One of the most comforting Scriptures to me is in Zechariah 4:10. In that scripture the Lord tells us to “not despise the day of small beginnings” because “the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”
In working with thousands of clients over the past 20 years, I have seen the exact opposite of that Scripture played out.
- We do not like small beginnings.
- We do not like small results.
- We do not like small anything!
And yet, everyone whose name you know as being successful, from actors to business people to online marketers, started small.
The “overnight success” is a myth.
When you dig a little deeper, you will find that almost all “overnight successes” got that way after YEARS (and sometimes decades) of bone-aching work and effort.
While I do believe that Malcom Gladwell is right in saying that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, I also know that success can come much sooner than that.
I’ve seen it happen and had it happen to me.
In thinking about success, and what it really takes to succeed online, these observations come to my mind. They are principles more than observations.
I share them in hopes they help you.
Find Your Trusted Resource
This is perhaps the most vital first step. You simply must find someone you believe it and go all in on learning from them.
While you will not be able to “clone” or “hack” their success, you will save time, money and heartache if you find an experienced person you trust and learn from them.
Have you found your Trusted Resource? Leave a comment and let me know.
Commit To A Proven Process
Just recently there was a product launch that was trashing the idea of using a sales funnel. They said things like this during their launch …
- It’s too complicated!
- It takes too much time to set up!
- Funnels are over – the future is the ________ (insert the name of their product)
It’s sad really to see a fine company feeling the need to trash another company just to sell their product.
That aside, I get that their method works and they are excited about it.
The point is this – whether you go with content marketing, video marketing, Facebook marketing, sales funnels, or something else, you need to choose YOUR method and commit to it.
Here’s the truth – ANY of these methods can work. And one of then WILL work for you when you find the one that fits you.
And finding that fit comes down to three steps.
- Stop reading all the hyped up one-click-wonder emails.
- Ask someone you trust (ideally, your trusted resource) what they think will fit you.
- Be willing to give ONE thing a solid try before thinking it “won’t work for you”.
Get Real About Where You Are
When I speak with people they are always shocked at my enthusiasm for their failures.
You read that right … I get excited when people tell me about their failures! The reason I do is simplicity itself.
The fact that they came up short means they took action and tried something!
I have one former client who thought they knew everything (literally every idea I offered they “already knew that”) but never took action.
- Never wrote a blog post.
- Never even curated a blog post.
- Never ran an ad.
- Never wrote a follow up email.
- Never chose a product to promote.
Believe me, I’m not judging. But I am saying this – that person very much despised the day of small beginnings. They wanted BIG. They wanted NOW.
And that person spent over $200,000 chasing shiny objects.
Get Real About Where You Want To Be
I had a client get super ticked off at me when I told him that going from $0 per month online to $50,000 per month online in 3 months was not going to happen.
Yes, $50,000.
And yes, SUPER ticked off. I mean he called me such names!
He even tried to prove to me with math that it could be done. While I understood the math, I also understand the real world.
And $0 to $50K PER MONTH in less than 90 days ain’t the real world.
He concluded that the whole Internet thing was a scam and so he quit.
BIG QUESTION – Where do YOU want to be 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year from now?
If you are not sure of the answers, then that is your starting point.
After all, like Zig Ziglar said, “you can’t hit a goal you can’t see.”
Conclusion
Here’s the bottom line for me. What I’m going to say to you now has been proven by my own experience, my clients’ experiences, and by over 4000 one to one consulting calls.
Any person of reasonable intelligence who is willing to make a sincere effort can expect to succeed if they have a trusted resource to help them and they follow a proven process.
And yes, I did use the “e” word … EXPECT to succeed.
Because when you plan to succeed AND you prepare to succeed you can and should EXPECT to succeed!
I can say that in integrity simply because it’s true. It’s proven. If you follow a proven plan, one tailored for your situation, and you never give up, success will follow.
And success, on your own terms, is a beautiful thing indeed!
