Life is short.
Far too short to give yourself a hard time about anything.
So if I have one glass of wine too many with dinner or find I’ve put a couple of extra pounds on after raiding the biscuit tin (cookie jar) for three nights in a row then that’s fine with me.
I think life is for enjoying not worrying about. Discipline is for the army and guilt is for Catholics.
LIFE is for doing things your own way, making sure you laugh more than you cry and if it feels good do it more often and this time with strawberry flavoured yoghurt or a set of handcuffs.
But human nature being what it is, people do judge themselves far more harshly than anyone else ever would, and rather than dwelling on their successes seem to focus on failures, bad luck and honest judgement errors.
Today I was in a supermarket. I needed a few things for my office and ASDA was handy.
As I packed up my purchases I struck up a conversation with the girl at the checkout and as probably happens to most of you when you’re making smalltalk, the conversation got around to the global recession.
It turns out that her boyfriend had just lost his job, and their finances were decidely shaky.
Put simply, apart from looking for a new job they didn’t have a clue what to do.
I tenatively asked if she’d every considered setting up an online business – Initially I mentioned Ebay and told her about a few things I used to sell on Ebay and said there was a lot of scope for earning online.
I wasn’t in any way attempting to sell her anything and didn’t mention any of our sites.
I stopped in my tracks when I realised she was looking at me as though I was speaking Martian.
She paused then spent the next 30 seconds telling me why she could never do anything like that and wasn’t much good at ‘ideas’ or very good with computers. She also reckoned that everything she tried turned to sh*t and she didn’t do very well at school. And anyhow ‘you don’t get something for nothing’
The thing is, if I’D said that to her she’d have floored me with a shopping trolley, but because she was saying it about herself it was OK to rip apart her own confidence and abilities. Crazy!
And the stats tell us that 95% of all people think that way. They can’t see possibilities.
So my esteemed readers, the next time you find yourself ripping in to your own skills and self-confidence, and telling yourself that you can’t do something or you’ll probably make a mess of something, take a firm grip of yourself, preferably somewhere that makes your eyes water, and squeeze.
Because YOU are reading this blog – YOU are looking into the possibilities of online business, which means that YOU are one of the visionary 5%
And while you might not yet be where you want to be, you’re a bloody sight further on than most people.
You might be only halfway up the mountain, but at least you realise there’s a mountain there in the first place.
And I take my hat off to you for it!
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Hi Tony
Recently I was deemed “ineligible” for an application because I wasn’t a “professional”. In their eyes I was “self employed” and that just wasn’t good enough (they only wanted “professionals”)
I just smiled knowing I earned more than the snooty lady and her equally snooty partner put together (and then some).
In her opinion running your own business was definitely NOT a good use of your time.
Each to their own I guess!
Lee McIntyre
P.S Thanks for the great post 🙂
But it’s not just the girl in ASDA…
There are people who wear their badge of “I don’t do anything with computers” proudly for no reason whatsoever. I know company directors like that!
I also know people with no self-confidence who are amongst the most intelligent, gifted people going.
And, let’s be fair, if everyone thought that they could sell over the net we wouldn’t have a market to sell to… 🙁
Phil
…And this, dear Tony, is why I read your blog and buy your products.
Louie
Excellent post Tony.
There are those of us who don’t need to be told that the world is bursting with opportunity, and those of us who wouldn’t believe such a thing even if it was told to them by a booming James Earl Jones voice coming out of the sky accompanied by bolts of lightning and much flapping of angel’s wings.
Thankfully there is a third group: those who harbour a vague suspicion that a better life is possible, but they just don’t know how to reach it.
Those are the ones we can help.
Martin
Martin – spot on – love the James Earl Jones voice picture too! Wonder if he’s available to do video product? Would make people take notice!
Hiya Phil
Dead right – Luddites!
The ones who proudly stand up and say ‘I don’t know a thing about computers and I don’t want to either’
Wonder why people say that but don’t say the same about microwaves, dishwashers and cable TV?
Hi Lee – thanks for dropping by.
I recently opened a new business bank account. The procedure went smoothly of course until they started to prattle on about ‘business advice’.
The 19 year old girl who gave the ‘advice’ confessed she had just moved from the mortgages section and when she realised I didn’t need any sort of loan, overdraft or credit facility she lost interest.
For fun I asked her a few questions about her recommendation for an email marketing and autoresponder service.
If you grab a dictionary and look up ‘squirm’ you’ll see a picture of the girl in question 🙂
Seriously I have no objection in them trying to upsell me on a loan or whatever when I’ve opened a bank account but why dress it up as advice?
I’m sure they’re just setting themselves up for a huge legal action when some lass from the mortgages section gives the wrong advice and some new business loses a lot of money!
But you’re right mate – sod ’em – that’s the beauty of internet marketing – self sufficiency!
Hi Tony
I hear you about your bank example!
I like to really make them work. “I’m REALLY interested in some insurance for x,y,c, but could you please tell me in one minute or less why I should use your services and NOT the services of your competitiors”.
The marketer in me really enjoys analysing their pitch, plus I like putting them under pressure 🙂 Mmmn, I need some new hobbies!
Thanks for a great post!
Lee McIntyre
Hello Tony:
I made a sale! It was your website deal. How cool. Someone out there stumbled across me and I didn’t put them off.
I was asleep. The were in Australia. Incredible.
I’ve learned a lot from you.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Riley West
Hello again!
Oops. One really should proofread.
Riley
PS: I like the new look of your blog. I shamelessly copied your last one…like so much of your stuff.
Congratulations Riley – to get from complete newbie (I hope you don’t mind me saying that) to making sales in just a few short weeks is pretty good going.
Excellent and well deserved!
Tony