Sit Rep
I am sitting here as usual on my mornings, after having checked emails as per usual (and having deleted literally hundreds of spam mails, also as per usual) and having read through today's Social Media posts and updates.
And after having read through I don't really remember how many articles and having watched a bunch of videos, some of them several times.
It's been weeks since my last post here or elsewhere and literally nothing has changed.
I read, I watch, I do what I read step by step, I create pages and delete them again.
Let me get this out of the way and repeat:
I am not dissing or bashing anyone here, nor the training material.
With that being said, I am beginning to think that maybe I am the first and only one in this community to think differently? Maybe my brain works differently than everybody else's?
Never, ever, in my entire work life (I am 46 now and started working at 16) have I spent weeks, if not months in trying to learn and/or do something and get nowhere, have literally nothing to show for.
And yes, I am aware that I am beginning to ramble here, but at least that shows that I am being open and honest about how utterly frustrated I feel.
Maybe it IS because of where I come from work wise, but one major thing that frustrates and eventually aggravates me to no end, is when I ask questions and get replies, but no answers.
Does that make sense to anyone?
I feel like I am in some Twilight Zone version of a Customer Service loop.
Ever since I started communicating with some members prior to signing up, I made it very clear that I was looking for someone to virtually take me by the hand, so to speak and guide me, mentor me, if you will. I made it very clear, that I don't have years to spend on trial and error.
Everybody I talked to assured me that this was exactly what I was looking for.
It is not. Again, not bashing anyone or anything, but it appears as if we were not speaking the same language.
When someone asks me "I don't know how to do this. Can you explain it to me and show me how?" I did and do just that - I explain how it works, then show how it works and accompany them on every step they do and correct mistakes, until they are able to do it on their own.
And I have trained a lot of people on a lot of different things over the past three decades roughly.
Never, ever, was my reaction to point them towards a list of videos, or send them to a bunch of posts or blogs or websites and then tell them to go find "all the information they need" there.
When I ask a simple, clear question, how can the answer be "this video will help explaining this to you"...?
If anything, videos and other "visual aids" are just that - AIDS, meaning something that aids, helps, assists in explaining something to someone, IN ADDITION to the training, explaining, teaching. Not "instead of".
Even more so, when it really does not, in some cases.
Again, maybe I am thinking too complicated, maybe I am asking the wrong questions, but I do not get answers to my questions.
I get a lot of motivational quotes, I get a lot of well wishes, and I get lots and lots of pointing at this or that video, site and/or book(s).
Also, so far, everybody I talked to (aside maybe from the two foundershere, but also elsewhere online), actually have one if not several other jobs, where they seem to actually make their living off of, while working on their blogs and online businesses.
You have fitness coaches who own their own gyms or work as personal trainers, you gave writers who sell their books and/or work for newspapers, etc., and/or have office jobs elsewhere, you have retired CEOs, CFOs, all kinds of former and/or current managers, lots and lots of combinations of what seems like "real life job" and "dream world online job". Again, not intending to offend anyone, please, please don't get me wrong. I have the greatest respect for anyone on here following their dreams and doing whatever it is they're doing.
Let me put this out there:
(again, aside from the founders and btw kudos to them and all the best)
is there anyone on here who actually makes a real living off of this?
Meaning, paying all of their bills off of this, without having any preexisting funding?
Without any side jobs?
I mean anyone who did not have so and so much in savings and/or owned whatever business before, etc., etc., etc. you get the idea?
And I am not even asking for numbers, don't get me wrong.
I am just getting the feeling that there is a lot of ambition and motivational speaking and shoulder patting, but essentially we are no more than a different version of Facebook.
Does that make sense to anyone?
I don't need motivation. I don't need quotes and shallow lines (again, no offense, but lines like "If you can dream it, you can do it" really do not explain how I make someone make a purchase, for example).
At this point, and running out of time and money, maybe I need to pay someone to give me what I need?
But isn't this (one of) the purpose of this, to NOT spend thousands on "consultants" and "advisors" and "experts" and such?
As I recall, everybody told me that this was "all you (I) will ever need and more to create and run a successful online business" and "all the help, coaching and advise" I could "ever ask for".
The way things are being described and sold to me, I can make millions off of any idea or product. Literally. Well, yes, given, there is always a chance for anything to happen, just by mere math. I can live off of writing about organic goat milk, and I can also win the lottery.
I am willing to put this dare out here:
anyone on here, if you are really, actually so confident in your marketing skills, I propose you work with me, I come up with the idea and you get the marketing side going, teaching me along the way and we split everything that comes in 50-50.
That way, the more money this thing makes, the more money YOU make, and obviously at the same time, I make.
There are a bunch of people all over the web, who are more than willing to charge me insane amounts of money UP FRONT. Either to buy their books or "webinars" or DVDs, and/or their "coaching" (which then a little research shows that it consists of them having me watch their DVDs and read their books, see where I'm going with this?)
Not so sound bitter, really, but I can already feel at least half of the replies coming in here on how I am so seeing this wrong and how I need to believe and what not, but I am wondering if there is really someone out there, even just ONE, who is willing, and more importantly able, to act as the coach, instructor, teacher, mentor, call it what you want to, that I was thinking I would find when I decided to sign up...?
This is not intended to be a "rant".
I am simply being honest about my confusion and frustration and putting my feelings out there.
Maybe I am actually really not "cut out" for this.
But then I keep being told that "literally anyone can do this", especially with "all the help and training they ever need".
Well, ...
someone help me, please, then.
I tried and tried and tried obviously failed. I am not getting it, whatever "it" may be.
I refuse to believe that the people here don't want to understand me or just don' t care. So it must be me not making myself clear enough, for whatever reason.
Let me give you one more example:
I learned how to fly a helicopter, a big ol' CH53.
I am not a pilot, don't even have a license. But the pilot and the co-pilot sat me down, explained to me what handle does what and what button does what and what gauge tells me what.
Then they told me to push this button and pull that lever and watch this gauge while pushing that lever to there, ... and that is how I learned.
They did not give me a book to read or videos to watch.
They did not tell me to "believe" or that I "really have to want this".
They did not tell me to "use the handles, levers and buttons in such a way so that the heli flies the way I want it to".
Maybe this makes more sense than any sentence I ever wrote.
I don't know how else to explain myself.
Either way -
All The Best
to all of you you
and may each and every one of you have a blessed and awesome and successful 2015
with whatever it is you may be doing or plan to be doing :-D
Recent Comments
10
Hello Eric, I read you are very frustrated. I am so sorry that you don't get it. I have set myself up to a 5 years try-out.
You know why? Because every business you set up will take that time to flourish, whether it is an online business or a regular business.
You can't expect to have a real flourishing business in 3 months time. Especially when you start from scratch.
When you want to start a carpenter business and want to make solid chairs, cubboards and tables, and you do not know anything about wood, furniture or design, you don't expect either a great rolling business in 3 months time.
No, you have to go to school and follow the lessons for about 3 years to learn how to make those chairs, tables and cubboards.
That's about the way I think about it. You are taking lessons to learn the skills you need to be a successful internet marketer.
I see you haven't take advantage of the possibility to ask questions, please ask! There are a lot of people who want to help, but you have to put out your questions. We can't smell want you want to know!
I hope this point of view will help you a little.
Kind regards Loes
Thank you for your feedback.
I do understand that a start-up business takes time to flourish, and when I started here, and during the time and conversations before that, I did express that, and also the fact that I did not expect to make insane profit within half a year, but one would expect at least some tiny little bit of progress, no?
Again, the way the picture was painted was that I "should" see some progress "very soon".
I would never think of starting a carpenter business when I don't know anything about it. I have done my share of learning for years prior to working and earning money in that field in my life, so yes I agree with you and also that is nothing new.
What I am saying is that certain people I spoke with before and after signing up made this look quite differently.
I still have all the emails where it says that "literally anyone can do this" and that it does not matter if one has prior experience or not, that with "all the training you ever need and more", I will (one specific person said "should") see "amazing results in very short time", all, of course, as long as I try hard and "put my mind into it".
"If you can write a blog post like 3 days a week or so, you'll be ok. It's not much different than Facebook" is one of the lines I recall.
Of course that sold me.
I'm on FB almost every day like a zillion others, and I have no problem knocking out posts and comments there, so hey might as well get paid for it.
*Sarcasm Alert*
I decided to take a step back and start over.
Having went through, for example three years of school to become an EMT, two years to become a QA consultant, several years to become a translator, and a number of other training classes for occupations, I refuse to believe that I have achieved nothing here so far.
To stick with the above examples, that would be like not knowing what a chair looks like or how to put on a band aid after two months of classes.
Forgive me if I sound bitter and/or sarcastic, I do appreciate you replying and offering input, don't get me wrong.
But yes as you have well read correctly, I am extremely frustrated.
Thanks again for your feedback and have a blessed 2015.
Hi Eric, thanks for your reply, I'm not yet ready to go this far, and I do understand what you are up to. Allthough I began from scratch, knowing nothing, did the course of 50 lessons, wrote a few tutorials(which gave me a profit from $30) I still haven't anybody found to follow me, and from the affiliate marketing on my sites I have not yet $ 10 in my accounts. I do see the benifit from the course. I am learning every day how to build a website, and in about 3 years I will be an expert in website development. That's why I am concertrating more on that part, then on the gaining profit part. I am convinced that I can start a new job in about 3 years with my knowledge about SEO and website development. I see it more as a training for my future job. I am now nanny, but the boys are growing up and I do not want to do this job till I am 67 and can go for my retirement. Wish you all the best for 2015, hope to see you around also, greetings Loes
Hi Loes,
and thank you for your open and honest answer.
And while I admire your longterm plan and honestly wish you all the best and everything you aim for, that is not what I came here for.
As I tried to explain in my message. I may have come here with false expectation, but also as a result of if not false, then at least sugarcoating, borderline misleading promises.
Gullible, naive little me. I blame myself to a large amount.
"Find something that you are passionate about and blog about it!" is primarily what I am/was being told.
Well, designing websites is not what I am passionate about.
Posting about currently trending topics is not what I am passionate about.
Trying to make money online by telling people how to make money online by telling people how to make money online is not what I am passionate about.
(Although that is brilliant, I have to admit...)
I decided to step away for a few days, as right now I am not thinking rationally.
As you may well see, I am still way too emotional about this.
We will see.
Thanks again for your kind words and have a great New Year!
Say Hi to Holland for me, will ya ;-)
It has been a while since I saw it last XD
Tot ziens (I think... if I remember correctly)
Cheers,
Eric
:) that's right Eric! Tot ziens. I do not know what skills you further have besides translator, but I advice you to look up fiverr.com, you can sell your skills there. Tot Ziens :)Loes
Hey Eric, I like to help anyone out. But as you say in a previous post, you are not a very patient person!
I am also presuming you did not follow the videos and make the effort to understand them?
I have seen people here say they had to watch a video numerous times before they "got it".
It is also not a get rich quick scheme - and does take work, particularly if you are inexperienced with technical details.
You need to invest the time needed to learn all this. If not you are probably in the wrong place.
It is also frustrating to see questions that are covered in the training. No one should have to be referring you to links covering something already there.
As for your suggestion about working with you, I have enough work to do on my own sites.
Would you put a link up to your site and ask for criticism and advice as instructed in the training?
That would be a good start.
All the best to you for 2015.
Thanks for the reply, however you are presuming incorrectly. I did and do watch videos, many of them several times and rest assured I very much make all kinds of efforts. And that is also why I ask when I don't "get" it after watching several times. I never accused this of being a "get rich quick scheme". Also, obviously I do not ask questions that are covered in training. If it were covered and I understood, I would not have to ask a question about it. This part was meant to highlight that those few ppl I talked about sent me to links they, most likely with good intentions, believed would help answer my question (although they didn't), instead of just answering it. Also I did not suggest you working with me. It was a sarcastic display of a dare, more or less. It is quite obvious, that nobody is would engage in an undertaking like this.
So you must have misunderstood. But I am glad to hear you have enough work to do on your own sites. As for your request for posting a link: clearly you did not read this post thoroughly, as I stated at the beginning that "I read, I watch, I do what I read step by step, I create pages and delete them again." Maybe this was too long to keep your interest and as a result you overread or misread some things. As you can see in the bottom right, there is no page listed as part of my profile activity. See that I am not exaggerating? Yes, I do understand that things take time, but wouldn't you agree that in the time that I have been a member, I should by now at least have a page? I rest my case.
Thank you for your feedback and input nonetheless. Have a blessed 2015.
Hi Eric,
To just get to the point, you absolutely should have a site up by now.
At the very least even a siterubix test site which you don't even have to buy a domain name for.
What is the main issue stopping you from progressing?
Are you stuck on something in particular?
If I can help with specific questions you are welcome to PM me.
And a Happy New Year to you also!
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I agree with Loes, Eric when I set out and had my time frame , I realized that I had not factored in learning, for this was completely new to me, however it does work an though I might not be making a regular income as yet, I have had a lot of time away from my learning and developing, there are members who are making a good living from this, I just stuck with the training, asked questions and got to work on my sites, having said that I know I have not put the time in needed to take it to a new level but once I am back from holiday will set that right, and some people do think because of the instant access of the internet you can just get something up and make loads of money overnight, that might have been the case many years ago in its infancy but not now we have to satisfy many things like big brother google to get ranked and found...
Stick with it wish you every success for the year ahead