So, I got an email from a reader. This person will remain unnamed, but it spawned this blog post.
While I’m removing some of the text, this section is left unmodified. I’m going to BOLD the parts I want to focus on.
I just feel bad that I am not rich and knowledgeable enough to be in your blog master club . But I am not sure if blogging is what I want to do . It seems like a lot of work. I was thinking more about getting a web site, and making it work, and then automating it . And then have a few of them going . My goal is to put 125,000 a month in my pocket after tax and what ever it cost to do business. I have followed doing business on line for awhile now . And I am not able to make anything work. I realize now it is me . I need to work on myself first and then get a site up and make it work. But it cost lots of money to be able to see someone to get the help I need . So I feel stuck were I am . But I will never stop trying ! Again thank you David for everything you do ! And no matter what STAY REAL !
I would imagine that this email probably reflects the thoughts of many.
But, I’m going to lay it out there. And I’m going to tell it like it is. That’s what people expect from me. Let’s take this one thing at a time…
“I just feel bad that I am not rich and knowledgeable enough…”
This statement is rooted in a feeling of inadequacy. It is an excuse. While this person (I’ll say “he” from now on, just to keep it simple) is saying this because he can’t afford my Blog Masters Club program, that is really only an apparency.
“It seems like a lot of work.”
So, he is looking for a “get rich quick” scheme. Something with a paint-by-numbers, guaranteed income. You blindly follow some “system”, and out comes money if it is done in the proper order. Right?
Wrong. Common sense tells us those things don’t work. Any real business takes a lot of work. What I do is no different. And, the moment I hear that somebody is trying to make this work while avoiding work, I know they have already failed.
“… then automating it.”
Again, this is the avoidance of work. You don’t automate what you can’t yourself do. Automation comes AFTER the process has been mastered, documented, then properly handed over to another.
The Internet seems to further this idea of automated riches. It is true that one CAN create an automated business online, but if they think they can do that while also avoiding work, they’re lying to themselves.
“I have followed doing business online for awhile now.”
So, what’s stopping you, then? It is one thing to read “make money online” stuff just so you can cling to a dream. But, it is quite another to actually read this stuff with a firm eye on APPLYING it and taking action.
If one has been reading “make money online” stuff for awhile and still hasn’t generated the first buck, then the problem is within.
“I am not able to make anything work. I realize now it is me.”
Yes, it is. And part of it is your viewpoint of yourself and your own abilities. The very fact that you say something about yourself like “I am not able to make anything work.” WOW. What an insult to yourself!
As long as you are talking yourself down (and this email was laced with it), it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“But, it costs lots of money”.
No, it doesn’t. It takes lots of action and work (which you’ve already said you don’t want to do). Money isn’t the problem. Money is just a representation of energy. Money is a form of energy. And, you’re not willing to dedicate much energy to what you want. So, obviously, you’re not willing to put much money there, either.
“… to get the help I need.”
It sounds, here, like there is an expectation that the only way to succeed is to have those who came before you take you by the hand and guide you. That’s not necessarily the case at all.
Information products can help fill in gaps and provide specific strategies to get where you want to be. But, YOU have to bring the drive and the direction. And “make more money” isn’t a drive or direction. That’s a result. That’s an outcome. Not a “why” or a “what”.
“I feel stuck.”
Given all these self-imposed limitations, I bet you do. But, the walls are illusions.
My Parting Thoughts
I don’t write this post in order to be mean or make fun of anyone. I just know that these thoughts aren’t uncommon in this niche. In fact, many marketers seem to foster it and it creates a trap for people who are ripe for being trapped. The person who wrote this email is almost the ideal prospect if one was a dishonest online marketer in it only for the money. The only thing that comes up short is the fact that this person is short on money.
But, this person is looking for answers. He thinks they are to be found in expensive products. And he seems to believe the false dream that this online income can be generated without doing much work.
The difference between one who succeeds in online business and one who doesn’t is NEVER the amount of money they started with, finding the right info product to follow, getting to know the right “guru”. Those things form only a fraction of a possible picture.
What is consistent in ALL who make it is this…
- They’re passionate.
- They’re willing to work their ass off. Not only willing to, but they actively do it each and every day.
- They don’t make excuses for themselves.
- They don’t approach the world as if they’re a bottom feeder looking for the right lucky combination.
- They’re producers, not consumers.
- They’re willing to be personally responsible for the outcome, because they realize that it rests on THEM, not some “guru”.
It starts with a decision.
Are you going to do it “maybe”, “if X doesn’t happen”, “if I can get some money together”, “if I can find more time”…. ?
Or are you just going to DO IT?
David has been blogging for 15 years, and generating a six-figure income at it for the last 12. He is the founder of Blog Marketing Academy. 
David Risley has been building and operating authority blogs for 15 years, and operating a six-figure business doing it for a decade.
I agree with you on this
Boom.
I couldn’t agree more with everything you just said. I’ve received my fair share of these emails, and my responses have been virtually the same.
Excuses don’t exist. If you want something, you go for it, even if it just means doing one simple thing each day.
You have to be willing to put in the work and hustle your face off! Period. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it. If you’re not willing to do the work, just forget about it.
At times, it’s gonna suck. It’s gonna feel like you’re getting nowhere or like you’re not getting there fast enough. You have to have the grumption (is that the word I’m looking for?) to push through that. Then one day, when you least expect it, it all sorta comes together. You’ve mastered the process. Things are working, and your hard work is paying off. But that day will come only when you least expect it.
Till then, work your ass off!
I think you were looking for the word gumption. When I read it I thought you invented the word grumption to combine grumpy and gumption. Lie you had to get a nasty attitude to try harder. It was an enjoyable moment or two.
Heh, that’s right – drop the “r.” See, I less than half made it up
The information is this post is spot on. If you’re not willing to experiment, spend the money, AND the time to learn..then forget it. Nothing worthwhile in life comes without risk, especially educated and intelligent risks. Keep improving until you find the winning combination. See failure as way to make things better the second, third, and one hundredth time around.
I’m looking for call to actions like the one showed at the end of this post. Does anyone know where I can find it or how do I make it or what font?
The answer to that isn’t simple. The simple answer is that it is just a block of code put into the single.php file of my wordpress theme.
But, in my case, I have the ability to select one of many different pre-formed calls to action that I have set up. This took some custom coding on my part, and unfortunately, its too down-and-dirty (at this point) to think about distributing. But, perhaps maybe later.
awww shucks!! No chance at all…to make an exception?? For me???
Nice ass kicking post David. People need to take action or take their talk elsewhere. The world rewards people who action. It is controlled by people that make decision fast and move on.
SwitchTheFlip – it is just a block of code he placed in WP to show up after each post. You can do this in any WP install, but it is very easy in frameworks like Genesis.
This is perfect:
“You don’t automate what you can’t yourself do. Automation comes AFTER the process has been mastered, documented, then properly handed over to another.”
And I think the automation thing as even cool down a little bit, you simply can’t automate what you cant do yourself.
There is no magic wand to make the dough come out of your internet business without sitting down to do the business!
Whenever I said the word “if” as a kid, one or the other of my parents would say:
If the dog hadn’t stopped, he’d have caught the rabbit!
Same goes for business.
hilarious . you have point out the real mistakes of the time . good work.
It seems that there have been some wrong mindset about internet marketing. It would always be great to have right and exact mindset about internet marketing. You should always focus and aim for your goal.
great article
Good post! I would also add one more point. If you want to make money you have to think of your activites as a business with real customers. You can’t make money without providing something of value to a customer. And generally you only make profits when they become a repeat customer.
Hey David,
You got me at “They’re producers, not consumers.” that pretty much sums it up for me.
Something that seems so basic, yet so many fail to understand it.
Sergio
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Small bits of content which are explained in details, helps me understand the topic, thank you!