When you first started your online business, researching your ideas and putting things into motion, you were undoubtedly passionate about it. If you were anything like me you pulled late nights and thought about it non-stop... and were full of positive energy and anticipation.
But after awhile you may lose that passion, or feel a little less spark as time wears on and the new wears off. A disappointment or two might take their toll.
Perhaps the actual work (particularly the mundane daily tasks) isnt as exciting as the brainstorming & research phase... It's normal for the passion to wane a bit with time.
Just a little bit of boredom can often cause you to look elsewhere. At new ideas, new methods or even new niches altogether. You miss that spark, the excitement of a new project that keeps you up all night with positive energy.
But then it happens again - the new wears off, and you look for yet something else to bring that spark back into your life. And then again. Until you have dozens of half-finished projects, several unsuccessful attempts under your belt, and tons of time & energy invested... with nothing to show for it.
What you really wanted is a successful, profitable long-term business model. A product of your passion, your energy, and your investment.
Like anything long-term, building a successful online business requires a serious commitment. Being self-employed, with all of the wonderful benefits it can bring, requires self-discipline. It also requires self-motivation.
You have to choose one project, one niche, and commit to seeing it through from start to profit.
No matter what, you cannot give in to that little temptation to research another niche. Dont even let yourself open up WordTracker or Market Samurai or whatever your distraction of choice. Any new ideas can simply go in an "idea journal" for now - until your first online business is operating smoothly with a consistent profit.
It's time to get back to that passion you first felt for your project. Get rid of anything standing in your way, distracting you from reaching the profit point, and renew your commitment to being successful.
Anytime you feel a hint of temptation to stray, ask yourself this one question: Does this take me closer to my original goal, or distract me from it?
Jeff Herring has put together a special gift titled "I love what I do!". It's a free Audio & PDF that you can download here: 7 Steps to Loving What You Do.
Enjoy 😀
Best,
p.s. Jeff Herring, known as 'The Article Marketing Guy', will be our special guest on this week's free webinar. Be sure you're signed up - you won't want to miss this one!
About Lynn Terry
Thanks for the reminder, Lynn. It's so easy to get distracted, especially when we aren't reaching our financial goals yet.
What I've done is make a "someday" folder in my Email. Whenever I get an offer for yet another Internet marketing product, if it's something that doesn't quite fit with my goals and plans for this year, then I put it there.
That way, it doesn't keep nagging me. I know I'll get to it, when the time is right.
Oh and thank you for the gift from Jeff Herring. Happy Valentine's Day!
Lynn-
My never ending battle with SOS (shiny object syndrome) often makes it very easy for me to get distracted and stray away from my goals. Thankfully, being an Elite Forum member has helped to stay on track and keep "blinders on".
I have been following Jeff Herring for about a year and I am a member of his Article Marketing Teleseminar Club. It is way more than article market...the club is a business model all on it's own!
The days of disappointment and wondering if I was chasing the wrong rainbows have just started to fade away thanks to the both of you!
In the last six months I have gotten clients that pay me solid month fees, have started seeing regular affiliate incomes, did my own Blogging and Social Media Training Teleseminar Workshops and absolutely love seeing "article approved" over at Ezine Articles (esp. for client articles) because I know what kind of traffic will follow!
As far as "Falling in Love With My Business Again", I am in those first stages of romance and fall a little bit deeper in love every day!
Thank you Lynn (and Jeff) for the parts you are playing in my courtship!
Have a Great Valentine's Day!
Tina
@bestreflections
@kltfactor
Hey Lynn,
Thanks, Distractions are a problem for sure! Some I just can"t do anything about, but others I can. I think Ill print this out and tape it above my PC!!
Hope your day is great!
Mark
Oh my, the story above describes me to a "T"!, which is probably the reason I used to try and keep 8 blogs going!, crazy ah.
Now thankfully I only have the one, which I love and am very passionate about, still sometimes when times are tough, especially with a lack of traffic I get that thought about trying another project as well, but it gets to the point where you have worked so hard, and put so much of your self into something, that it would be crazy to have to do it all again on a new project!.
I guess what im trying to say is, follow Lynn's advice, stick to it until it works for you!.
I would like to recommend an interview for a webinar in April. This is not about Internet marketing per se, but many nonprofit organizations do have an Internet presence and rely on grant-funding for their survival. The Foundation Center is the nation's premiere philanthropic library system here in the United States. Although their San Francisco office is coming to my little rural community in Northern California, they have branches nationwide and a webinar about what they do and how they do it I think would be most appropriate for all the nonprofits that make up your audience. If you think this is a good idea, please let me know and I will attempt to find the right person to be interviewed on your webinar.
Until recently I was the girl with tons f unfinished projects sitting on her hard drive. I joined the elite membership at SSWT in hopes of finding my drive again, and I did.
Finally things started to click in my head. I was a scatterbrained mess, but now I'm focusing on one project (the PLR site we discussed) and Lisa and I are almost ready to get it moving in full gear.
It's hard to believe I've been sitting here with all this information just floating around in my brain and on my computer. I just needed to get it done, and hopefully I'll see the profit part soon!
I actually wrote a sticky note on my desk that says "remember: from start to profit" and I stuck it to my monitor so I don't get tempted to stray away from things too much!
Lynn,
This is so incredibly true! Sadly, I have been through this experience many times.
When you're just getting started and get your first paycheck, everything seems so incredible. All of a sudden, you have this whooping pile of money that you couldn't have envisaged having earlier.
And then a week goes by... And another... And another... And suddenly you realize that to keep those piles of money appearing over and over on your desk, you're going to have to keep doing the same thing over and over and over every day. And suddenly, that pile of money doesn't seem that big after all (it always seems bigger when you don't have it).
And, from there onwards, it's just a downhill slope towards neglecting your existing business, moving onto something new and continuing the vicious cycle.
My solution is outsourcing - at the end of the day, if you're really no longer enjoying what you do and believe that you can make more money elsewhere, outsource most of it and simply assemble the final product. Although this will cut into your profits, it's still better than not making any money at all. Plus, you still get to start working on that big new thing you have in mind!
I agree. it takes constant effort to grow a business and it is best to get one thing right at a time.
have you been reading my mind? Thanks for this. 😉
Lynn,
I have that question [Does this take me closer or distract me?] right in front of me whenever I'm at my computer now. It has been a beacon keeping me focused and getting me back on track as I fall in love with my business vision and step by step plan again and again and again.
I am in the process of "follow through from start to profit" and it feels like a fundamental shift in my love and commitment to my business. I thank you for repeating the things that have worked for you. For me, it sinks in with repetition and the heart that you share it with!
(Tina, Love the SOS thing! I call it Going Down the Rabbit Hole! Less frequent trips these days!)
best for now,
Mary
Thanks, Lynn. I am one of those persons who love to read and look at all those ideas from various sources. It took me a while to determine which way to go and now all I have to do is F.O.C.U.S (Follow One Course Until Successful); the only way to be successful. It's so easy to spend hours at the computer and at the end accomplish nothing meaningful towards my business. As a member of the AMTC Jeff gave us a challenge for this month and that's going to be my focus for the next two weeks.
Thanks for the great reminders.
I don't know why it surprises me when things come together the way they do in my life, but somehow I find myself just shaking my head in wonder. For example:
On Thursday's brainstorming session (and probably a couple of previous Tuesday/Thursday webinars), we talked about how people have a tendency to give up on their attempt at an online business just when they're about to make a breakthrough. Since we can't see into the future, we don't know how close we really are to breaking through whatever blockage is stopping us.
Lynn's been talking frequently about sticking with one thing until it's profitable and I've heard her and agreed with her...in theory. And then I read this article today.
WHAM! a 2X4 between the eyes, man! (For non-US readers, a 2X4 is actually a piece of lumber 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches = 38 x 89 mm. And the reference of its hitting between the eyes is from an old joke about a farmer's method of getting his mule's attention... Well, Lynn got MY attention with this article.)
This article followed closely on the heels of my discovery this morning of a hymn I'd never seen (stay with me, this all ties together). You see, Lynn or someone in the webinar chat used the word FAITH the other day. We need to have the faith that we CAN accomplish our goal.
So here's some of the hymn text. You all tell me if you think this doesn't apply. It certainly resonated with me and so I'm offering it to the rest of you, hoping it will cause a light bulb to come on, or to remove a veil from your eyes.
"Faith, while trees are still in blossom,
Plans the picking of the fruit...
Long before the dawn is breaking,
Faith anticipates the sun.
Faith is eager for the daylight...
Long before the rains were coming,
Noah went and built an ark..."
Considering that faith is the substantiation of things unseen, in other words trusting that something is real even if we can't see it or touch it, I think there's a subtle difference between believing the sun will come up and believing our business will become profitable.
In part, that's because we've already seen the sunrise and believe and know it happens every day. We know that spring follows winter no matter how long it seems to be taking for the snow to go away. These things are inevitable.
What so many of us don't have faith in is ourselves, since we can recite all the things we've failed at doing in the past. But it seems to me that at Lynn's forum and in her webinars, we are operating with a safety net. Failure in the big, bad fear-in-the-back-of-the-mind worry wort sense shouldn't even be an issue with us.
We've got Lynn on our side. Plus we've got a fantastic team of fellow marketers cheering one another on, offering advice, tips, suggestions, ideas, inspiration, etc. Tell me, where else online can you get this caliber of support without joining an expensive Master Mind group?
I guess the bottom line of what I'm saying, in my usual verbose way, is that this journey we're all on is not something we are undertaking alone, even though it can seem like that as we slog away in virtual isolation on our computers for hours on end without much more than hope that we're going to succeed to keep us going. That is, it's the only thing keeping us going until we get a word from this person or that person, get feedback in the forum, receive an email, hear and write down a great quote to post next to our computers (like Mary Gallagher's "Does this take me closer or distract me?" and Loretta's “remember: from start to profitâ€).
I celebrated my 1-year anniversary as a member of Lynn's elite forum in October. That was the smartest investment I ever made online -- bar NONE! (And believe me, I've invested so many dollars in training and products since 2005 that it sickens me to think about what I might be able to do with that money now, like oh, maybe buy gasoline or food...)
This blog, the free forum at SSWT, and the weekly webinars are at the center of my online business.
OMG!!!!
I don't even want to think about where I would be without them and Lynn herself.
So I believe that I am just one breakthrough away from success. I may not be able to see it, but I take Lynn's view over mine anytime when it comes to perspective.
Thank you, my friend and mentor, dear Lynn! I'd have given up a year and a half ago without you.
And thank you to all the gang at the webinars and at the forum. You "guys" are just the best!
Deb
P.S. - One more thing. This is about having a vision for anything.
I heard it said that a vision requires 3 things.
The first is revelation. This word carries the meaning of removing veils. So we need to have the veils removed from our eyes. Lots of things veil us, like philosophy, upbringing, attitudes, etc.
The second is sight. We can have the veils removed, but it does us no good if we are blind. So we need to have clear sightedness too. This is really our thinking, so it's also clear headedness.
The third is light. We may be unveiled and able to see, but if we're in darkness, neither of those can help. We need to have light bulbs going off in our head as we understand more and more of this business. They illuminate what we need to know.
I hope you have a clear vision of your business or that you're working toward that goal to have a vision of your business or your life.
An interesting post, which accurately describes what I have experienced as well!
I've been going through that same falling-in-love-again experience. I found that the biggest contributor to a lack of enthusiasm with my business turned out to be shortcuts.
The more I took shortcuts with a focus on making money with the least effort, the more my enthusiasm lagged. The more I focus on the value I provide clients and customers, the more I enjoy what I do.
I think that having a well-defined purpose that benefits others is key to enjoying what I do.
Ohh Lynn!
I can always count on you to motivate me and to keep on track! You go straight to the heart of the issue and talk about points that we all deal with.
You rock- have I told you that?
Well let me say it again- you rock!
Keep rocking =)
Eren Mckay
You really nailed me to the wall with this one, Lynn. My biggest obstacle so far has probably been abandoning one project because I think of a “better†one. I suppose the best way to go is to channel new ideas into improvements on what you've done rather than abandoning anything. A good self-check would be to ask yourself if an idea builds on the current project or leaves work wasted. The latter type can stock the idea journal with future projects.
STAYING in love with your business is a key to success.
Great post, Lynn! I have to say that I am going to be following your blog more closely. Your hostgator suggestion has been great. I know I'm going to have to wait for my websites to be indexed again, but it will be worth it.
Great post Lynn. That is what I have been trying to do. Like a lot of us here, I have poured my energies into another business not realizing how it would effect my main business. Once I got rid of the energy waster and focused to perfect my main business that is when I started to make money and also develop a great community of people.
Again this post is great!
Hey Lynn,
Thanks, Distractions are a problem for sure! Some I just canâ€t do anything about, but others I can. I think Ill print this out and tape it above my PC!!
Hope your day is great!
Mark
Distractions are generated from too many ideas amassed from far too many sources. For those of us still trying to make a profit we have to find the niche, work on it and understand the process. That works. SO if the niche doesn't pan out drop it. Take the knowledge and abilities to another well researched niche. That was advice from two successful marketers. All those emails trying to sell you on new programs for keywords and marketing systems need to be thrown out the door. Those are distractions we can do without. Lets be honest, without profits you can't buy into all these "you must have "monthly services"
I stopped reading all those other blogs that only try to sell rather than teach. One guy was upset when someone told him hid blog did nothing but sell. This came form a 12 year marketing veteran who also posted an article on not overselling in your blog. He should read his own blog.
A good idea for everyone is to make a list of all the items you would like to have for marketing, new ideas , goals , research, equipment, etc.Also list the items needed to be done for making the site work. In a circle enter the ones you can do and control. Prioritize the list and get started.
I've never lost faith but rather realized I needed professional training, an upgraded site and niches that worked. I made sales with an old site that was not up to standards, was said to have needed a lot of work. Home page had no copy and it looked bad as an older template. Now I've worked on the upgrades, copy, meta tags and so much more but can't make a sale. Was it luck or just being in the right email box at the right time?
What helps me personally to get a great boost of passion to my business is EFT (emotional freedom technique).
This simple combination of acupuncture points tapping with some simple motivational (kind of NLP) words keeps you out of unnecessary thoughts.
You stay focused on the things you do. You get out from the routines (and every business has its routines). And you do love what you do.
You bring up a very good point. The one biggest distraction for people trying to make it online is starting a project with lots of enthusiasm, working on it for a few weeks and not seeing any results and then begin the process all over again with the next "big idea". If you fall in this trap it may take you a while before you can really break free from it.
Peter
This is indeed a very interesting article Miss Lynn. From the title - to the content, BINGO!
True enough, we must all have passion for everything that we do or else there is a high probability that we will fail. If you think you are losing your passion, rekindle it. Take a break and reflect. Get back in the game afterwards with a newer and relieved fighting spirit. Don't let failure come your way and haul out distractions.
With these things in mind, especially from your post, I think you can really fall in love with the business all over again.
Nice and very true-to-life post.