Back in 2001 or 2002 I went to my first ever marketing boot-camp. The event was hosted by Dave Dee in Atlanta. At the end of the event Dave handed out free copies of a book by Dan Kennedy, The Ultimate Success Secret. I had no idea the impact that book would have on me and my future.
You see, there really is one Ultimate Success Secret and it boils down to this:
ACTION!
That’s it. I know that many of you reading this maybe having trouble with such a simple concept so I’ll add a little to it. The Ultimate Secret is to decide what you really want, take Planned Action to get it and don’t stop until you get what you want!
Once you start to accept this and start taking consistent action great things will start to happen for you. You will start to see all the opportunities around you and you will start to capitalize on them.
I was never afraid of trying new things or even things I hadn’t perfected yet. When I was putting together a new magic show I had no problem adding in new material before the routine was perfect trusting that as I performed it the routine would take on a life of it’s own and develop naturally.
But I’m finding more and more often with the online entrepreneurs and consulting clients that I work with really struggle with taking action. Especially new action.
Here are a few reasons that they fail to act.
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Fear of mistakes or failure.
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They are unsure what action to take.
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They don’t trust themselves or their decisions.
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Analysis to paralysis. They are always seeking more information trying to learn the right way.
These are common problems that I see clients trying to deal with on a regular basis. The fact is I’ve had to deal with alot of these same issues myself. 20 years ago, I was a very angry person with a very negative outlook on life. I had very low self-estem because I was abused as a child. I struggled with alcoholism and co-dependency. I was in a deep state of depression.
As you can imagine i was not very outgoing. In fact I hated taking chances and would never try something new. With all of this going against me though I was still able to make some changes in my life. I began to take some different actions.
You see, we are all taking action in some form. It can be destructive or positive. Sitting on the couch coming up with reason why something won’t work is an action. Destructive action that takes far greater effort than you realize.
For me, it eventually (over the course of a few years) became easier to start taking more positive action because it took less effort. So if your struggling to get started here are some simple and painless Action Steps that helped me.
1) Start with just one thing. Don’t try to do everything at once. This can be as simple as you want it to be. For example writing one blog post or one forum post.
2) Try something new every week. Drive home a different way. Stop at a new restaurant. Go for a walk. Try something new with your website. Be consistent.
3) Take Your Mental Vitamins. I first heard of this from reading Think and Grow Rich. What it means is that your brain needs excersize and food the same as your body. The food for our brain is a constant stream of new ideas. That’s why I read a lot of business and marketing books. You can of course get these vitamines from anywhere. Favorite podcast. Favorite live networking event. Favorite online forum or membership site. You should be learning at least one new thing everyday so read up.
4) Get Support! I have been truely blessed with friends and family who care about me and my success. Not only is this a basic human need but it is essentail to all success. No one gets there alone. I happen to have the ultimate success network in my corner that I can draw on at any time. If you are struggling with this in your own circle of friends take a look at online forums, social media groups, special interest groups and mastermind groups. Each of the areas has a lot to offer in terms of support.
Once you start getting comfortable taking action you need to kick it into overdrive. Next time we’ll talk about taking planning and massive action!
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