Lesson #1 You Are What You Think, You Are What You Believe
Welcome to lesson 1 of Profitable Knowledge.
When you joined the course, I asked you to define “success.”
Do you know what success means to you?
You’re probably thinking. “Of course! That’s easy.” But let’s look a little closer, because this is where almost everyone gets things backwards.
Even if you have thought about it a lot and believe you’re doing things right, it is easy to fall into the trap of focusing on the wrong priorities.
If you want to succeed in today’s market, you need to be self-aware about all of your daily activities.
Too many people decide where to take action based on what looks interesting or fun, or where their strengths are.
The problem is that what you’re good at (at least on the surface) may not be what other people are willing to pay you for.
“Decide what you want and then decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” – H.L. Hunt
Money Making Action
We all want to believe that we’re making progress in business. But many of us lack the “altitude” to see the big picture.
Big picture thinking demands that you occasionally take a step back and consider your progress. The big challenge is choosing where to focus, when, and how.
You have to develop a crystal clear mental picture of your desired outcome, and choose the right priorities to help you get there.
So what is your desired outcome?
I ask this of every single person who comes to me with a desire to learn Internet marketing: What would you do if you couldn’t fail?
Most of the time, I get one of two answers:
“I want to be rich and live x kind of lifestyle” or, “I want to make more money and work less.”
No matter what your answer may be, the next question is the same:
What are you doing now that’s getting you there?
There is no right or wrong answer…unless you’re actually trying to get results. And the results are often connected to an income level that will let you feel successful.
It does not matter if you have an 8-5 job with well-defined parameters, or if you’re an artist or entrepreneur, doing something new every day. The same question applies:
Are you working on activities that directly relate to your goals? What is your greatest leverage for creating your desired income? |
Sometimes you have to get outside of your comfort zone to get to the next level.
A cliché? Maybe. But it’s true.
Everyone has strategies to help them justify their daily choices; we all do it to feel better about what we spent the day doing.
- “Yes, I check e-mail twenty times a day. But it’s because people expect speedy replies and it keeps my projects moving.”
- “I only check e-mail once day so I can concentrate on the really important stuff.”
It is time for you to decide whether your strategies actually make you better, or if they just make you feel better.
Some parts of your business are fun. It is easy to justify spending time on those. Other parts are painful, boring, or push your limits. You have to be honest with yourself.
Is that 30 minute research project turning into 3 hours of mindless web browsing? Are you avoiding those phone calls because pitching to potential customers scares you? Or hoping that shipping is going to do itself?
Productivity is the Key to Getting Results
Rapid implementation is one of the main keys to successfully building a profitable business.
Unfortunately, it’s also easier said than done for most people. Make the wrong choices and you fail. You waste a lot of time and money, not to mention what it does to your confidence and motivation.
But don’t let initial failures defeat you. Once you’re successful and making good money, you can chalk those initial losses up to the learning curve.
Success breeds success. It reinforces your confidence, boosts your enthusiasm, and keeps you motivated. |
But how do you set yourself up for success?
The trouble is, when you’re working on the wrong things, all you learn is what doesn’t work. It’s important knowledge but, frankly, it sucks when that’s all you experience.
It is demoralizing, it wastes time, and it costs money.
If you continue to choose the wrong priorities, you’ll never get back the lost time. You will eventually abandon hope of running your own business, and find yourself back on the job market.
But the bottom line is, if you make the right choices, you can run your own business and get paid what you’re worth.
Profitable Knowledge is a course for those who are ready to commit to their own success.
If you’re not ready to take action, it’s ok to stop here. I”ll be here when you’re ready.
If you are ready to CHANGE your life, here are the principles that you need to know to get the results you want:
- Know when you do your best work – Create your optimal environment and train yourself to eliminate distractions and interruptions.
- Focus on small chunks of time – Find a 2-hour block of uninterrupted time. Dedicate that to just ONE important activity with an outcome in mind. Ask yourself: Why am I doing this? Come up with a clear, specific answer.
- Know what motivates you and use it – Motivation is your engine, know what motivates you. Create rewards to energize yourself.
- Remember to Unplug! – Make yourself take breaks to recharge and rejuvenate. It’s ok to walk away and do something else for a while.
If you can get real with yourself about where you are, and follow these principles, you can really get where you want to go.
In the next lesson, I will explain the key mindsets in creating new products, and the single biggest thing you can do right now to establish yourself as an expert.
Product First, Marketing Second
At Profitable Knowledge, we work on building your product first, and then move into marketing.
Once you have learned how to create products, then marketing becomes the priority. That’s where you’ll learn to focus on efficiency and avoid distractions.
The idea is simple: when you create the right products for you, your business will grown and your money-making capabilities will expand. |
Then, through marketing—which is really the art of getting customers—you will increase your chance of making more money. The simplest way to think about marketing is that is an ongoing strategy for finding ways to get customers.
You’re about to learn that you can do both.
Both product creation and marketing are skills that you can learn, and you can apply them to almost any business type.
Profitable Knowledge Exercise: Make Your Lists
Whether you are completely new to the world of online business or if you already have a business that you’re hoping to expand, take 15 minutes now and make two lists.
The first list is for all of the activities that you do each day. Start with the moment you wake up, and end with going to bed.
Include your work, meals, exercise, favorite procrastination methods. No one sees this list but you, so be honest. Afterwards, divide the list into two categories: “have to” and “want to“. In the first category, place everything that seems difficult, boring, or unpleasant. In the second category, put things you enjoy.
Now make another list. If time and money were no object how would you spend your days?
Keep these two lists. We’re going to need them in the coming weeks. I’ll talk to you soon.
Oh, by the way…
If you are just joining us—if you found this page via a weblink or a forward from a friend—this is lesson #1 from a free online course on solid Internet marketing strategies. These lessons are delivered via e-mail. Want to learn how to build a business around what you love and make money doing it?
You can learn more about it HERE.