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