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Quit Thinking in Terms of $xxx per xxxx

by LB
9 replies
Over the last couple of years here there has been what you might call a fad of $xxx per month, day or week WSOs and this then carried over to many of the posts in the general forum.

I understand why this is appealing. It takes a giant goal like six-figures per year and breaks it into manageable amounts. It also implies a certain amount of stability...much like a J O B, it's a nice thought that one can earn a reliable amount each day.

The reality though, is that this type of thinking is limiting for most people.

Many people think, "if I could just create a site that made $3 a day...then I could make 1,000 of them and be rich". It's a nice thought, but it rarely works that way. In addition it keeps you focused on small goals.

We were all taught in school and in our JOBS that it takes slow, steady and patient "hard work" to be successful. We've been trained to expect to work at one level and slowly over time we will gradually have more money and success.

In reality...nothing could be further from the truth.

True success almost never comes "slow and steady" but often comes in gigantic leaps. Sometimes it's one JV, or one winning ad, or a great product idea, or an interview on national TV or just dumb luck that causes a person's success to rocket upward.

Entertainers are always looking for their "big break" as they understand the reality that their circumstances can change for the better quickly.

How often have we seen someone new come on the scene in the IM world, almost out of nowhere, and then have huge success or a big product launch? More than once.

If you're struggling to be successful...quit thinking in terms of how to make $xxx every day or week and instead look for massive leverage that can take your business not to the next level...but many levels ahead.

Can you get an interview on TV or contact a JV broker? Can you launch a hot product to your existing list? Can you convince a "name" in your niche to partner with you? Is it time you quit struggling for $20 ebook sales and launched that $1,000+ product?

Don't settle for baby steps...look for the quantum leaps.
#$xxx #quit #terms #thinking #xxxx
  • Profile picture of the author 4morereferrals
    Hrmmm ... interesting

    So I just show up and launch a product with a list of 64 people and 3 sales since 1/5/09?
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    • Profile picture of the author LB
      Originally Posted by 4morereferrals View Post

      Hrmmm ... interesting

      So I just show up and launch a product with a list of 64 people and 3 sales since 1/5/09?
      Look for the leverage my friend. Just because it's not in your list doesn't mean it isn't out there. Aim high.
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  • Profile picture of the author artsub
    Seems interesting
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      A couple of thoughts here...

      First, for a lot of folks, focusing on a concrete goal like making $100 a day fits their context. If you've never made more than $3,000 per month, the idea of making $300,000 per month has no meaning.

      I took a course by a guy named Stuart Lichtman, and part of the course was geared toward changing one's context. Stuart believed a suitable money goal was 5-10 times what you have made in the past.

      In other words, if your job pays you $3,000 a month, your goal should be $15,000 to $30,000. It's big enough to impress your subconscious and small enough to believe it's possible.

      Stuart also insisted on framing your goals as "this or something better" so you would be open to the quantum leaps, should they present themselves.

      Second, ignoring smaller goals in favor of always seeking the mother lode can lead to a lottery mentality.

      'I'm not going to waste my time on something that will only make me $100,000. I want a million, even though I've never come close to even seeing a million dollars in person.'

      When I worked as a design engineer, we'd start with a product. We would look for ways to give that product better performance, better reliability and lower manufacturing cost with fewer defects.

      We followed the practice of kaizen, or incremental improvement. If you could graph our typical results, it would look a lot like a bucksaw blade - a few small teeth, a large tooth, another small tooth, a large one and so on.

      As we pursued this, from time to time we got the quantum leap and jumped to a whole new blade, so to speak. But we wouldn't have made the leaps we did if we went looking for them from the beginning. They rarely came from where we thought they would.

      Like Willie Nelson said once in an interview, it took him over 20 years to become an overnight success...

      Putting it all together...

      > Start with goals big enough to challenge you, but small enough for you to believe in.

      > As you reach those goals, set new goals using the same approach.

      > Be open to the big break which can propel you forward in one fell swoop.
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      • Profile picture of the author LB
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        A couple of thoughts here...

        First, for a lot of folks, focusing on a concrete goal like making $100 a day fits their context. If you've never made more than $3,000 per month, the idea of making $300,000 per month has no meaning.

        I took a course by a guy named Stuart Lichtman, and part of the course was geared toward changing one's context. Stuart believed a suitable money goal was 5-10 times what you have made in the past.

        In other words, if your job pays you $3,000 a month, your goal should be $15,000 to $30,000. It's big enough to impress your subconscious and small enough to believe it's possible.

        Stuart also insisted on framing your goals as "this or something better" so you would be open to the quantum leaps, should they present themselves.

        Second, ignoring smaller goals in favor of always seeking the mother lode can lead to a lottery mentality.

        'I'm not going to waste my time on something that will only make me $100,000. I want a million, even though I've never come close to even seeing a million dollars in person.'

        When I worked as a design engineer, we'd start with a product. We would look for ways to give that product better performance, better reliability and lower manufacturing cost with fewer defects.

        We followed the practice of kaizen, or incremental improvement. If you could graph our typical results, it would look a lot like a bucksaw blade - a few small teeth, a large tooth, another small tooth, a large one and so on.

        As we pursued this, from time to time we got the quantum leap and jumped to a whole new blade, so to speak. But we wouldn't have made the leaps we did if we went looking for them from the beginning. They rarely came from where we thought they would.

        Like Willie Nelson said once in an interview, it took him over 20 years to become an overnight success...

        Putting it all together...

        > Start with goals big enough to challenge you, but small enough for you to believe in.

        > As you reach those goals, set new goals using the same approach.

        > Be open to the big break which can propel you forward in one fell swoop.
        All excellent points John.

        However, when people aim for a certain amount per month, week or whatever it often creates a glass ceiling that need not exist and traps you in a salary mentality. Maybe not YOU...but a lot of people.

        I did all the positive thinking goal setting crap that everyone pushes and never had success. It was when I looked for maximum leverage that earning six-figures became easy.

        The first year I broke that barrier I could only tell you how much I made per month by taking my yearly income and dividing it by 12. I never tracked it on that level. I was just looking for the biggest lever I could to move my business.

        As you said, the "lottery mentality" is dangerous. But for most people even $1,000 per month would be like winning the lottery because they haven't made much more than pocket change from their efforts. They can't see the forest for the trees so to speak.

        I truly think when a person is self-employed that they are more analogous to a struggling actor than a business executive or other establishment figure. The actor is looking for the best role at any given moment and is constantly auditioning and facing failure to get it. They aren't looking for $xxxx per week or month or whatever.
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Originally Posted by LB View Post

          All excellent points John.

          However, when people aim for a certain amount per month, week or whatever it often creates a glass ceiling that need not exist and traps you in a salary mentality. Maybe not YOU...but a lot of people.

          I did all the positive thinking goal setting crap that everyone pushes and never had success. It was when I looked for maximum leverage that earning six-figures became easy.

          The first year I broke that barrier I could only tell you how much I made per month by taking my yearly income and dividing it by 12. I never tracked it on that level. I was just looking for the biggest lever I could to move my business.

          As you said, the "lottery mentality" is dangerous. But for most people even $1,000 per month would be like winning the lottery because they haven't made much more than pocket change from their efforts. They can't see the forest for the trees so to speak.

          I truly think when a person is self-employed that they are more analogous to a struggling actor than a business executive or other establishment figure. The actor is looking for the best role at any given moment and is constantly auditioning and facing failure to get it. They aren't looking for per week or month or whatever.
          We aren't all that far apart here.

          If you aim for a certain figure, and don't change your aim once you reach it, that glass ceiling might as well be titanium.

          On the other hand, one person's ceiling is someone else's floor.

          Let's look at your actor analogy...

          If I go to Hollywood with big dreams and say I'm not going to settle for anything but the lead in a blockbuster, I'm going to starve.

          If I go to Hollywood with the idea of never going beyond bit parts or walk-ons, I might not starve but I won't "make it" either.

          The key is looking for the best role at any given moment, taking the roles most likely to put me in position to land the next role. And the next. Until I'm in position to grab the brass ring when it comes into my reach.

          Of course, there are a lot of people who are perfectly content to do a little community theater and soak up the applause of their friends and family.

          Who are we to say they are wrong?
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  • Profile picture of the author LB
    Hi John,

    I'd agree I think we're pretty much saying the same thing in our own way.


    If I go to Hollywood with the idea of never going beyond bit parts or walk-ons, I might not starve but I won't "make it" either.
    My point was most people looking to make $xxx per week are essentially saying the above but they don't realize it.

    Say you wanted to host your own radio show.

    You might decide that you need to go to 4 years of college to get a relevant degree in journalism. Then you'd work various jobs in the industry and work your way up in hopes that in 10 to 15 years you could be on the air.

    Or, you could go directly to local stations and pitch your show format idea. I know of one person who did exactly this and was on the air a week later because the station director loved his idea.

    The point of my post is to make people realize that they really can have massive successful leaps in their life.
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  • Profile picture of the author trippmarxx
    What a killer discussion!

    I also feel that the method of "taking things as they come to propel you to the next step, getting you closer to the ultimate goal" is the best way to approach things.

    Take for example, networking. I always network with other people. Sure, some of those relationships may fizzle or prove not to be worth much in the long run, but it's always those chance encounters that can propel you to the top.
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  • Profile picture of the author LB
    Interesting synergy in what I posted and this other thread by Eric Louviere:

    When I asked Mike his opinion on how I can reach 7 figures over two years ago, he said: People think they must grow like this: 2k to 5k to 10k to 13k to 15k to 18k to 20k to 25k to 30k to 38k to 40k and so on.

    It does not work like that. You go from 2k to 15k to 50k with each new Major change in your business - or launching a new thing. One launch can catapult you to the next financial level.
    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...es-2009-a.html
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