Find A Mentor.
When I say mentor, I mean a guide, a coach, a role model, someone you look up to in the realm of what you’re looking to achieve.
Obviously, you will want to network with someone who can be objective and supportive and has years of experience under their belt.
I’m one of those people who thinks she always knows what’s best. *Think* being the key word here :-) . Every now and again though, I come across someone who teaches me something that I didn’t even know I was looking to learn.
When I first decided to make Project SWAG my long term business goal, I had been toying with the thought of simply blogging about it and kind of letting it carry itself along. However, that was before I met my coach.
Coach Ed is someone who has offered to help out us Wealthy Affiliate members numerous times. He has written trainings and blog posts within WA with a lot of great content and once I started reading I realized that I could probably learn from him. So I reached out and contacted him.
Why?
What Coach has been able to do for me was help guide me in the direction I wanted to go. He didn’t tell me what to do or how to do it, but just asked me a series of questions that made me really consider what my project is about, who it is for, what my short and long term goals are and how I see myself implementing my ideas. These are things I hadn’t thought of before and really helped shape Project SWAG.
Ideally, you are looking to connect with someone who has done what you are setting out to do. It doesn’t necessarily have to be exactly the same idea, but in the same way you wouldn’t ask a real estate investor what mutual bonds you should invest in, don’t bother asking a web designer how to direct traffic to your site.
On the other hand, you don’t even necessarily need someone who has experience in your specific area of work if that is not what you’re looking for. If you need encouragement, direction and help finding your passion, a career guidance counselor is a great person to turn to over someone who has had success making money online.
Know yourself, know what you need and seek him/her out.
I was opening up my emails this morning and saw your new training/teaching/coaching and just smiled while LOL. I click through and started to read it , then there they where kind words of truth. It is to hear that a player has become better in their own words. It is what we coaches live for, to know that.
I loved your title, it did have me (curious) hummm... and that is what will get people to read more of the story. What, did she say that? "Having passion in the bed room."
Having passion is the focus here and I get what your talking about. We all can work from anywhere we want. I know when I started working at home, I had to learn how to keep the old blood boiling.
I say do what ever is needed to keep our passion going and your advice here is well said. You hit it the nail on the head, doing something we do like. I ask this of my players all the time, "what are you passionate about." If you know, then train or work in that.
I can tell you this, if a person don"t have passion in or for something, they will not last at building an online business.
I know even as to what you say, about "burnout" it comes even in our passion for something. I coach this by telling them this, when you find yourself in the valley of not being so passionate, look up and find the next mountain peek in your passion.. Then head for it and as you go your passion will start to come back.
Well, this long enough but you hit my passion for sure.
Thanks for spending your time and effort doing this training. It has fired me this day.
Sincerely,
Coach Ed
croninweb
PS. You have help me as well.
I look at some beautiful web sites and then I look at mine. I am trying so hard to make a nice site but yesterday I realized that once I learn the language I should upgrade to a better theme...I don't like my site because, to me, it is boring...you would never know that I have spent over 200 hours here at WA when you look at my site.
Note on my laptop~"God give me patience and I want it NOW".
Don't get me wrong...I am excited to be learning. The knowledge here is priceless. The help is amazing.
If I don't get some money coming in soon (even a small amount) I won't have electricity to run this laptop.So, I have to calm my sense of urgency...follow training, and stick to my plan.
I wish I could find someone who had time to do a phone conference with me as I go through different stages but I don't think that is going to happen. Back to training and put more content on my site.
Thank you for the lesson...all your lessons. You help me and I am grateful.
In 2008, I had a site called, "Plain Door to Success" and wrote a long article about this. Businesses that thrive do so because the owners respect them and take sometimes seemingly unecessary measures for preparing for working in the business (i.e. being dressed.)
I'm sure others are hitting upon this as well.
Don't work in your underwear or pajamas. Treat your business like you would a brick-and-mortar one. You don't have to wear a suit and tie to sit at your workstation, but at least put something on! It is an act of preparation and setting yourself up for your work. What would happen if you showed up at your physical place of business in your underwear? Others would say you're beside yourself. They would definitely see you as not being serious about your business. I don't have time right now to read this entire thread, but I can see, and am relieved, that this isn't about the same stuff some of those people who sell dreams use. I will read this when I get back...
I was hoping this wasn't about what I thought it might be, and is why I'm here - to relieve curiosity. I have skimmed a bit here and satisfied my curiosity.
One more thing...
That's right. You can't be at your best if you're doing something out of necessity, that is, something you do not have passion for on account of survival.
I've raised this issue locally, and have been met with unending opposition for my stand.
Yes, sometimes we have to do things out of expediency, but for many, working, making money and spending a lifetime in employment we hate is something we are all supposed to do.
Believe me, to this day, my passion to write and do this (IM) is regarded as outright rebellion, that I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do. People will side against you and make your efforts to do what you have passion for miserable. I know first hand! I've been through it since day one at WA.
Of all the difficulties I've had with online business, people in my locality have borne down on me in this regard since I've been here. It has filled my writing with my own ill-sentiments against the nay-saying and out-dated advice. The most important lesson I've learned from all this is to keep your passions to yourself until you are making a full-time income with it. Else there are always people around who will try to tear you down and reform you to social standards as they see fit.
If you fail at what you do - you will get "I told you so!" I know. This is the outcome of where I'm at now. I will rebound. My living conditions will be changing very soon and a different Daniel will be around.
People believe that making money isn't supposed to be fun and in my case, they think I'm trying to live like a rich person without the income. They pushed so hard that they did knock me off my pedestal. For some reason, if you don't work in a regular job, you're not paying your dues to society (like everybody else has to.) My favourite motto:
"Live today like nobody else can so tomorrow you can live like nobody else can!"
They have won this round. I've had all this taken away from me, but I will get it back. Believe me - watch and see...
We need to act and play the part of a business owner. Ok maybe we take a few steps from the bedroom to the kitchen/dining room table or other room of the house to work but we need to have our own office to work.
I agree you need to take this seriously and the points you discuss are great ways to get your business to succeed. Thanks for sharing. Debbie