When it comes to many of the things we face in our lives, we will someday say “I wish I had” or “I’m glad I did”.
Forgiveness is like that. At some point we will say “I wish I had forgiven that person” or “I’m glad I forgave him or her”.
Our online businesses are like that too.
We look back over our past experiences, be that months, weeks or years, and wish we had done things differently. Many of us have regrets.
- We wish we had built a bigger list.
- We wish we had created more products.
- We wish we had done more joint ventures.
- We wish we had published more articles.
These sorts of regrets are natural. There are only 24 hours in a day, and so very many shiny objects to distract us.
So how can we avoid having regrets next week, next month or next year?
I believe there are three steps.
1. Realize that no one can do everything.
One trap we fall in is comparing ourselves to others. We see big time marketers having million dollar launches and think that should be us.
What we don’t consider is this –
- They have a network of contacts we don’t have.
- They promote each other’s products (hard) and have a tight-knit circle that is hard to penetrate.
- They have staffs and resources (and budgets) we just don’t have.
So step 1 is easy – don’t compare yourself to others.
Compare your progress to what you are capable of doing now.
If you don’t like your results now, gain more capability by taking steps 2 and 3 below.
Remember, the key is not what you know but what you do with what you know.
2. Have a plan that you own.
Everyone who is trying to make money online needs a plan. We all need a Roadmap that we own.
What do I mean by “a Roadmap that we own”?
Simply this – your plan needs to be your plan.
It needs to fit you in three basic areas …
- Time
- Money
- Passion
If you find something that fits all three, whether that is affiliate marketing, creating products, consulting or content marketing, you will find your success.
The key here is ownership.
When you own your plan of action, when you create it for yourself, then you will not be tempted by shiny objects or swayed by the “flavor of the month” marketing tactic.
If you don’t have plan that you own today, you can make one right here.
3. Focus on tomorrow’s activity tonight.
There has been so much written on time management and how to get things done that it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the very idea.
But one of the things that has stood the test of time is this – if you write down tonight the top 5 things you must get done tomorrow, and prioritize the list, you will get more done.
Whether you are a paper-planner based person, have gone completely digital or somewhere in between, this simple step works.
It works because it lends focus and keeps us in “day tight” compartments.
If you believe, as I do, that a successful life is a series of successful days, then this one tip can change things for you in a big way.
Regret is a negative and soul-sucking emotion. Avoiding it is wise. But we all have some level of regret in our lives.
What we can do now, today, is this – we can use the regret we feel to spur us to action today, and take those actions today that avoid regret in the future.
When you do those things, in life and in business, you will be doing a beautiful thing indeed!
