How To Turn a Weakness Into a Strength.
There are certain things in business that I am great at. Although I don't specifically boast about these things that I think I am great at, I would hope they shine through in my words, training, support and my activities.
However, these are not the things that carry most of my focus. It is always the things that I "suck" at, or could be better at, that consume my focus. That is how we, as affiliate marketers and business owners (and people) can continually improve and evolve.
There are things that I am really not all that good at, and things that I truly KNOW I am not good at. I am not talking about riding horses or knitting, or playing water polo (all of which I am probably not great at), but things that I do with regularity but I do a mediocre job.
That is what I want to discuss today. I also want to not only be honest with myself, but this is going to be an exercise where I want you all to do the same.
What I Perpetually Suck At, But Shouldn't!
I cannot presume anyone is horrible at anything, I simply won't judge. But I am a very good critic of myself and some areas in which I lack.
Typically, when I sense a weakness in myself, I work extra hard to make that a strength...in particular if it is a skill I need moving forward and one that is required in business. I used to be mediocre at writing, at building websites, didn't know a thing about business, wasn't efficient at helping people...the list could go on and one. I have, with time and effort turned these once weaknesses, into strengths. That is how we should approach all weaknesses.
There are a few things that I simply don't put forth the effort to change. That is what I want to focus on here, because there has to be some reason why I don't change my ways, even when I know it is a freakin' problem! lol
So here is what I believe my biggest weaknesses are, that I do nothing about.
(1) I Don't Delegate Non-Trivial Tasks Soon Enough.
I have a tendency to do the same thing over and over, without thinking of ways to get these tasks off my plate. When you are running a business, there are many tasks and demands that you have to deal with on a daily basis, some of them are brand new...but many are arduous and don't equate to more "business".
Sometimes I find myself doing things that I could hand off, but don't? Why don't I hand them off? That is what I need to uncover, but sometimes I feel that it will be more work to hand things off than it will to do them myself. The reality is that there is a process to be able to delegate a task, but in the long term it leads too much more efficiency and scalability.
(2) I Cope With Inefficient Processes.
I will find a way to make a process work, but sometimes I don't invest into the time it takes to make that process more efficient and/or automated. There are circumstances where I find myself doing the same things over and over, not because I have to, but rather because it is easy to accomplish these tasks and instead of seeking out a more efficient solution I just do them.
There are two ways to add more time to your day. First, you can become more efficient. Second, you can hire people to perform tasks and functions within your business that can be handed off and/or scaled.
(3) I Can be Terribly Disorganized.
My office desk is a big mess at times, and my work habits are sporadic. I can move from project to project within minutes, and certainly work on 10-15 different things on a daily basis. It is systemic chaos, but it is how I work the best and I how I have always worked. Perhaps this to a certain degree is a blessing in disguise.
This disorganization doesn't come without some drawbacks. It is something that I can certainly work on, but my natural instinct tells me it is more important to work hard and get things done than to have an organized environment to do this. I think a happy mix of both would be best and I this is one thing that I have been actively working to improve.
These are the obvious day to day issues that I can see in my personal activities. Things that lead to more efficiency, and more productivity. But this leads me to my next question...
Why I Don't Do Anything About It?
I have spent some time thinking about this. Why do I do things that could be stifling my personal progress, my own efficiencies, and ultimately income. If I know this, why the heck do I continue doing them.
The answer.
I enjoy doing it.
There are certain things in business that create a sense of enjoyment, even if they are not the best for business. For those of you that are operating a business or have a job that at times can be overwhelming, you will probably understand what I am talking about. There are some things that you love to do, other things that you don't.
The things that you LOVE though, can likely be done another way or in some cases, YOU may not need to do them at all.
I spend a lot of time supporting and helping people every day. I think to a large degree, this is one aspect that truly separates us from the rest of the industry. Carson and I are very active and engaged with our community and members here. I often times feel I am inside the walls of WA actively engaging with others more than I am in the real world.
But I love it. I love helping people. I love connecting with people. I love seeing people achieve things they never though t were possible.
Surely I could hand that off to someone else that is way below my pay grade. I could hire a virtual assistant to manage all of my communications, and I could step back, cross my arms, and have time to dedicate to something else. But that is not me, even though I know it can be done and I could have more time to do other things.
Could I be more efficient though? Yes. Could I change my ways and be better off, of course. Will I. That leads me to the next aspect of this. I know what's going on, I know what I am bad at. I haven't changed things up to this point. However, will I change or make an effort to do so.
How I Am Going to Solve This!
Nobody in business, regardless of their stature or what level of success they reach has it all figured out. Ask Warren Buffet if he knows everything about finance, and I think you would soon discover that he is constantly learning even after 70 years involved in the finance world.
Self assessment is important and it keeps you humble. It will also lead to you establishing a new skill set, and expertise within areas of your business that are potentially weaknesses at the moment.
Are all of my weaknesses stated above worth getting better at, and turning into a strength? Yes. Although I enjoy doing them, I want to focus on getting them better and I am going to show you my approach to do so.
It is sometimes hard to look at your activities and realize that you have flaws. I find some people are not critical enough of themselves though, and they have the tendency to blame others for their issues or feel that any lag in their business must be the result of something else. I have even caught myself doing this on occasion.
We get better by being humble. The minute you realize that nothing you do will ever be "perfect", is the same moment when you are able to continually get better and improve upon your own skill set (and business).
So, my questions to you are this:
(1) What are some things that feel that you are not good at or could be a lot better at?
(2) What are the steps that you are going to take to improve?
(3) Is there anything we can help with on our end (other than advice) to help speed up this process).
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I definitely agree with your #3 weakness, "can move from project to project within minutes, and certainly work on 10-15 different things on a daily basis".
I'll sit down to work on my email conversions, and 10 minutes later have a saw in my hand. I guess in my case, the 2nd activity is not related to business, but I tend to move from project to project throughout the day.
Oh look, it's a squirrel!
Yep, we all do it. To a certain degree I think it is health for creavity and your ability to work on many things at once to have a bit of a wandering mind, it just needs to be toned down slightly.
my weakness is thinking to much when I am working with a task but I will find away to change that, now writing that another thing I have to work on ,this the first for trying to build a business but I enjoy how my question get answer doing this has help me to stay persistence and just work hard also learning how patient is the keep so thanks for this blog and yes you have to be honest with yourself in order for change to happen
Thanks Kyle for the great post concerning turning a weakness into a strength.
Recently, since joining Weathy Affiliate, ,there has been one main thing that I have been very weak at. It's organizing paper work--notes from the training. I guess I do this because I'm at home and not at an employers office.
Then when I need to go back to find important information, i have a hard time finding it which is challenge. I know it there but it's unorganized. Like you said productive and a mix could be good.
What I will do to make this weakness a strength, I will just make up in my mind to be organize and do it any way, and stay humble and know that nothing is going to be perfect.
Thanks again for the reminder!
Thank you so much for your post Kyle. For me it's writing and getting distracted through the day.
I'm going to make it my goal to work on writing a content one day of the week even if it take me a complete day until a master it.
I know is not going to be easy because everything in me reject it. I realized is one of the main task that will make me succeed it this business.
I set my weekly goal every Sunday evening. As the week begin I start doing other things and end up not completing my weekly goal. I get very discourage.
Sticking with my weekly goal is something i have to work on, maybe i need to break it done on daily goals and stick with it no matter what.
I'm working on my dropship business and it's been a challenge. I would really like some help of where do you thing i need to start market it. One social media at the time Instagram or Facebook, which one you think i need to master first?
Thanks Kyle!
Social mediia i would say pinterest..especially dropship because of the visual nature and engagement on that platform...next would be youtube both also help with generating traffic.
Goals set your weekly goals..but then set that goal into chunks throughout the week...and as u finish them one by one be sure to reward urself it will go along ways to encouraging and motivating u to continue throughout the week.
Interesting post, Kyle.
I have a problem understanding some of the technical stuff that we get into. Although I have a basic interest in the very same techie stuff that gives me trouble. When I bump into things that I need to know but am not getting-- I have a tendency to worry over it and waste a lot of time "stewing" about it.
What to do about it? Well, I should ask questions in hopes of getting some answers that will move me along. But I hate to ask questions because I don't want to look dumb.
I'm putting my main energy into speeding up the time it takes me to produce a post- from inception to final publish time. I'm getting better-the time line is getting shorter.
Videos make me antsy--it's all I can do to sit thru one-I have to write almost everything down so I have instructions down, or I'm going back and forth, back and forth. I learn through reading, not by viewing- and no, there's not much you can do--because more people learn by viewing. I do find that there always seems to be a small step left out, that, if I knew it, I would save lots of time.
For instance: I don't remember ever reading that in order to copy and paste links, I had to right click to activate the drop downs. Sometimes I think that you think we all should know these things, but we don't.
On the other hand, you two have taken on a massive project-- to teach so many people from so many places, and you do a fantastic job. Have you ever figured out your success rate? How many sign up and how many stay with it until they succeed? Would be interesting to know.
Thanks for jump starting the mind so early in the morning.
Hi, Kyle!
What a nice "kick" in our rear! Love it. We have to be challenged or else...
Regarding you helping other people: please DON'T DELEGATE IT TO SOMEBODY ELSE! Why?
First, your communication with people, your style and you as a caring person DOES SHINE THROUGH! We know it is not fake and it is your "signature" move. And it's part of your BRAND! Please, don't lose it.
I have been with a few other platforms and the reason they lost a "market share" is precisely that--they delegated too much and became far away from the "real" people.
And, of course, most their "helpers" suck at having people skill, being courteous but assertive, having common sense, knowing different cultures and, for goodness sake, being a good sales person and therefore know how to handle objections!
As for the weakness, I must learn the SEO!!! I am good at researching and writing, I am more or less a subject matter expert, I have a beautiful and classy website (for a person after 2.5 months), 38,000 words of content but NO KNOWLEDGE about the SEO and traffic. I mean the real Mccoy!
I am sure starting month 3 of 2019 Super Affiliate Challange, you will be including that material bit by bit the KYLE STYLE!
Again, thank you very much!
This is quite a Reality Check Post and I have similar weaknesses that I am working on daily. Some days I get past one weakness and some days I do not but that does not mean that I will ever give up as I am determined to be successful.
As for steps for me to improve...I will Step up my Game, learn as much as I can from the training and keep improving.
As far as what WA can do?, keep the training coming and keep doing what you are doing to upgrade the platform as that is how we all learn the most.
Thanks for the Reality Check! and Thanks for sharing your Dream with all of us.
Wow! I don't know what to say... Messy desk, chaotic, no systematic abilities, all the above and a gazillion of others - sometimes I wonder how I have managed to live so happy and with total Ease in the last half-century... I even did Pelmanism about 40 years ago trying to find a cure - I couldn't. Sometimes I like the way my mind works because it will draw things to me no matter where they are and the clutter is just a different kind of organisation almost like nature is so organised in what some may find chaotic - I guess it depends which vantage point you are looking from.
Choice - I will be kind and gentle with myself - look at everything with a keen interest and wonderment from every angle and settle with what feels expansive and in alignment with my core.
The sole purpose of life is the advancement, from one degree of glory to another and that is an inevitable fact, sure as the sun will rise in the morning whether we see it or not.
Weaknesses and strengths - according to who? - these are labels - Am I comparing myself to anything or anyone? Am I judging myself? Can I give myself a break here? Is my J O B still the Joy Of Being or have I made it what it is not...?
I am just a beginner in all of these business matters - I am so honoured to be among such Magnificent Giants in the industry. Thank you so much for all you do.
Great post - I can relate to a lot of those as well, but one of my biggest issues is finding time for tasks that are not content creation. Content creation is what comes naturally and I tend to put all my time into that.
1) I tend to work on things within my comfort zone. When I have to make a big change, it can take me many months to actually do it. A lack of technical knowledge can sometimes make me put off things that should be dealt with. I am also terrible at self-promotion and reaching out for help. I could also get much better at tracking.
(2) I should push myself more to try things out of my comfort zone, create a plan of action, increase my technical knowledge if possible - or consider hiring in someone who knows what they are doing.
(3) I think it would be worthwhile hiring in a small team at WA that could help affiliates and members in general with improving their conversions etc I'm sure many people would find that incredibly useful. As having asked for help recently, I get the impression you must be snowed under with PM messages on the daily.
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It is uncanny that I happen to be going through a particular event in life where if I don't make changes, something is going to be lost because of it. Reading this just made me even more aware of the need for positive change, and to leave old swords on the ground.
Thank you Kyle.
There are circumstances like this, and inflection points that happen all the time. Those that push through them are those that are the most successful.
To be honest, I deal with events on a daily basis that I know would lead others to quit. It is the "persistence" to push through anything that will separate you fro the rest.