This post is about a little truth that every day becomes more real and more important in my life. My hope is that when you understand it, it will do the same for you.
Many of you will have started 2010 much like you started 2009 and 2008… thinking about what you can do to make THIS year YOUR year. What you can do to make this is finally the year you break through, work out that one thing you’ve been missing, and have the enormous success you’ve been waitin for for so long. But how are you going to do that?
First it’s worth clarifying what I believe to be a truism, and that is that really, for the most part, there ARE no big breakthroughs. It’s rare that one day something just changes and your business and your income are never the same. It’s rare that you learn one thing that’s powerful and suddenly your business changes. It’s rare that you suddenly reach a goal that you had and think “wow, this is it, it finally happened”.
What happens more often is something like this:
1. You read something that you think might make a difference in your business. You get a “big idea” of a change that needs to be made.
2. Next you work out a plan of how you can implement this idea.
3. Next you begin to implement this idea.
4. Next, the idea begins to have an affect and you see a small success.
5. Next you work out how you can make this affect from this idea continue to happen, so you make it into a system… you do something every day, you expand upon your plan and you scale things up.
6. Next your level of success from this idea grows, and if you are persistent and work hard enough, overcoming the inevitable problems that show up along the way, maybe after months or years, you reach a level of revenue or income that when you first had the idea, you dreamed of.
This process could take months or years to complete but the reality is, it HAS to happen this way.
It’s for this reason that I say that success is nothing more than accumulation. I don’t mean accumulation of money, but accumulation of effort, accumulation of work, accumulation of knowledge, an accumulation of implemented ideas, an accumulation of overcome obstacles.
If you’re like most of us “big dreamers”, this notion is both upsetting and, if you let it be, empowering.
What it means is that there’s nothing big you can achieve in a single day. In other words, there’s no such thing as an overnight success. The “breakthrough” you’re waiting for, the big goal you’ve been waiting to achieve, it’s not just going to pop out and surprise you if only you do the right thing this week or this month.
If you want to reach any goal, all you can do today is take one small step. You can step towards your goal today, and then you can take another step in the same direction tomorrow. Having an idea, that’s one step, that’s all you can do today. Making a plan to put the idea into practice, that’s one step, that’s all you can do the next day. And so the process goes.
The empowering part is this:
You don’t HAVE to worry about doing something miraculous this week or this month that will get you to your goal. All you have to do is choose the right path and do SOMETHING every day. You do something consistently each day, and eventually all the little something’s that seem like nothing will add up to… SOMETHING!
And when I say “do SOMETHING” each day, that doesn’t mean “do anything”. You have to be taking steps every day in the SAME direction. You have to pick your path and stick to it, keep walking down it! You might be stepping every day but changing your direction so you’re effectively walking round in a circle. If you’ve ever said to yourself “But I DO work on my business EVERY DAY and I’m still not making progress!”, then there’s only one possible reason.
So if you really want to make 2010 your year you’ll commit to a journey. You’ll pick a path that you know will lead toward your goal and you’ll walk that road until you reach your destination. Find the tasks you need to do to achieve your outcome and set up a system for doing them continually every day until the outcome is a reality. Every day that goes by your results will accumulate and without even knowing it you’ll have reached your goals with seemingly no friction.
Success is as simple as that.
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Awesome post. 2010 is THE year for cumulative success. Adding a new piece to the puzzle each day
How true!
But myth peddlers want you to believe otherwise that if you buy their magic pills you will become richer over night.
And the “magical pill” analogy is right… because the “magical pill” philosophy, will only affect you if you swallow it
Andrew
I agree that success doesn’t happen overnight. I keep doing things every day even though it may not seem like they are always working. They are just not working as fast as I want them too, but each one does eventually pay me dividends.
Well said Andrew…success sneaks up on you…which can be kind of annoying. 3 years ago, I would have been stoked to think I could get to where I am now..but it kind of happened gradually so it feels totally normal. The main thing is to keep adding and building up your business like you say, everyday.
Stuart Stirling
Great post Andrew! You hit it pretty head on. I’ve been following Andy Jenkins’ launch for a new product of his and one quote he said stuck out and could be applied there towards the end:
“Perfection is the lowest standard of Achievement. Doing is the highest.”
Well said. Thanks for a great piece of advice.
This is the Elephant In The Room. The thing most of us don’t want to look at, but need to.
And Mike Stenger, that quote is GREAT!
I’m at the very beginnings of this road, and I’ve already realized this truth, much as I’ve fought kicking and screaming against it, LOL! I’ve got my goals posted, and I’m being somewhat flexible about reaching them. I’m already making some money online, and it’s only been a couple months, though it can be measured in three digit numbers rather than 4 or 5 or 6 digit numbers, not all that impressive but enough to tell me that yes, it CAN be done. I’ve got a long way to go, but . . . my feet are on the path. Now I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Right on point Andrew. I started my business this way. Because I was ‘green’ I only had one path to take, which was what I though would work and I wasn’t distracted with everyone elses magic pills. Now that I’m in the biz I’m finding it harder to start new things because of all the distractions I opened myself up to. After 6 years in my business what works today is what I started with originally and all new opportunities since haven’t paid out. Lesson to learn: just do what works, which is what Andrew points out in this post. Thanks for the kick in the pants!
I’ve accumulated about 40 sites in the last 5 years and that does not include the ones where I let the domain names expire. I’ve also accumulated a huge amount of debt in the process and my credit card companies are reducing my credit lines.
I thought by now my sites would at least be making $10 bucks a day… but they’re not, even though some of them on google;s first page for the keywords I targeted.
On Friday I will start a j-o-b (sorry for the foul language, lol). First one in over 6 years. You would think I would be ready to throw in the towel by now… but I’m not.
I still have the same belief in myself that I had when I first started. Of course, my progress now may be slower since the time on my business will be after my responsibilities to my new employer.
I had hoped and prayed that this day (Friday) would never come.
Of course I can’t blame anyone but myself. I admit, I got distracted by emails because I am always looking for a better way. The irony is that I am now much more knowledgeable about internet marketing and I’m sure that knowledge can be traced back to the emails I read that led to the sales pages etc., etc.
I admit that when I follow someone’s ebook or video tutorials or whatever, if I don’t get results quickly, I’m back to the emails looking for something better.
In any case, I suppose I’m sort of like Thomas Edison and the famous quote about someone who asked him how it felt to have failed 10,000 times when creating the light bulb and his response was something like… I didn’t fail 10,000 times… I now know 10,000 ways that don’t work.
Don
Thank you so much for this article. I’m going to print it out and hang it where I can see it everyday. So many people give up too soon to realize their full potential. It’s so sad.
Thank you for the reminder. I really needed it.
And never, ever, ever, ever, ever give up!
Yes, that’s very true but the unfortunate thing is what you said in the opening remark that there ARE no big breakthroughs.
At least now we can hope that the big time IM gurus stop peddling MAGIC SOFTWARE one after the other and make money in the guise of telling others how to make money. As I have understood, most of the techniques they project so hugely aren’t going to work in other niches. Like for example, you can’t do article marketing for pharmaceutical or adult niches on the same scale as for “MAKE MONEY ONLINE” which the do.
Much needed post, Andrews.
Alevoor
http://www.squidoo.com/Build-Your-Own-Solar-Panel-for-Home
Humbling but true.
Read the directions: Instant success requires you add hard work and time.
Dan
A way of letting this mindset grow into your everyday life and business is to think: repeatability, scale-ability and the long tail of Chris Anderson
best 2010 for all of us
/Jacob
Thanks for that. We’ve become people nowadays that want instant gratification in all things. Everything has to happen instantly, or when you walk into a job, it has to be at the top of the pile. It takes time and effort to be successful.
I think you are correct. not every person has a Wham-o! experience. A Wham-o idea may come along but not a radical sudden shift in circumstances.
For some people such Wham-o experiences never come along ever. Yet these are some of the most successful business men in the world. Think Jack Welsh.
What’s a Wham-o! experience? Wham-o is the tiny little slingshot company that introduced the world to… the Hula Hoop. One of the most profitable fads to ever sweep the world. The thing is, the CEO’s Richard Knerr and Albert “Spud” Melin went ahead with marketing the Hula Hoop with absolutely no idea it would be as popular and profitable as it was. They then guessed right on the Frisbee, Slip and Slide and the Super Ball. They didn’t know, they just gave it a shot,. You never get to really know, you just give it a shot over and over and over til you die. Success is not money. Success is knowing you gave life your best shot,over and over and over again.
Myke
I’m not adding new here just completely agree with your post as ever very good and spot on. People Reading this post and wanting online su ccess should take heed and burn these word into their brain
Once read I will give some comments.Seems like it may enhance some ongoing thoughts and projects.
Ian
Great post Andrew.
Also prepare to go through many failures on your path. Embrace failures & learn from them as you stand up and continue walking up the steep hill.
I certainly have experienced a rollercoaster the last years with only minor successes but my patience is strong and I know that eventually I’ll reach my goals and beyond.
Patrik
I enjoyed this article.It has motivated me to review my goals and make sure I’m on track.
I agree fully with your mental attitude and also that of one of your readers who said ‘Never,Never give up’, it sounds very Churchillian but true. Focused work is an important ingredient along with keeping away from the mezmerrizing IM’ers. I have read your 1000 visitors per day report, which I greatly appreciate along with the recommended resources – and all for free! Thanks very much for your advice. I now know where to go and get some articles written for me and some free blog comment software!
Well said Andrew! Good ideas without actions will always just be an idea. It’s the actions that builds substance.
I agree with you that success will not arrive at overnight but still many people are asking for “get-rich-quick” systems or other kind of business online with a little effort to become rich.
Nicely put Andrew
The easiest way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. And there’s definitely no point in doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result – that’s LUNACY.
However, it must be a “human nature” thing to want to do the same thing over and over I know I done it in the past – still do now [LOL] The important thing is I now recognise when I am and get back on track. Which is why it’s so important to have a goal to focus on.
As you have right pointed out because most people don’t know what they are aiming at, they will never actually achieve it because the don’t truly know what they are aiming at or for.
Just look at the stats:-
- upwards of 95% don’t have a goal let alone a written one
- less than 5% ever achieve financial freedom
Interesting….
Cheers
Simon
Andrew – That’s why I have come full circle back ‘home’–the pridigal online marketeer. Well said.
Mike Stenger–Wow! Right On! Dan Reinhold–Another truth! Simon–Yes! It’s pure lunacy! I’ve been ‘diagnosed’ and am in ‘recovery’ now.
Everyone has spoken. If we ever fall, just refer to these comments!!
I started out with Andrew’s NMOC, then went full circle to the wild and wooly GOO(FY)ROOS. One site has made me a little money. I am now starting my own website and will launch it sometime in March. It will start slowly but will do well as I have learned much from Andrew and others that tell the truth. Thanks
This is something we should be reminded of again and again.
I’m going to print this off and keep it by my computer.
Thanks, Andrew.
Couldn’t agree more, Andrew. I’ve been trying for years to find THE answer. Not only on the Internet, where I was a complete newbie until 5 mnths ago, but in many other areas of business.
I must admit most of the comments are disappointing but I have wasted so much time, looking at emails and other so-called quick ways to Internet success, that your blog reminds me of the fact that there is no substitute for HARD WORK & REPITITION.
Great philosophy as usual, Andrew. Keep it up!
Hi Andrew,
Inspirational post you got there. I always tell my subscribers and customers what you’ve said above, that “there’s no such thing as overnight success”.
Achieving success is about INCREMENTAL improvement, not about one big magic discovery of some “secret” techniques.
Persevere with determination, and do your work EVERY DAY that lead to the SAME direction, and you should be in good hands.
Cheers Mate!
Welly Mulia
This is Gold andrew – if i could add a few words – Belief – work on developing the belief you can achieve it. Focus: Keep focus on moving forward (does mean everything will move you forward,but thats the Goal. Work: Expect to have to do it! LOL
Last year, my first year in IM and working with computers I learnt to learn and learn to earn.With every failure I learnt a lesson and a few hundred lessons later I am still here and still learning.But by sticking with the daily grind and not looking for “magic bullets” or a big “red button” it is all starting to pay off.
In the whole 12 months there has never been a eureka moment but more of a gradual realisation of just how much knowledge I have gained.
Simply by “working at it”, picking myself up after every fall and marching on I am well on the road to achieving my goal.No one said it was easy, well not at least the people worth listening to and the only way I have found to succeed in this line of business just as with any other is by sheer hard work, but it beats the 9-5 anyday.
Hi Andrew
Great blog.
I have been trying to do online marketing etc for the last 3 months.
Initially I was VERY EXICITED and thought in 12 months I will be financially independant!!!. How wrong was I.!!!
I have inbox folders full of get rich schemes which for now am going to ignore.I have realised that FOCUS and PERSISTANCE is the key,so am concentrating on one project that is the Affiliate Road.I have over 290 posts on my site and earned nothing as yet.
I would appreciate it if you took a quick tour of my site and give me some constructive advice / critism as to where I need to improve.
Keep up the great writing.
John
What a great post Andrew, I gotta be honest I have to reevaluate the direction i’m going this year! Every day we are constantly growing and learning… it’s just about implementing what you have learned and putting all these ideas out there and making them happen.
Hope all is well bro!
take care!
David
Ahmad says;
In other words you mean work hard, work smart and be persistent. That is what i like.
I am not in this for miracles, but miraculous results are achievable.