Oh Yeah! I just won and I’ll be working with the Ottman. Sweet

I absolutely love this morning. Let me explain -  I just went over to Iain Buchanan’s blog (www.iainbuchanan.me) and found out that I just won his little contest.

Sweet.

And my prize… I get to have Michael Ottman design my blog header. And boy does my header need design. I’m really bad at designing stuff and I only know this because I try again and again. With this blog I haven’t even decided so I’m still with the default (which is a definite no no). It looks like this

Definitely not eye candy. With this header I’ll have to work even harder to get people to read my blog. And even though I put quality and valuable information on it, it’s harder when you have a bland-sort-of-default-kind-of-a header.

Now working with a designer is usually no fun at all. The image you think of is very hard to describe to another person, so you’ll be disappointed again and again. The designer usually goes back and forth with several designs and you compromise more often than not.

But I’ve seen the type of work Michael Ottman has done and I have to tell you that as far as I’m concerned, he can design whatever he sees fit. I’m willing to bet it’ll be a blast!

So I’m off to work with the Ottman. You’ll see the result next time you read this blog. And once you do I’d like to get your opinion on his handy work.

Now where did I place his contact info?….

Just found a great system to organize your office to stay on track…FREE! :)

I just stumbled upon a great little ebook that’s only 4 pages but it will make you like a 1000% more effective.

I really love these super short books with no fluff that give you the information you need and nothing else. Don’t you hate it when you need to read a 50 page book that really boils down to just a handful of pages with useful information?!

Anyway, enough rambling. Here’s the link to directly download this little gem (and thank you Petra for sharing it with me) Getting Organized – Your Home Office

I hope this helps you. It’s so crucial to stick to your plan and part of that is stayting organized and focused. Read it and tell me what you think…

I absolutely, undeniably, really really HATE planning

I hate planning. It goes against my nature. It’s the exact opposite of who I am.

If you’re in a new situation and you need to improvise, make hard decisions quick and just go for it – then I’m your guy.

But planning?!!! I absolutely hate it.

That’s why I struggle when I do it, but I MUST do it.

Because building a business is all about consistency. It’s about building an entity that can survive without you (hopefully because you’re on the beach drinking something with an umbrella in it). And for that you need to plan.

Planning is also crucial to get focus. You know what your target is and you’ve planned ahead so you de-construct your target into smaller, more manageable tasks. And with each task you accomplish, you’re one step nearer your target.

If you fail to plan, you’ll get distracted.

If you fail to plan, you’ll not be effective.

If you fail to plan, you’ll waste time. And time is the only real limitation you have. Ever.

In short, if you fail to plan all you’re really doing is planning to fail.

I do not want to fail but I’ve been running around in circles. That’s why I’m grateful for my mentor for drilling this into me – plan, plan and plan. Before you start running, plan so you’ll know where you want to go. Only then start running.

If you don’t plan you’ll run faster and faster but never reach your target. That’s what’s been happening to me. I made some money online but it wasn’t what I set out to do.

I’m ashamed to admit that my failure to plan has probably held me back in all other aspects of life, not just my online endeavours.

But I will plan even if I have to drag myself kicking and screaming to do it. Before learning any new tactic, before reading another ebook, before anything else I aim to plan.

I’ve actually gone out and bought an overly-bright-glow-in-the-dark-orange-faced notebook and I write down all of my tasks planned out for the day. I need to do this for a week but hey, I’m still struglling with this so give me a tiny break. I promise to start planning the whole week in advance very shortly.

I also made a major 12 month plan, and de-constructed that into monthly plans.

It sounds like a small thing but I believe planning is the real difference between those that make it online and the amateurs. And that’s why I’ll keep struggling with it. It’s that important!

The #1 Reason People Fail Online

My wife is a doctor and she always tells me that being able to find the problem, being able to articulate it, is most of the diagnosis. After that, the solution is almost there.

If you’ve read Rich Schefren, he says the same about business. It’s true in all aspects of life.

So let’s tackle the big fish – what is the #1 reason people fail online?

If you understand this and you’re not making what you would like to make online (like most everybody out there online), then understanding this will get you a lot closer to the solution of your problems. Real close.

So let’s cut right to it – the #1 reason people fail online is… information overload.

Yes, I know you’ve already heard about it. You might have also suspected it. But if you’re failing online then you haven’t really got it yet have you. Let’s dig deeper to try and help you get it. Because once you get it and take the extra small step to eradicate your problem, you’ll be home free.

Information overload.

It’s what hits you face on when you log on. Especially if you’re new and want to ‘make money online’, that’s what hits you full force when you enter the world of internet marketing.

First off, research shows that when someone is faced with a lot of choices, they tend to stop and analyze and fail to take action. And we all know the internet is full to the brim with multiple choices. So if this is you and you have not taken action, that’s what’s stopping you. At least for now because nothing ain’t gonna get done unless you take action!

But that’s not all. Information overload has another under the radar, sneaky way to make you fail. I guess everyone understands that without action nothing really happens. So my first point is almost obvious. But many people do take action and they still fail. Why?

It’s because information overload also clogs the brain with a lot of ideas, and without a way to unclog your brain, you will not be focused and you’ll waste the only real asset at your disposal – time.

Let me go slow with this because it’s that important.If you take action like everyone tells you to and you still aren’t living the dream lifestyle – this is probably why. So let’s go slow to make sure you get it, so then you can blast this problem away.

As internet marketers, we are all knowledge workers. And we all work with our brain to generate complete businesses and cash. It is vital that we understand ways to help our brain cope with information overload so that it won’t get in our way. You see, too much information clogs the brain. For me it was like a fog wrapped around my brain. Literally, that’s what it felt like. I had all the information I needed, but never had a clear focus as to what EXACTLY do I need to do next.

I’ve read and know a ton about setting up a sales funnel, optins, squeeze pages, article writting, squidoo lens building, blogging, setting up traffic, auto responders, email lists, twitter…. The list goes on and on. I know a lot but that didn’t help me. It was because I was using my limited time not doing the best actions to propel my online business.

And that’s the hidden problem. You take action but it’s not leveraged. You don’t know exactly what your best next action needs to be and that’s because your mind is too clogged to help you focus.

The solution? Dump all of what you need to do on a piece of paper.

I know it sounds silly at first. But this isn’t some sort of new age hippey thing. We won’t be singing kumbya next. But dumping everything you need to do onto a piece of paper enables the mind to ‘let go’ because the information won’t be lost – it’s documented on a piece of paper. That’s how the mind is at ease with letting go.

We don’t really know how the mind works, but we know that this helps clear your mind. Which in turn enables it to let you focus.

Now the next question is how to manage your tasks for maximum effectiveness so you’ll be well on your way to making it online sometime this year, not sometime next decase, and I’ll be posting on my blog on how to do just that.

For now though, see if this is relevant to you and if you understand the problem completly. If not you can always comment on the blog to start our conversation. Remember, understanding and expressing your problem explicitly means almost all of the battle is won, and that your solution is very very near.

The Guru’s Slight Of Hand Trick

Have you ever been to a magic show, you know, the one where there’s a magician and he does all of these neat tricks?

Someone once told me that it’s all in the  “show” – while the magician is showing you one hand and driving your attention to that one hand, it’s what’s going on in their other hand that is the illusion. Magicians can be so good at this that you can actually stand right next to one as they’re doing the magic trick, and you’ll never see how it’s done.

And the same goes on online.

I’m not here to say that the online gurus, the ones making millions, are here to trick you. No. They really do give tremendous value…

…BUT

they’re selling you the icing on the cake. And without the proper foundation, it won’t last.

It’s really good icing too. I mean their content is great and it does work if you apply it. But it doesn’t formulate the basis of a business.

Why sould you care as long as it works? Well, because your success will quickly stop. See, the money is made not by the products the gurus sell you. Nope. That’s the “show”. No, the money is actually made in their business. That product of theirs you just purchased is just one little thing in a very sophisticated business process. And that’s how the money is really made.

If you build a business it can sustain itself. A business can work whether you’re there or not (hopefully you’re on vacation). A business can grow. And if you don’t build a proper business you’re worst enemy could be success.

Huh?! Say what?!????

Yes, you heard me right.

Tell me, what happens if you actually make it online and then all of a sudden you MAKE IT online? I’m not talking about your online business doubling or even tripling. I’m talking about a growing 100 times overnight. 100 times! Do you think you’re online business can stand that? Do you think you’ve got all the processes in place to manage that torrent of suddent activity?

If you haven’t built a business correctly, or if you really haven’t built a business at all, then that kind of growth can cripple you. You may find yourself working every one of those 24 hours in a day, every day. You might have customers angry and blow your reputation online because of it. There could be several bad things that happen when you’re not ready for that kind of business.

But what do the gurus sell you? Just the icing. The latest technique. The latest strategy. The latest tool.

What’s lacking are the basics of business building. And that right there determines more than anything if you’ll succeed online or not.

That’s what’s lacking – business training. We are here for business, and you need to grasp the principles of business to be able to compete online for an extended period of time. Otherwise you’ll be chasing the latest and greatest over and over again.

I will be talking a lot about correct business building processes on this blog. If you get one thing out of this blog, make it this thing right here. It will serve you for life.