A Frog Story (And A Business Lesson)
I heard this story a while ago and then heard another version of it today so I thought I would share with you my own version of it...
One day there were two frogs hopping through a farmyard when they came across a bucket of fresh milk. Now both the frogs were very fond of milk and since the bucket was only half full they decided to jump into the bucket to enjoy a nice drink of fresh milk.
Inside the bucket they were both deliriously happy as they drank their fill of the delicious milk. After a while they had had enough so they decided to hop out again. Unfortunately they had both drunk so much milk that they couldn't manage to get out.
They hopped about but no matter how hard they seemed to try it seemed like an insurmountable task to get back out of the bucket.
Some of the other farm animals came over to see what was going on and when they saw the 2 frogs struggling to get out they started laughing and shouting abuse at the 2 frogs.
"Look at the fat useless frogs!". "What pathetic creatures you are!". "You'll both end up getting pasteurized and ending up as a bottle of semi-skimmed!!"
Oh, how the other animals laughed and mocked the 2 frogs as they struggled to get out.
The frogs kept trying and trying to get out but they started to tire. One of the frogs started visibly weakening and his efforts to get out became more haphazard. This just made the other animals laugh even more and they jeered and mocked even louder than before as they enjoyed watching the struggle continue.
Eventually the first frog gave up trying and slumped back into the milk. He knew he was a failure and a quitter and so would never get out.
The other frog however refused to quit and it seemed like the louder the other animals jeered, the harder he tried. Eventually he managed to get a foot onto the edge of the bucket and pull himself out. He gave a big smile and a wave to the other animals that had been jeering him and then hopped off back to his pond.
A Silly Story? Or A Business lesson?
So why was it that one frog succeeded in getting out of the bucket while the other one failed miserably? The simple answer is that the frog who succeeded was deaf!
The frog who failed could see and hear the jeers and laughter of the others and succumbed to it. The deaf frog thought the other animals were cheering him on so he kept going until he succeeded.
In many ways your early days as an entrepreneur can be like this. You struggle and work hard to get success in your business but it seems like no matter what you do, the traffic won't come, the posts won't get ranked and the money just doesn't come in. It seems like everyone around you is doing better and you are just destined to fail. At that point you can be like the first frog and just give up.
However, if you can just adopt the "never say die" attitude of the deaf frog and be inspired by those who have succeeded and yearn to be like them, then you will keep trying to overcome all these problems until you succeed too.
Keep following the proven business system you have and eventually the traffic will come, the rankings will come and finally the sales will come too!
Which frog are you going to be like?
Ok, Hop to it!
Dave
Recent Comments
58
I love, love, love this post Dave - I've never heard the story before - it's a fantastic motivator! The posts this week have been incredibly motivating by our top posters - well done to all! In these times you never know when negativity is going to creep in - I have the odd moment, then tell myself off and away I go again like a Duracell Bunny! LOL!
Thanks Dave and hope you enjoyed your day off!
Hi Alex
Yes I had a productive day
Had a long walk with the dog this morning - enjoyed the sunshine!
This afternoon I got a blog post done on my site and a Youtube video uploaded too!
This evening I have waffled about frogs!
Glad you found the post motivating. Good job you are running on Duracell batteries. I'd hate for you to get toad away...
Dave
LOL!! LOL! LOL! Very witty Dave! If I was on my iPad now I would use the rolling eyes emoji! You make me laugh almost daily!
Great that you enjoyed some leisure time and then banged out a blog post and wow, a YouTube video (I wouldn't know where to start!).
You know when you hear a motivational story and think I'll bank that for a rainy day - I will definitely bring that back to the front of my mind when I need it - it's so true, if you block it out and don't listen to it then it can't affect you, but if you listen to it just for a short while it can drag you down. I know a lot of us suffer from family and loved ones who don't take this seriously and show no interest or put it down as a phase etc. We have to just switch off and crack on!
I'm waffling again..... I just talk and talk and talk......LOL!
Yeah I get the rolling eyes thing a lot from Jan! Both at my corny jokes and my attempts to build a digital business.
Did you manage to get those errors fixed by the way?
I deleted the plugin and they went away - the Google Analytics flatlining was something different but that was sorted by site support today, should be up and running with GA again tomorrow.
I have since found out that the plugin gives those errors to everybody since a year ago when Google adjusted its info requirements on product review plugins. Apparently Jay gets them too but they have no adverse affect on your site and they can just be ignored.
I've searched everywhere for a decent product review plug in but most of them give you star reviews for your site but I want them for the products I'm reviewing so I may be limited to using that one. A lot of people are using it on here, all with the same errors but just ignoring them. I'm a bit of a perfectionist though and like everything to be how it should be so I'm not sure if I could mentally cope with knowing my site had errors showing up LOL! I just wasted four days of content writing trying to sort the problem out - so I'm undecided at the moment, should I or shouldn't I? Maybe I will or maybe I won't? Hmmmmm I just can't make up my mind ;-)
Lol - if only someone could write you a blog post on decision making to help you out!
That's interesting about the errors showing up when you use the plugin. I didn't like it either when they all showed up in Console. Surely there must be an option we can use that doesn't result in an error-fest!
Thank you for sharing such a humorous and inspirational story and for putting a much needed smile on my face!
I know it's been a while since you posted about receiving your PPE but just wanted to give a quick Hallelujah!!! Whew! I know it didn't arrive a minute too soon!
It's good to see you're safe at work!
Susan
Hi Susan
I'm glad you enjoyed the story and happy to hear that it made you smile too!
Yes the PPE is welcome although it does give me a headache every day. I think it's a combination of having the elasticated strap round my head and straining to see through the plastic visor.
Beats catching the bug I suppose!
Thanks
Dave
I hear ya. I only wear two masks at work - a Level 3 with a level 1 over it. If I'm with a patient that is Covid positive or they are waiting on the Covid test results, I add the shield or goggles and an N-95.
I'll never take the ability to just breathe normally and freely outside my home again!
Yes it definitely makes you appreciate things a bit more!
I know there are areas within the healthcare profession that are struggling to get the right protection so I'm certainly grateful to have what I have.
Stay safe
Dave
This week's course work I'm ploughing through, is all about 'belief' and mindset. This fits perfectly, the bonus is that I've not heard it before. Thanks Dave.
Hi Twack
I'm glad to hear that I have brought a new story to you and very pleased to hear it fits in with what you are doing right now.
All the best
Dave
Okay Twack, that's the second time I have seen you say about coursework. Can I be nosy and ask what you are studying? It sounds very interesting, with mindset and beliefs etc, along the lines of things I have studied in the past.
Uncannily so and the more times this kind of thing happens, the more the 'point' is reinforced.
I missed this reply Linda, so apologies for my tardiness. I have signed up for the Click Funnels 'One funnel away challenge' 30 days of training. This week has all been about getting into the right mindset, hence the 'belief' and so on.
It was something I wanted to have a look at last year but had to wait until Xmas, so it could be classed as a present.
Ahh that makes sense but is nothing like I have learnt. Click funnels look complicated. Good luck.
Hi Twack
Now that's an eye-opening piece of news!
Please let us know how you get on with the one funnel away challenge - would definitely like to hear your experiences.
Thanks
Dave
Absolutely. I talked about it in this post: Sometimes You Just Have To Let It Go. I'm hoping to give regular updates on 'what's occurring' as and when it happens.
The first five days have all been about mindset and belief. Also plenty of the 'success' stories.
Luckily, on the first day, they explained the workings of a funnel, in layman's terms and the penny dropped, thank goodness.
Day after tomorrow I think it starts to break down the individual components, so that will be when the head scratching starts in earnest.
Thank you Linda. On first appraisal, I would say it is probably easier than configuring a website.
It's like those books that used to be the rage, where you could choose which page to go to depending on how you wanted the story to go.
You could set one up inside your website, each page only has links to certain other pages, that's pretty much it.
Sounds like a good idea but complicated. I used to read a lot but never actually read one of those books.
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What a great story, I too have never heard this story, sounds like it’s a sort of Aesop fable, if not it should be.
Thank you for sharing, I can see how this type of negativity, when ongoing and constant, would indeed change how you look at the world, your goals and dreams. I can sometimes be my very own jeering animals and talk myself back down into the bucket of doom, and other times the deaf and determined frog who is oblivious to all naysayers (including myself)
One of the brilliant side effects of reduced hours in my 9-5 is I get the chance to engage more with my WAmily. It’s you and people like you who are my cheering farm animal squad. 👍💥
Hi Cordelia
I am happy to be horsing around for you!
Yes I think we can all identify with both frogs. Sometimes it's hard to continue when you feel you have given it everything and not got the returns you hoped for. That's when it's good to be able to tune out the negativity and press on anyway!
Enjoy the weekend!
Dave