Hearing vs Listening - Unrealistic Money-making Expectations
Has anybody else noticed how many people come into the chat to say, "I just signed up with this site. When do I get paid," or something similar?
I don't intend to come down too hard on newbies in general. Most know exactly what they're getting themselves into. (Or at least reasonably aware!) :-) We're all newbies about something in life, right?
Some newbies, however, will simply nod their head in agreement, without listening to the words, while it's hammered into us that this program is not a get-rich-quick scheme and that it takes a lot of time and effort.
Those folks are invariably surprised and disappointed when they discover that... surprise!... it takes a lot of time and effort.
I'm an avid reader of people's bios here in WA. Most of the time they're quite inspirational, but quite often, if you read the bio of the person asking the above question, you can see the signs that they won't be happy here.
I'm beginning to think that a prerequisite for upgrading to Premium should be to require applicants to manually fill in a text field with the following:
- "I understand that Wealthy Affiliate is NOT a get-rich-quick scheme and that it will require a significant commitment of time and hard work on my part to make this endeavor successful. I understand that the amount of time involved varies greatly, depending on the effort I put into it."
As far as the chat is concerned, this can be a significant buzz-kill and demoralizer to those of us watching the chat. To reduce the time involved in responding to those questions, I've written a form response that I simply cut-and-paste in the reply when they ask how to get out of Premium.
I know I can be quite a grouch at times. Believe it or not, I'm working on being more positive in my blog posts! You know, Happy-Happy, Joy-Joy!
Am I being too cynical and judgmental on this issue? I'd like YOUR opinion, especially if you're new!
Thanks for indulging this crabby old curmudgeon! :-)
Recent Comments
9
I am still pretty much a newbie, been here 5 weeks. Just by doing the free course I knew right back from then I would be working my butt off.
I'm so ok with that.
I guess I was brought up back in the day where it was instilled into you that only hard work pays off :)
Hi Carmela, yes, back in the day , the world was still somewhat rooted in reality. Not the case these days. It's a world of gimme, gimme, gimme NOW.
Haha, I need to calm down. :-)
Glad to meet you, Carmela! I wish you smooth sailing through the program. And as always, don't struggle alone if you find yourself standing in front of a brick wall. We're here for you!
Thank you very much. I appreciate your offer of help.
You're right though, times have change.
These days a high percentage of the population have this "sense of entitlement" mentality.
I will not lose faith or hope that the tide will eventually start to change once more :)
Yes, I often see that in Live Chat. I've just joined. When will I get paid?
I can't respond, I'm afraid. I just want to shake some sense into them.
I have great admiration for the members who do respond patiently, explaining the concepts of work and patience.
As a newer member, I appreciate you bringing some attention to this issue. I have noticed it quite a lot in my 1 month of being here and if I am finding it aggravating, I can't even imagine how the long-time members feel when they see those kinds of questions!
Hi Sara,
Thanks for your great comment! I appreciate that you understand what you're getting into. I wish you the greatest success in your journey.
You know the standard line by now: If you have questions or run into a brick wall at any point, just ask!
Joe
See more comments
I'm extremely new here and I am well aware of the fact that I am here to learn and develop myself. It hasn't occurred to me that I am here to make money, I thought the idea was to LEARN ways to make money which denotes time and effort on my part in grasping, comprehending and applying my learning in order to create my own income using what I have learned. I am looking at, at least 5 years to even begin thinking of looking to monetise... Yes, I am a JOY, JOY, Happy, Happy person yet for goodness SNAKES! Let's not be Delusional, even the bank requires one to put money in, in order to withdraw! There is always Seed - Time and then Harvest. In between there is the watering, weeding and tending...
Thank you so much for a great Post! Very well done!
Namasté!