so I fully understand it. Will list it on elance on Monday (hopefully) and find someone to build it for me, and then spend the next couple of weeks designing the marketing strategy which is the fun part 😀
Tom Ewer says
Certainly sounds like you are taking action! Do you have the end goal in sight, or are you playing it by ear?
Will Claxton says
End goal is being free to go wherever I want whenever I want! And I want to be in that situation by August 31st 2012 as that is when the lease ends at my apartment lol. Would rather have the option of flying off to Asia than having to sign another year lease here in sunny England!
Gregory Ciotti says
It might sound boring, but guest writing/posting.
I feel like most people fail in this mutual endeavor of ours due to the fact that most people think so highly of their work that they believe it will bring in people with no marketing.
People generally don’t like putting their work “out there” because then it is up to be challenged.
I feel that’s what stops most people from pursuing solo endeavors: what if what I make sucks?
I’ve had this problem when reaching out for interviews for Sophistefunk, for example: I was worried my questions would suck, and nobody would ever email me back.
But I put the apprehension aside and that hasn’t been the case at all, and it most likely won’t be for most people trying to do the same thing as long as they put enough work into it.
Tom Ewer says
Great comment Greg, really insightful. If you’re not prepared to put your work out there, what exactly are you trying to achieve? You have get your work out there in order to be successful! It’s a paradox.
Ardorm says
Well, I somewhat disagree about the “right way doing it”. You do have a point with “Being Active”; however, every person has his own “rightness”.
While you stay active and keep on progressing, there will always be people who like your work. In other words, there is no way that out of billions of people on Earth there won’t be at least one million that enjoys your work. The only obstacle is time that is needed for them to hear about you. 😀
Tom Ewer says
Hey Maxim! Thanks for commenting. Somehow (and I’m not sure how this has happened), I agree with you disagreeing with me! 😉
I think I see where you’re going. ‘Right’ and ‘wrong’ are completely subjective words, and to say something is one or the other can only ever be put forward as an opinion (someone correct me if I’m wrong).
I suppose what I was getting at, when looking at it from your perspective, is that you can try to be ‘more right’ – i.e., try and appeal to more than your theoretical one million (whilst of course retaining your own identity).
Or, if the action you are taking doesn’t benefit anyone directly (SEO for instance, try to make sure that you are going about it in the best possible way).
Does that make sense?
Ardorm says
Yes, it pretty much settles the things around here. 🙂
I feel really positive about getting “more right”. We should never stop moving forward!
Rochelle says
I fully agree with you Tom. Well put. This was a very interesting post. Just found your blog on copyblogger- consider it bookmarked. I look forward to more posts. Have a great day. Rochelle.
Jimmy says
Hi Tom,
I am new to your site. Great to know that you advocate only two simple steps to success – getting it and doing it.
Far too often, we read too much and overprepare. In this sense the internet does not help because there are so many links from one topic or product to another. People just get suck into the information trap. Many do not have the discipline to take a step back and re-evaluate. I was once like that – reading and buying products.
Sometimes, taking action basically means just picking up the next thing you learn and doing it. Take blogging for example. There are so many strategies to increase traffic. If you start trying to get everything up and running, it is just an overwhelming task. I rather the person just select one or two strategies and run with it. The others will follow.
i do agree that you have to try and take the right action too. That is the challenge of identification.
Tom Ewer says
Hey Jimmy,
It’s great to read your thoughts – thanks for taking the time to contribute!
What you’re talking about is ‘analysis paralysis’, and I couldn’t agree with you more.
Accept you will never know as much as you want to. Pick a path. Follow it to the end, and ignore the forks in the road!
Cheers,
Tom
Ruby says
Hi Tom!
I’ve had the “analysis paralysis” for a few weeks now. I was devouring info
from websites, blogs, free literature, etc., and getting excited by the day.
Then, I remembered all the other projects I’ve started and need to work on–
projects close to my heart, like music, and sites I’ve already joined for writing jobs, but haven’t applied yet.
Then there’s the guest post I put together but haven’t sent it over, because I
am minimizing my work and telling myself that it might not have been a good idea in the first place (this person’s site doesn’t have many visitors, but I was offered the chance to guest post).
Self-analysis is crucial to knowing one’s tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. We can change alot about ourselves, but we have to keep in mind our over-riding responsibilities. I’m figuring out how I can add something else to my “plate” and be sure not to disappoint myself and others.
You have great ideas, and their simplicity is profound. I just need to “take action”…beyond my self-analysis and web research.
regards, ruby
Tom Ewer says
Hey Ruby!
Great to hear from you.
One of the biggest problems with taking in all that information is it can get you very excited about the possibilities…but getting excited about the possibilities doesn’t actually achieve anything!
I would worry less about disappointment. It is impossible to avoid. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – get out there, screw up, learn from it, and move on! 🙂
All the best,
Tom
Lisa says
I am creating a course entitled Taking My Life Back!! that will launch very soon and I have drawn a line in the sand on when I am firing my boss.
That’s what I’m doing! Who’s joining me??
I’m going to make my own way, and help others, like I have always loved doing!!
Tom Ewer says
Awesome attitude Lisa – that’ll take you a long towards your goals! 🙂