A Kind But Potentially Poor Piece Of Advice
So what was the advice? It was...
‘just keep doing what you are doing – it will happen’
Now this isn’t a direct quote because I’m not trying to criticise the person who made it. I wasn’t part of their conversation and I don’t know in which context it was made.However, It’s a comment that experienced members often use when they’re trying to encourage others who are still trying to reach their own level of success at internet marketing.
And what’s wrong with that? After all if the sales haven’t started coming through, with persistence and patience they will start coming through ...
BUT ..
And it’s a big but. The problem with that piece of advice is that it’s not necessarily true. It only works if the person listening to this advice is doing the ' right' thing.So what do I mean? What is the right thing?
Well that’s a question that I can’t actually answer because there are lots of extremely successful members at WA who work in different ways. However, there are things that they have in common which I think can be summarised as -
They set goals, take action, review, make changes and take action again – over and over again.
Sounds simple doesn’t it? And surely it’s something we all do?Sadly no. Too many of us get entrenched in the same old habits eg
- Running too many sites simultaneously
- Not setting clear goals
- Working hard but not working smart
- Being inflexible
- Wasting time on things that don’t matter
- Failing to plug skills gaps
- Failing to learn and review
- Not listening
- Not asking questions
- Keep on with something that clearly isn’t working
- Letting dips in motivation get out of hand
So if you’re not yet tasting the success you want and someone suggests that you ‘just keep doing what you’re doing...’ Stop and ask yourself whether it's advice you should follow right now. If it is great - it may just be a matter of time before the sales come pouring in. But sometimes doing the same thing over and over again won't be the right strategy. It might just be time for that review.
Recent Comments
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Yes working smarter is the answer, working harder is just working harder....
I wish I could say I work smarter all the time, but alas no I cannot, but I do catch myself doing the right thing more often and that is a good thing...
It takes many of mistakes to work smarter sometimes....and yes renewing or learning new skills does sometimes take a back seat and it shouldn't.....sometimes I am on track and sometimes not sure where the hell I am.....but I do continue....because the next time is the right one....:)
I think we all need to regroup at times and take a look at where we actually are.....not so true when first starting out but as you go down the road questions must be asked....
I find it helps to getting back on track and a new sense of accomplishment...
Good Advice.....Thanks Beverley
Thanks Tim. You're not alone in struggling to work smarter Even with the best of intentions it's not always easy to get it right and as you say it's important to regroup to get back on track.
Thanks for the post, Beverley. I enjoyed reading it, and it helps remind me to refocus and ask questions in certain areas of my own practice.
I think most people want to be supportive of others, and sometimes we fall easily into a trap of verbally patting someone on the back to encourage them when they're feeling frustrated.
It's sometimes hard to remember there are things we could offer that may hit a little harder initially, but be much more helpful in the long run---constructive criticism, a thorough evaluation of one's behavior and actions, or sometimes just that hard truth of saying, "Great effort, but it's wasted in this direction...how about letting that go and trying this instead?"
And that's true whether we're offering the advice to others, or supporting ourselves through this kind of scrutiny. :-)
Thanks Danielle. Glad you enjoyed it. I agree most people do want to be supportive. It can also be difficult to judge whether people are really asking for advice or just asking for approbation.
Hi Beverley,
Another good eye opening blog. I know I drive people (or person) crazy with my questions sometime but this blog helps me understand why.
I need to focus more, listen better and work smarter. I'm sure Rich would be glad to hear me say these things. I will try and respect others time more and not be so distracted...trying to multi-task like I used to before kids seems to be a thing of the past, I obviously don't possess these skills any longer. Coming to this realization is not easy :(
Thanks for the enlightenment, always a pleasure to be "schooled" by you :).
Patty :)
Hi Patty.
Don't stop asking questions. You will be successful because you do ask questions and you do respond to good advice. You've done a lot in a short time - so be kind to yourself.
Despite my obvious willingness to speak my mind, I actually don't ask questions a lot and it's a weakness that has caused me to waste a lot of time. (Rich would probably disagree with that one!)
One thing I've noticed with learning things in general, if you ask enough questions, eventually you start answering them more than you ask.
Wow! Great Advice. I am guilty of the second to the last one > Keep on with something that clearly isn't working. I just can't hardly let one of my sites go that just doesn't work. So, I am not going to trash it. I just won't work on that one as much.
I am double checking on some of the other "bad habits" too on that list. I will take them to heart and do a really good self-analysis.
Thank you for your wonderful advice as you usually always give.
Love it.
Hi Mary
I think we've all hung on too long to things at one time or another. It's not easy to let go when you've invested a lot of your time - but sometimes you just have to accept that it's not working and move on.
Very good points Beverley, and I could have been the one who used that phrase. Worth rethinking how one responds to others. Thanks for the insight!
Thanks Shawn. It wasn't you. I'm sure it's something that I've said at times because you don't want to discourage people and it does take different amounts of time for people to achieve success - but I also know that sometimes we're not helping people.
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Great post. I'm learning to not only set goals but ensure I have a vision and direction for my site. It would be great (should say will be great) when the money starts to come but right now I need to back up and not just blindly write without a plan but plan my direction and stay true to my vision. I've found that when I look at my keyword research it starts to organize itself into a coherent direction. I then see that I need to write this before I write that. Hope this makes sense.
Hi Rick - it makes sense. It's really important to have some direction and not just work without a plan. I often find my keyword research helps to set that direction.