1. You spend more time learning than working (and count that as work).
2. You aren't passionate, or even interested in, your niche *or* your market.
3. You spend too much time trying to figure out a way NOT to do certain tasks.
(In that same amount of time, you could have just achieved the tasks - and had time to spare.)
4. You don't take action on profitable ideas because you worry it isn't the right action to take. (Taking NO action is a surefire way to avoid profit - and to avoid mistakes that will help you figure out what works and what doesn't.)
5. You try to be someone you're not, which is unnatural and awkward - and obvious to your target market.
6. You spend the majority of your day doing "busy work" instead of Priority Tasks.
7. You make excuses instead of creating solutions.
8. You compare yourself to others, instead of comparing your progress against your own goal.
9. You get caught up in meaningless technical details, instead of creating meaningful interaction with your target market.
10. You *worry* about competitors, instead of looking at ways you can leverage their success to your benefit...
About Lynn Terry
Hi Lynn,
True confession - I've hit all the marks you've listed here, most of them in the very beginning. It's a process we each have to work through; looking inside and getting rid of the excuses. Getting past #5 was huge for me, but much more fun and rewarding once I did.
Thanks,
Peggy
Ouch! This post (as all of yours do) carries a ton of weight and it stepped all over my toes. I'll be revisiting my plan of action this weekend. Thanks, Lynn
Tiiu.. I just have to say, I LOVE your site.. very crisp, clean and to the point. I was going to ask what theme/skin you used but then noticed it looks like you had independent company design it.
btw, you might have them update your copyright to 2011 (soon to be 2012) in the footer.
Anyway, love the look, dee 🙂
It hurt me to read #6 because I find myself guilty on that one.
Ouch. Far too many of these hit home. Can we turn this around somehow to put a positive spin on it and make it not such a downer?
#1 definitely is one of my problems.
Guilty of all of them in some form or the other - with the biggest offences being number's 4, 8 and 10. (UGH!)
You Hit the Mail, Lynn - As usual. The Problem is that no make Money online product will ever get anyone to take Action. So that is the Point- Not Learning is Action but doing
Bang on Lynn. I've been guilty of all 10. I'll add one and it's analysis paralysis (may fall under learning instead of doing).
I've spent days thinking and researching what I should do next during which time I could have written several posts, or even launch a new site. Fortunately, I've had more days where I get stuff done instead of doing nothing.
I also find that when I start thinking about everything I have to do I get overwhelmed. I now try to focus on doing the "next" step and have faith that as long as I keep on plodding along, my business will build. Take action, monitor results, find out what works, keep doing what works.
I love #3 and do I love spending time trying to find shortcuts. Usually nothing gets done and like you say, during my search for the 100% autopilot solution, I could have actually made some money.
Totally guilty of #4!
People really do need to see this post though. There are those who I have tried to help over the years who still come back year after year still in the same position. I would love to see these people take action because they have a TON of potential. But until they make a decision to grab the bull by the horns and do something, there is not much any of us can do to help. I know this because I used to be one of them.
Negative, yes. But there's a lot of truth here. I often share specific how-to, or posts that are motivational/inspirational. Every now and then it helps to stare dead on at the flip side: what holds you back.
Keep in mind that ALL of my posts are based on my personal experience. Over my 14+ years in business, I have been "guilty" of all of these things at one time or another.
The good news is, I'm still in business and still moving forward. 😉 There's your positive spin, Deb. Any/All of these points can be overcome. Some very easily, even. Often we don't even realize these points until they're staring back at us in black & white...
Yep.. and I think we need to feel the pain sometimes in order to take action. I mean, it is what it is.. no point in sugarcoating.
What helps me is to make a list at the END of each day for the following day. If I try to compile a list in the morning, I go off on too many bunny trails. On Fridays, I assess where I am and put together a general list for following week.
Then the trick is to DO the list! dee 🙂
What are you doing in my head... get out!! 😉
I am ALL of these (especially No. 4) BUT, I am working at changing my dumb habits. One step at a time.
I like the 'negative' spin... I appreciate a right good kick up the backside sometimes.
I have been guilty of all of them as well. Since joining Lynn's Elite members a few months ago I have been taking more action and getting more traction than ever! Just got to keep pulling yourself out of the bad habits, which you know you are doing, and move forward with positive action.
Yikes! That hurts, but in a good way. I'm definitely guilty of all of these to different degrees. It's difficult to work on all of them at once, so I'm focusing on 1, 5 and 6 right now. Stay tuned!
Sharyn
This reminder is great and the truth is good to hear. I am pretty sure I do at least 2 or 3 of these things. I have a Ph.D in procrastination! Ugh. The Internet is a forest of distractions. Thanks for telling it like it is! Now I need to get back to work - starting tomorrow! ;0)
Man, I don't feel good after reading this. It's not because the article is bad but I am guilty. Number 2 just hit me hard on the face. I know I'm not that passionate about my market. But I'm trying to overcome it.
Similar to number nine is being a perfectionist.
Pertinent to this is the 80/20 rule, meaning that 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of you targeted efforts.
If you can figure out what that 20 percent is, then focus on it...:)
Mark
I am advertising my family business online for the first time and it is a massive undertaking I find.
I can see now how all of the items in you list could create problems.
There is so much to learn when it comes to internet marketing. Thanks for pointing these out.
Kopila
Oh, what a good list! I have definately fallen for some of these. Having a negative list is actually a good way to focus on what you need to do, or rather need to not do!
Lynn,
Great list here! I think most people have been guilty of most of these at some point or another. The important part is to be cognizant of that and shake yourself out of these bad habits.
Anyone who cannot take a step back and see if they are falling into these patterns will have an insurmountable task ahead of them to achieve success.
Hey Lynn - No sugar-coatin' spin necessary. I like it when you say it like it is. Sometimes that is exactly what we need to motivate us.
If I'm dying tomorrow I don't need the doctor saying "the good news is, it will be during business hours". 🙂
It's hard to work in a niche that you're not interested in. I've tried and it was so boring writing the articles. I have been doing 5 of the reasons you mentioned above and I hope to correct them but it's not easy. Any advise on how to go about it will be very much appreciated.
Some really good very true points. I am a passionate blogger, lucky enough now to be full time. Blogging and my subject of personal development both bring my passsion to the forefront. Yet i would never have achieved what i have without creating myself a blogging schedule. I have timetable every priority activity that i need to do. This makes my time management spot on eliminating those distractions on the internet that waste so much time for others
Hey Lynn, All those 10 are absolutely the reason one will not be successful in his online business. All I would like to say is Be yourself, Be Creative, Be active and Do what you think is right .....
Newbies sometimes succumb to this and become frustrated and overwhelmed. My take is to learn/study before you implement your business so you won't have to waste time learning about it while doing it at the same time!
#6 on the list is the one I was most guilty of ~ I said "was" because I've been outsourcing a lot more of that busy work so that I have no choice but to get straight at the big priority tasks!
Yup on just about all of them....ugh. Now I just need somebody to take my hand and say "Stephanie, focus on THIS. THIS is what you need to be doing." I get all sidetracked trying to find the one "BEST" thing that I can do.
Thanks for your insights....I should probably print this list and post it near my computer to remind me of what NOT to do! =)
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. I have been so guilty of pretty much all these and I still struggle with a few of them especially #8. I compare myself to others all the time (and this isn't just a business thing, it's in my own personal life too). Thankfully I'm finally learning...it's only taken me 4 years (sigh)!
Awesome post Lynn! I'm guilty as charged! I'm going to print your list and put it near my monitor as a reminder.
Glennette Goodbread, Owner
Premium Web Design and Hosting
Well said Lynn. #1 is a biggie. It's easy for learning to become information overload and disguise itself as productivity.
Well, I will be printing this out and hanging it on my wall. I checked off more than half of those and I wonder why I am struggling with my affiliate marketing blogs. Thanks!
#11 Fear of success and all of the above.
Thant is Me!!!
I don't know if I can say I have been guilty of all of these but the ones that I am(I am forever looking to learn and I am sure much of what I do learn is not necessary for what I start out needing to know in the first place) can side-rail me for quite a long time when I know I could be spending my time getting more done for the business.
Thanks for the reminder to kick myself in the butt and get productive!
This is where I'm at right now. I want to start a new site but I'm paralyzed by thinking I may do the wrong thing. Also, you read so much advice on how to discover a niche and keywords that sometimes conflict one another, that it makes you very wary, too.
I think I will post this list on my desktop as a constant reminder. Every point you made is true of most businesses on or offline. Great post.
Quite a good assessment post, Lynn, short, sweet & sour, to the point! An objective look in the mirror is always useful. It is much easier now for me to do something about these things as I notice them without getting caught up in the "shoulda's" and feel discouraged. Thank you!
Best,
Mary
Great post Lynn! I'm working on all of these now with great success.
Thanks for telling us what we NEED to hear as opposed to what we want to hear all the time.
These tips aren't sexy at all BUT if follow through on them,they will make for a "sexy profitable online business"
Some of the components of success are not fun, but it's part of the process in business as well as life itself.
Yup, this looks like my diary. Only difference is mine has a lot more than just 10 reasons. I guess with time you get to experience all these drawbacks, but it's how you get over them that counts.
I don't know if I'll ever fully get over number 1. Especially since the Internet is always changing and I feel that I need to keep up with everything. I would love to be a forever full-time student, so I guess that says it all right there.
I am so guilty of #1. I have taught myself everything I know and I am always looking for more information to make sure I'm not doing something the wrong way. If I would just go with what I have learned, I'd probably get a lot more done. I'll start doing that today! Thanks for your advice.
Lynn,
Excellent post as always. Love your unique ability to always share the "truth in love".
What struck me is that this list really works for most any business or job or career. These are great guidelines to help anyone quickly take a personal review of where they are on any given day and know what (and what not) to focus on to get back on track.
Guilt at its root is a feeling or emotion we get whenever we feel like we have not done something right or have not done enough. It's the feeling that we owe someone something. However, It can be healthy if there is a true realization of what is holding us back and actions taken toward positive change as a result.
In my own case, I feel that that I owe myself
some time to revisit each one of these and truthfully assess where I am with my business, work and life. I need to determine the results I want to achieve, where I am falling short, and then the steps I need to take to accomplish them.
Thanks for a great, thought provoking post as always, Lynn.
Thanks for the wake-up call, Lynn!
Lynn your post today really make me look at what I doing. Most of the points are like a reflection of myself. I will keep this post in front of my pc to remind me daily.
Thank you Lynn for opening up this topic to make my life different today. It is like opening can of coke and letting go the gas. I am moving with this post.
"7. You make excuses instead of creating solutions"
Something you also should take care of in your relationship(s)
A great lesson for us marketers. Thanks for the great post Lynn.
wow..i really like this post.
you know what, i'm still doing what you wrote in this post..LOL..:(
must change the way i'm workin right now..
Wow such a short post yet so powerful! I'm printing this out on paper!
I found a CURE for #8 and #10!!!
I go stand beside a snail for 15 minutes and my self esteem is all better again! 😉
Gary Anderson II
Definitely, this is a list to print and stick where you can see it. I had not stopped to think about some points and now I find myself guilty in one or another. Thanks!
"You spend the majority of your day doing “busy work” instead of Priority Tasks"
Wow, that hit me hard. Like, in a good way.
I became aware a while ago that me "being busy" constituted valid work, and realised after not getting the results I wanted was avoiding the key steps necessary to get where I want to be.
I hadn't thought of it in terms of "priority tasks," this really sums me up nicely on some days 🙂
Thanks Lynn,
Chris Webb
P.S - discovered your blog via @sugarrae!
Useful list, am usually affected with #7. once a problem is known the best step to take is to find solution rather than giving excuses or pounding on what the problem is.
Thanks
Hi Lynn,
I think the points that you stated here are all so very true. However I understand what Deb is saying.
I know your good heart, so I know that when you write this you are trying to help others get in gear 😉 .
Some people have really tough skin and can take these truths stated like this.
Others are more sensitive and when they read these truths, it will make them feel awful about themselves and really guilty.
The guilt will then put them into a self defeating tail spin of negative self talk. And instead of them being inspired and motivated, they end up feeling worse and getting less done.
I understand that sometimes we all just need a wake up call. Other times we need to be really, really gentle on ourselves to move out of a bad state.
I know this because I had deep depression for two years after a whole bunch of my family members died in a small time frame. (8 family members in 6 months, 5 of them in 45 days). I also suffered a whole bunch of awful things that triggered my depression....
It's important to realize that if someone has low self esteem or suffers from anxiety or depression, when they read something that states that they are at fault, it doesn't help them at all.
I personally didn't feel guilty reading this because I work 8 to 10 hours a day and have gotten several monetizable keywords to rank. So it didn't bug me. However, those that haven't been able to achieve this might feel bad.
I have also found many cases of those who work like crazy online and can't seem to get enough visitors from the search engines because they lack SEO knowledge and skills. So there are those who are really trying their best but aren't achieving their goals because of other factors.
When I studied NLP (neuro linguistic programming) one of the things we learned was that certain words schock our minds into paralysis. Other words inspire and calm us down. Studies have shown that the mind is able to produce more when in a relaxed state. So I am constantly wording things in such a way that it tranquilizes me and moves me forward and produces positive energy.
Like I said… I know how much effort and love you put into helping other people succeed online ( you have personally helped me many times), so it’s clear that you want this to motivate others. I just wanted to explain another perspective.
Blessings to you,
Eren
All tips are because of professional experience. Without dedication and determination you can not get success in your field.