Are you struggling to generate a meaningful income online? You may be sabotaging your efforts without even knowing it.
I know, because I struggled early on in my business, just like everyone else. And it can be stressful – especially if you let your brain start focusing on the wrong things.
This year marked 21 years since I started my online business. Wow, time flies.
That’s right, I haven’t had had a job in over 20 years.
No, I’m not unemployed. I make my living in my spare time online. And maybe you can too.
If you can avoid these 7 self-sabotaging thoughts I describe below.
Not being able to recognize these seven fears is exactly what keeps most people from succeeding online. You’ll find them right after today’s top sponsor ad..
Here are some of the thoughts I had to overcome, and you will to:
- Can I really make significant money online or is it a pipe dream?
- Why it’s taking so long to start making money – maybe I’m not cut out for this!
- What is my significant other going to think or say or do if I keep failing?
- Why would anyone want to buy anything from me when there’s so much free online?
- Hey, that other marketer’s new site/product/business is better than mine, I can never match that!
- All those other marketers are so far ahead of me in my niche already, did I miss the boat?
- Maybe I should forget this whole thing.
Have you ever had any of those thoughts? If not, you would be a rare breed. I know that personally, I had them all. They usually crept in when I had a $0 day and I was reviewing my goals that night. Man, it was a bummer.
But here’s the thing…
If you start having any of those thoughts, you need to recognize them as 100% normal, then immediately refocus your mind onto something productive.
The thing is, your project is not guaranteed to succeed. That’s why the very term “entrepreneur” is congruent with “risk taker”. The risk in this case is failure of a web-based project to be profitable. Fortunately, the monetary risk involved online can be kept quite minimal.
You just need to play it smart, and you’ll keep potential losses to a bare minimum. For starters, if you’re just getting started in online business, don’t quit your job yet.
Heck, don’t even tell anyone other than maybe your significant other, what you’re attempting. This takes some of the pressure off. I kept my job for months after my web income surpassed my take home pay. I didn’t even tell anyone what I was doing until I was doing really well.
You can do all this online business stuff part-time a few hours a night. I know it’s no fun working a regular job then working the web at night. I’ve been down that road. But it was worth the short-term sacrifice!
I used to keep a small tape recorder in my car to record ideas and sales copy on my way to and from work. I had a one hour commute each way so it was like getting two extra hours on my business every day. Plus, it kept my mind focused on things that make a real difference.
If you are focusing your thoughts on any of those seven items above, then you are focusing on the fear of failure. That is wasted energy. Even if you fail in your first project, it does not mean you failed completely. That does not happen until you choose to give up completely.
In fact, each failure should be looked at as a learning experience. I’ve put up many web properties over the years and continue to build. Some of the web properties have been huge hits, others were mildly successful, and some flopped so badly they weren’t worth renewing the domain name. But when I put them all together, they add up to one thing – they have enabled me to make a living online in my spare time.
As I mentioned, I’ve been doing this since 1996, and that’s longevity compared with many other marketers who’ve come and gone through the years. My point is, I know my strategies work.
I’ve proven that you can do everything on a shoestring budget. You can rely on free and low cost traffic solutions and smart marketing such as email list leveraging, affiliate marketing, and multiple monetizing strategies.
If I had to summarize the key to succeeding at online business it would be this…
It takes a steady effort, a good dose of patience and above all, focus.
So make me a promise right now. Whenever one of those fears starts creeping in, you’ll refocus on something that will grow you business. Here are some things you can immediately redirect your mind to…
- What do people in my niche really need?
- How can I create a simple product that will solve a problem for them?
- Who is doing great in my niche and how can I emulate their strategies?
- How are they growing their following and their traffic?
- Who are some of the marketers in my niche that I can reach out to and form JV’s with?
- What are the top products or services in my niche that I can recommend and earn a commission?
Asking yourself those questions instead of the fear based questions is truly the secret formula to success online or off. Countless entrepreneurs make a comfortable living focusing on those questions on a regular basis.
I realize it is a sizable mind shift for many people. It was for me and it may be for you as well. But it is well worth the effort! I did it and you can too.
To your success,
Jim Daniels
P.S. Want to grow an income online but don’t have the expertise or the time? I can help…
Watch this video I made for you.
It may just change your life in 2018 and beyond.
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