doing something wrong is better than doing nothing at all...do you really think so? I don't.

by Broyde
67 replies
I am hearing it being said a lot around here that doing something incorrectly is better than doing nothing at all. The argument is that at least when doing wrong you are taking action which will ultimately lead to success.

I disagree because only correct action ultimately leads to success. If you are doing something incorrectly, it is very easy to become discouraged when good results are not coming forth. And if good results are not coming then why continue to pour your labor into something that is failing.

So instead of thinking that doing something is good enough... we need to learn to do what is right and only then is it good enough.
#alldo #wrong
  • Profile picture of the author Malcolm Thomas
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    I am hearing it being said a lot around here that doing something incorrectly is better than doing nothing at all. The argument is that at least when doing wrong you are taking action which will ultimately lead to success.

    I disagree because only correct action ultimately leads to success. If you are doing something incorrectly, it is very easy to become discouraged when good results are not coming forth. And if good results are not coming then why continue to pour your labor into something that is failing.

    So instead of thinking that doing something is good enough... we need to learn to do what is right and only then is it good enough.
    "Failure is the greatest teacher" I agree with whoever said this saying. It's possible to learn from your mistakes. What do you learn from doing nothing?
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  • Profile picture of the author John Rogers
    I think Thomas Edison would disagree.

    "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas A. Edison, in reference to his light bulb experiments.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kreator517
      Originally Posted by John Rogers View Post

      I think Thomas Edison would disagree.

      "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas A. Edison, in reference to his light bulb experiments.
      To the point, Edison's Nemesis Nikola Tesla got it right the first time every time....

      But who used the wisdom gained from his mistakes to sell himself and his inventions to history while Tesla was ignored and died a mere footnote!

      ergo,


      Not only do we learn from efforts that don't pan out, we grow into the IM superiors of those to whom it all comes easy.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
    Well, of course you are right that to keep at something that is failing is not the way to go, but most things I start out doing fails at first until I keep at it and keep improving on whatever it is I'm tackling.
    Being able to decide when you need to persist and learn more and when you need to give something up is itself a skill. But some people need to be grabbed by the shirt collar and told "Give it up!" for sure.
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  • Profile picture of the author TimothyTorrents
    Learn by your mistakes. You will fail most of the time but there is a chance that you will strike gold. I think you should never just "take action" without proper research - that is a great way to fail.
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  • Profile picture of the author drewfioravanti
    You are misinterpreting it...you don't want to continue to go 100 miles an hour down the wrong street...Edison tried 10001 different things. To keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results is not wise.

    If you fail, learn, and tweak...you haven't really failed. If you fail and repeat...well, you failed.
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  • Profile picture of the author SamuelCarter
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    I am hearing it being said a lot around here that doing something incorrectly is better than doing nothing at all. The argument is that at least when doing wrong you are taking action which will ultimately lead to success.

    I disagree because only correct action ultimately leads to success. If you are doing something incorrectly, it is very easy to become discouraged when good results are not coming forth. And if good results are not coming then why continue to pour your labor into something that is failing.

    So instead of thinking that doing something is good enough... we need to learn to do what is right and only then is it good enough.
    Hello,

    I couldn't resist this post. From experience, i think we have all gone through that phase of hitting a brick wall when things don't seem to be working. We immediately attach a negative feeling (pain of failure) to not having success and in stead of trying to act, we rather avoid it all together because we spend more time on thinking about failing, If all your doing is thinking about failure, of course your going to fail. Having negative thoughts, only fuels your subconscious and we set our selves up.

    I went to an event where tony Robbins was speaking and he spoke a lot about mindset and the way we create these situations ourselves, Its better ultimately to make mistakes, and not procrastinate. Ive made many mistakes along the way, and i am thankful for that, as i know i now can avoid those or use them to my advantage.

    Just remember PERSEVERANCE, " Steady persistence in a course of action, state, especially in spite of difficulties obstacles or discouragement" I read that every day.

    So, those who think better not try as i know the outcome, tend to be the one that complain that nothing works and why is every one else well off, and has money so on, and so on.

    Also, when we fail in a certain task, we can adapt and enhance the strategy and try something different,some times is can be pain stalking, trail and error. However when you hit success, Wouldn't you say it was all worth it?

    Hope you enjoyed my post ! Now come on lets make money together!

    Samuel
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    • Profile picture of the author cobwab
      Originally Posted by SamuelCarter View Post

      Hello,

      I couldn't resist this post. From experience, i think we have all gone through that phase of hitting a brick wall when things don't seem to be working. We immediately attach a negative feeling (pain of failure) to not having success and in stead of trying to act, we rather avoid it all together because we spend more time on thinking about failing, If all your doing is thinking about failure, of course your going to fail. Having negative thoughts, only fuels your subconscious and we set our selves up.

      I went to an event where tony Robbins was speaking and he spoke a lot about mindset and the way we create these situations ourselves, Its better ultimately to make mistakes, and not procrastinate. Ive made many mistakes along the way, and i am thankful for that, as i know i now can avoid those or use them to my advantage.

      Just remember PERSEVERANCE, " Steady persistence in a course of action, state, especially in spite of difficulties obstacles or discouragement" I read that every day.

      So, those who think better not try as i know the outcome, tend to be the one that complain that nothing works and why is every one else well off, and has money so on, and so on.

      Also, when we fail in a certain task, we can adapt and enhance the strategy and try something different,some times is can be pain stalking, trail and error. However when you hit success, Wouldn't you say it was all worth it?

      Hope you enjoyed my post ! Now come on lets make money together!

      Samuel
      The faster you fail, the quicker you will achieve your goal.
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  • Profile picture of the author thecashlab
    Diving into something without any knowledge is bad, but waiting until you know everything is even worse.

    The quickest way to learn is through failure - and that means doing thing wrong from time to time. So I say get some knowledge and dive right in... but don't wait until you know 'everything'.

    One of my favorite quote...

    "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm"
    - Winston Churchill
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    • Profile picture of the author konakid
      I agree with everyone here. I don't think failure is bad (unless you're losing a ton of money or something).

      As long as you learn from your mistakes and do better each time, then you're making progress and you'll succeed eventually.

      If you do nothing, you have no chance of success
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  • Profile picture of the author GeroC
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post


    I disagree because only correct action ultimately leads to success. If you are doing something incorrectly, it is very easy to become discouraged when good results are not coming forth. And if good results are not coming then why continue to pour your labor into something that is failing.
    I don’t think that everyone could start something and get it right all the time. But to start and do it wrong will make you either learn fom your mistakes or quit. Not all will quit.

    "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again"
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Then
    You will be a BIG failure if you do the wrong things TWICE.
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  • Profile picture of the author kartherma
    While I cannot properly credit the author, a comment I have heard before that rings true here-

    Experience is something you don't get until just AFTER you needed it...
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    You learn by mistakes.

    End of story.

    A study was once done on the most powerful CEO's in America and the research showed that the large majority of them had all had their biggest success right after their biggest failure.

    Don't be afraid to get things wrong. In a lot of cases you won't get to the right stuff until you get it wrong.
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert02011
    I like this saying
    Don`t ask why just do it!
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  • Profile picture of the author humbledmarket
    Banned
    ehh well You do learn a lot and get practical experience and learn much but at the same time when you are starting out you're inexperience it might be suggestable to take things stride by stride as oppose to all in.

    That way when you do mess up, the mistake won't be that big but something you can learn from and readjust.

    In general It depends...like a lot of things. Make wrong turns is common so no point beating yourself up about it. Insisting only on moving your ass when you can do things perfectly ends up as an excuse for procrastination and making mistake is effective learning (if approached correctly)
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  • Profile picture of the author JasonBennet
    I will first research on the various methods that has proven to work for many people. Once I have decided on the one proven system that I want to follow, I will focus on the system and take massive action on it.

    I feel it is important to invest money into getting a proven and reliable mentor that as that will really cuts down on the learning curve.
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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    You're right. The first time I overcooked a steak, I should have just become a vegetarian.
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  • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
    Not many people intentionally do the wrong thing. Shit happens, it's what you do about it and how you react that counts.


    In a moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. ~ Theodore Roosevelt
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    In a moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

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  • Profile picture of the author jipolis7
    I don't know why someone thinks like so...
    This will prevent the person to learn anything. This will prevent the person to do anything creative. So, don't think like this.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Analysis paralysis leads to failure too. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take-Wayne Gretzky.

    When you take action, but fail, you have a data set you can study and actions you can fix. You don't have this when you're not taking action.
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  • Profile picture of the author miklanderson2
    You'll never learn what works if you're so scared of failure that you're unable to move forward.

    There are a lot of people out there who are capable of great things, but are held back by the fear of failure. You have to be willing to put yourself out there in order to learn the ropes. Fail once, learn from it and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure you don't fail in the same manner the next time around.
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  • Profile picture of the author MartinPlatt
    Doing something wrong is only effective, if you learn from it.

    Doing something wrong over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity!

    Doing something that is taking action in the right direction, but can be improved on I think is what people mean. By doing that you put yourself in a situation where you get to experience all the different aspects of internet marketing. It is then up to you what you look into and learn from.

    If the alternative is to wait until you know everything. You'll never achieve success, because you never will know everything.
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  • how else will u learn if you don't try? It's all a theory until you tested. test until you find something that's working and then go with what's working.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by Malcolm Thomas View Post

      What do you learn from doing nothing?
      I learn a lot about what's on TV, and my bank account learned to decrease when I do nothing. Of course, sometimes it decreases when I do something - but at least I have some idea of where the money went. But most times it increases at some point when I do something.


      Originally Posted by drewfioravanti View Post

      To keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results is not wise.
      Actually, that is the definition of insanity.
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      • Profile picture of the author Terry Coombes
        Another of those sayings: "The person who never made a mistake never made anything."
        True, I s'pose.

        Terry
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  • Profile picture of the author tamalanwar
    Doing something wrong, do you mean something that is un-ethical? No then don't do.
    But if you mean making mistakes, then it is okay.

    Because without doing you will never know for sure.

    It takes same effort to success or failure, so you have to learn, keep failing and then succeed.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill Hugall
    Yeah sorry your comment is way off. You don't just get to learn something the first time. A baby trying to walk pretty much sums up the grown-ups attempts to succeed. If you know nothing about something you want to succeed at.... How could you ever take the right action the first time. Failure is learning. Not understanding that or spreading the belief that you should not fail if you want to succeed is a great way to screw a lot of people over. The key is learning from your mistakes.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I doubt that I would have ever learned much if I hadn't tried and failed. This kind of thinking keeps people from taking action for fear of "doing it wrong".

    Do it until you get it right.
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    • Profile picture of the author 24hours
      I just started looking into IM a few weeks ago and I can tell you that the information overload brought me to a standstill. It wasn't even fear of failure that caused me to do nothing, it was not knowing where/how to start.

      I sat down and laid out a basic long-term battle plan and that's made moving forward easier. I know next to nothing about IM so in addition to slowly implementing my plan, I try to learn one new thing everyday, even if it's just looking up one of the kajillion acronyms or researching the IM specific jargon.

      I'm not planning to fail, but I'm not afraid of it either. To me, the only failure in life is not trying.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by RedShifted View Post

        You're right. The first time I overcooked a steak, I should have just become a vegetarian.
        I started to tell you to bite your tongue...

        Then I said to myself, "Whoops, meat again."
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        • Profile picture of the author myob
          "Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself."
          - Eleanor Roosevelt
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  • Profile picture of the author tac88
    How else are you going to learn anything if you do not do something to learn from your mistakes.

    It is like when you were a child and touched a hot pot! You learn not to touch a hot pot from your mistake.
    The only way to learn in life is by doing it and failing and learning from your mistakes.
    Even people like Donald Trump and Richard Bronson both millionaire and a billionaire they say it all the time if they quit the first time they failed at something they would never be where they are today from the learning experience from failing first.
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  • Profile picture of the author thatkeywordguy
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    doing something incorrectly is better than doing nothing at all.
    sometimes its good advice, sometimes its not.

    It wouldn't be good advice with brain surgery, for example.
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  • Profile picture of the author Broyde
    Post number 34 is saying exactly what I am meaning...when you take action, you look before you leap. Important things need to be done correctly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gengis
    I think you're just not comprehending what they are trying to teach you..

    You see the problem is that most people are procastinators and habitual excuse makers so with that said..They don't take action..

    And really taking action is where it's at, so what they're trying to teach you with that saying is to take action even if you screw things up because even if so you will be light years ahead of the procastinators..

    So be an action taker and stop over thinking things to the point where nothing is done..

    Alright bro Later..
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  • Profile picture of the author sf_Imtiaz
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    I am hearing it being said a lot around here that doing something incorrectly is better than doing nothing at all. The argument is that at least when doing wrong you are taking action which will ultimately lead to success.

    I disagree because only correct action ultimately leads to success.
    That's the misinterpretation of the argument, the argument is making an assumption based on empirical knowledge that the purpose of trying is to succeed. Your interpretation make it sound as if the subject is incapable of identifying and rectifying the errors, and will repeat them endlessly without ever finding the correct way.

    In other words, Trying and failing is better than not trying at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    I am hearing it being said a lot around here that doing something incorrectly is better than doing nothing at all. The argument is that at least when doing wrong you are taking action which will ultimately lead to success.

    I disagree because only correct action ultimately leads to success. If you are doing something incorrectly, it is very easy to become discouraged when good results are not coming forth. And if good results are not coming then why continue to pour your labor into something that is failing.

    So instead of thinking that doing something is good enough... we need to learn to do what is right and only then is it good enough.

    Did you master riding a bicycle on the first try?

    My point is, If a person isn't trying, they're not doing anything which guarantees zero success.
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  • Profile picture of the author glennshep
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    So instead of thinking that doing something is good enough... we need to learn to do what is right and only then is it good enough.
    I think this sentence is the key. It's no good just 'making do' and keeping on failing due to repeatedly taking incorrect action. But if you don't try something then you won't learn much. For example, I play the guitar and can teach others how to do it. But if all you do is learn the theory behind it and never actually give the practical a go, you are never going to get anywhere. Even if you learn all the theoretical side of things and know how to do it right, once you try to play you are still going to make mistakes. But you should learn from them, try to improve and not keep making them. If you just think "Oh well, it'll do" then you're restricting yourself and are going to struggle to progress much further.

    So yes, don't be satisfied with repeatedly doing things the wrong way, but equally don't just sit and do nothing for fear of doing it the wrong way. You cannot learn and improve unless you start somewhere and it's better to at least start small with what you know and get that right before trying to move on to bigger things rather than do nothing at all. So sure, don't think that it's okay to do things wrong and just leave it at that. But it IS okay to do things wrong, learn from the mistakes and try to improve. If you do nothing at all then you won't get anywhere
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  • Profile picture of the author Silent Voices
    This should have been Obamas real slogan
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  • Profile picture of the author EPoltrack77
    It's our failures that move us ahead. How so? Well it takes a strong person to look at what is going wrong and why it is not working out and make corrections. Thats how you improve and get better. Iv failed over and over multiple times and its never going to end. Its like saying to a boxer "your never going to get hit" yeah ok. The key is to learn new ways and take action. The more you learn the bigger the picture will get.

    It would be cool if the world was perfect... na, then the competition will be way to high... As of now its easy
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  • Profile picture of the author Joe Benjamin
    When you were a little boy or girl you looked
    FORWARD to failing.

    Be it learning how to tie a knot in your shoe for
    the first time.

    Learning how to ride a bike.

    Or even learning how to fix a bowl of cereal
    for yourself in the morning.

    At first you missed a loop...hit a curb and flew
    over the handle bars...or accidently spilled milk
    all over your mothers hardwood floor.

    But eventually -- often sooner than you thought
    --- you got it.

    Something clicked in your brain. Now it's routine.

    You may not appreciate those simple moments
    now in adulthood. But I bet when you think back
    to those precious memories you smile as you reminece.

    So why is it any different now then it was then?

    Perhaps it had something to do with losing that
    spark that drove you to try new things.

    Teachers gave you "F's" on your report card if
    you made mistakes.

    Parents and gaurdians didn't let you live down a
    thing you said or did that sent you to your room as
    a punishment.

    Society seems to favor those who are successful
    right out the gate...while ignoring those who try.

    Naturally, overtime, you want success BEFORE you
    allow yourself to make mistakes.

    Of course, logically, we know this is not possible.

    We learned that in childhood.

    And we UN-learned it growing up into adulthood.

    The challenge then is to approach business with a
    child-like curiousity and be WILLING to fall off your
    bike a few times before you get it right.

    In my opinion, this is THE number one reason people
    fail in business.

    Not because of a lack of skill or potential.

    They never actually TRY and DO anything because
    they're so busy covering their bases.

    ...yet there is no enemy to fight nor terriotory to protect.

    In essence, you're defending yourself...from yourself.

    That's a losing war.

    If you want to take the bunker up the hill of success,
    you MUST get from behind your own bases. You must
    be willing to fight until the end.

    ...or you'll be sitting there in the middle of a cold, dead
    winter in Barcelone with 1 days rations left, a swig of
    water in your Cantene and 1 bullet in the chamber.

    Be bold.

    Be fearless.

    Take a chance and you just may be surprised with your
    results.

    **--Joe Benjamin --**



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    • Profile picture of the author johndetlefs
      Originally Posted by Joe Benjamin View Post

      When you were a little boy or girl you looked
      FORWARD to failing.

      **--Joe Benjamin --**
      Joe, do you THINK in copy? I love your stuff... I can just imagine you in conversations talking to people the same way that you write...
      Signature

      You only get one shot at life - make it awesome.

      Everyone else also gets just one crack at it - help make theirs awesome too... or, politely step out of their way.

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  • Profile picture of the author higherluv
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    I am hearing it being said a lot around here that doing something incorrectly is better than doing nothing at all. The argument is that at least when doing wrong you are taking action which will ultimately lead to success.

    I disagree because only correct action ultimately leads to success. If you are doing something incorrectly, it is very easy to become discouraged when good results are not coming forth. And if good results are not coming then why continue to pour your labor into something that is failing.

    So instead of thinking that doing something is good enough... we need to learn to do what is right and only then is it good enough.
    But by not doing anything then you won't know what the outcome is. At least by doing things wrong you can learn from them and change.
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  • Profile picture of the author sal64
    I think I could write an entire book on this topic...

    It's not as black and white as it appears.

    In summary...

    1- you need some sort of realistic plan

    2- you need specific education in aspects of that plan.

    3- you then take action.

    4- you need the discipline to block out all the noise and persist when things go wrong.

    Sal
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  • Profile picture of the author johndetlefs
    It's funny everyone quoting that Edison tried 10000 times before he got to his lightbulb moment.

    Tesla (a contemporary of Edison's) used to get really frustrated by his approach, and said so in a famous interview.

    Edision: “If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward”

    Tesla: “His method was inefficient in the extreme, for an immense ground had to be covered to get anything at all unless blind chance intervened and, at first, I was almost a sorry witness of his doings, knowing that just a little theory and calculation would have saved him 90% of the labor. But he had a veritable contempt for book learning and mathematical knowledge, trusting himself entirely to his inventor's instinct and practical American sense.”

    Enemies in Genius Nikola Tesla Versus Thomas Edison

    While I admire Edison for his tenacity, he reminds me of a fly hitting a window 100 times before finally lucking out and hitting a hole (which he would admittedly then on-sell for a billion dollars) , whereas I personally prefer to do a little thinking after my mistakes as well as testing ferociously!
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    You only get one shot at life - make it awesome.

    Everyone else also gets just one crack at it - help make theirs awesome too... or, politely step out of their way.

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  • Profile picture of the author sal64
    Valid point about Edison. Never thought of it that way before, but yes, his methods may have been very inefficient.

    Once again people miss the point: Without a plan and system (efficient) you're destined to fail more often.

    It's the old practice makes perfect argument... if you practice the wrong thing, you'll become perfect at the wrong thing.

    Sal
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  • Profile picture of the author johndetlefs
    Wasn't disagreeing with you Sal, or missing your point.. think of my post as more of an addendum.. additional reading as it were.
    Signature

    You only get one shot at life - make it awesome.

    Everyone else also gets just one crack at it - help make theirs awesome too... or, politely step out of their way.

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    • Profile picture of the author sal64
      Originally Posted by johndetlefs View Post

      Wasn't disagreeing with you Sal, or missing your point.. think of my post as more of an addendum.. additional reading as it were.
      Wasn't aiming that sentence at you... just speaking in general.

      Sal
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      You Won't See The Light Until You Open Your Eyes.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gonzosan
        Well I don't think anyone out there goes with the intention of doing anything wrong. In a perfect world we'd all do everything right the first time everytime. I think you need to do something, anything that will propel you forward in some way even if only to teach you what NOT to do.

        If you put something up for sale and realize you're not making money then you've learned what doesn't work. I like the "fire and aim" approach. Throw stuff out and see what sticks then adjust from there. Repeat the process. The key is not to repeat failures but to learn from them and try something new until you get what you want.
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  • Profile picture of the author voiceofreason
    Banned
    Some great posts here, but I believe something else needs to be established here - That the word "Wrong" does not necessarily have to mean you're 100% incorrect in your action.

    Rather, we often say "you're doing it wrong" when what we really mean is "there's a better way."

    Even if there is a "better way" to do something, it does not mean that the marketer is wrong to take the action he/she is - As it is indeed far better than doing nothing at all.

    I'd chat about experience being the greatest teacher yada, yada, yada... But it appears others beat me to it.
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7

    I am hearing it being said a lot around here that doing something incorrectly is better than doing nothing at all. The argument is that at least when doing wrong you are taking action which will ultimately lead to success.

    I disagree because only correct action ultimately leads to success. If you are doing something incorrectly, it is very easy to become discouraged when good results are not coming forth. And if good results are not coming then why continue to pour your labor into something that is failing.

    So instead of thinking that doing something is good enough... we need to learn to do what is right and only then is it good enough.


    I agree with you because many times you will try to do something and fail miserably, and then you won't have any courage to go on. You should be careful and study internet marketing very well before taking action.

    Those who keep telling you to ‘take action’ are pushing you to do something while you don’t have enough knowledge yet.

    Then, you will buy another ebook with a different method to take you out of the mess you are in, and you’ll keep trying to find solutions to save your work, while it was done all wrong and you are merely spending your money and wasting your time trying to save e.g. a website without the right keywords, which was not made for any specific audience, and is promoting products that nobody buys.

    You should be very afraid to take action and never do anything without knowing what you are doing.

    You can test your skills and take action by using free ways to make money like creating Squidoo lenses and writing blog posts by using Blogger or the free version of Wordpress.

    Don’t try to do complicated things from the beginning, and don’t spend your money before studying everything you can for free at this forum and other forums and blogs that give you information and knowledge.

    You should take action and create your own website when you’ll feel that you know what you are doing. If you’ll fail, your failure will be a lesson because you will understand your mistakes. If you don’t know what you are doing you cannot understand the reason why you couldn't make money and what to correct.

    When you'll take action, you’ll see that there are many complications that nobody talks about, like the fact that if you'll promote your product at Clickbank and nobody will buy it, you will have to remove it from there. If you want to keep it there, you must create an affiliate program. If you'll create an affiliate program, you’ll have to recruit affiliates. If you want to recruit affiliates, you’ll have to convince many people to promote your products, but nobody wants to promote new products, and you’ll go from problem to problem, and from solution to solution.

    I could mention many similar examples. What about preparing and sending email messages for years to the same subscribers? What about writing articles for years about the same topics?

    Internet marketing is a very complex system, which depends on numerous details. You have to know how to deal with everything.










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  • Profile picture of the author ymest
    I believe that just like everything in life, there are limits and yes, if you keep on doing something really wrong...you should really rethink the whole thing or give up! Doing nothing on the other is not going to bring you anything AT ALL. But, you're still right and I agree with you. I agree with the idea that we all make mistakes but the KEY is to learn from these mistakes, if possible, very rapidly! Some never learn from their mistakes and repeat them OVER AND OVER AGAIN and yes it does annoy me TOO! I believe in the learning curve but the learning curve must stop sometimes, and you must get it right next time, whatever happens!

    Pianist use SLOW PRACTICE to learn a new piece and for instance Rachmaninoff used to play SO SLOWLY that it was unbearable but at least CORRECT, so this example does validate your point entirely!

    I also believe that failure can teach but as I said earlier, IT'S GOT ITS LIMITS!

    Yoan
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  • Profile picture of the author LarryC
    It all depends on how costly your mistakes are. If you're not spending any money or doing anything unethical, mistakes can be valuable learning experiences. If, however, you're investing your life savings into unsuccessful campaigns it's another story.
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    Content Writing, Ghostwriting, eBooks, editing, research.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Gladwell
    I don't know who it was that said 'You don't learn anything from your successes' but I'd be more inclined to agree with that rather than your original thread title.

    Think about it:

    If you 'fail' at something...
    • You get to see what didn't work
    • You know not to do it again
    • And you also (crucially) get one step closer to the method that works for you to achieve your goals.
    If you succeed at something, you know what you did works... And that's pretty much it.

    All the most successful people have essentially made mistakes until they succeeded.

    Look at John Thornhill, a brilliant online marketer. He hardly made any money online for FOUR YEARS. But he kept going and now he makes a ton of cash.

    If you wait for it to all be exactly as it should be, you'll never get anywhere. If you start, you can correct course as you go. If you wait, you'll find years have gone past while you procrastinated.

    Your call.
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    • Profile picture of the author Broyde
      A lot of people made reference here to Edison trying 10,000 ways with the lightbulb before he was successful. But Edison did not have the benefit of having possible mentors and teachers around.

      Lets say if Edison had invented the light bulb today, and tomorrow another person was aiming at BUILDING a lightbulb, should they go the trial and error way, or find out how Edison did it?

      I would think that if they found out Edison did it, then they could work on trying to make the bulb more energy efficient...
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      • Profile picture of the author theory expert
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

        A lot of people made reference here to Edison trying 10,000 ways with the lightbulb before he was successful. But Edison did not have the benefit of having possible mentors and teachers around.

        Lets say if Edison had invented the light bulb today, and tomorrow another person was aiming at BUILDING a lightbulb, should they go the trial and error way, or find out how Edison did it?

        I would think that if they found out Edison did it, then they could work on trying to make the bulb more energy efficient...
        ...and where did the mentor get his/her knowledge from? Sure you can stand on the shoulders of giants sometimes. While other times you are treading unchartered territory. Example a newbie says they will be a millionaire in 3 months. Welp they are on their own because noone here is going to tell them that is possible. By the way, Edison during his time had others working on the same things just like he was during his time. Same thing with the Wright Brothers. They weren't the only ones into aviation per se, they, just were the first to get it off the ground.
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  • Profile picture of the author NewRiseDigital
    I'd recommend reading Maxwell Maltz's seminal Psycho Cybernetics. The human brain is hard wired to goal orientation, and failing forward is how every successful person has succeeded (if you have read as many biographies of successful people as I have you'd know that this is the common characteristic of all successful people without exception).

    Try - Fail - Correct is the only way you can succeed, doing nothing gets you nowhere. Thought without action is simply a dream.
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    Interviews With The Top Digital Marketing Experts - Get The New Book "Essential Digital Marketing For Small Business http://newrisedigital.com/book
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  • Profile picture of the author theory expert
    Banned
    To get to right action you got to start from an act
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  • Doing something wrong is not the right thing to do if many tell you it's wrong from experience. Trying something without knowing it's wrong, because you think it might work, is how you then go ahead and turn it into a success.

    There are some very dumb comparisons and answers though... one person said that brain surgeons don't get it wrong. I'm pretty sure when we first learned to operate in that area (albeit with animals), many mistakes were made, over and over again. They were then documented so those who came after would get it right. Even today, mistakes are made even by professionals.

    And to even get to the point where you can operate, many would have failed on trial runs, dummy dolls or whatever they do to learn.

    Everyone fails in almost everything at some point, with things like sky diving etc being the exception and we all know why!
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  • Profile picture of the author sarahAttkinson
    Banned
    Maybe the idea was that doing something wrong means that you took action, which is better than doing nothing. Taking action means assuming that things can go wrong, although you are only hoping for the best.
    Words are always submitted to different interpretations. It depends on the different points of view.
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  • Profile picture of the author iwowwe4you
    Succeed those who always learn: learn from mistakes, learn by sharing, learn by reading, learn by giving training and being trained by others.
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    Happy to share 18 years experience in MLM/IM. Not doing any other work for over 7 years now. Accredited as a coach by 3 companies I worked with after completing a course of education and passing exams. HND in Business, Economics, Accounting, Market Research, Market Development, Management.
    Love to Learn - Love to Teach!

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    • Profile picture of the author rae081
      When trying something new you should definitely do some research and find out what the best approach is. I think what the phrase "doing something wrong is better than doing nothing at all" means at some point you need to just do something even if you don't have all the answers to how it should be done. A lot of times we can get stuck in research mode and end up never doing anything at all. It is better to learn what you can, as fast as you can and then just do it!... You can learn the rest along the way by correcting any mistakes you've made otherwise you'll probably NEVER get started.
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  • I think you sometimes can't help but fail. You then have to learn from those mistakes and the mistakes of others. Don't keep doing the same thing over and over, if it fails. But don't not take action simply out of fear of failure.
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  • Profile picture of the author RanjitB
    Originally Posted by Broyde View Post

    I am hearing it being said a lot around here that doing something incorrectly is better than doing nothing at all. The argument is that at least when doing wrong you are taking action which will ultimately lead to success.

    I disagree because only correct action ultimately leads to success. If you are doing something incorrectly, it is very easy to become discouraged when good results are not coming forth. And if good results are not coming then why continue to pour your labor into something that is failing.

    So instead of thinking that doing something is good enough... we need to learn to do what is right and only then is it good enough.
    Sure, It just like a noted invester says " Treat all INVESTMENTS as BAD investments" It is just turn people off taking actions and psychologically make people fear of investing.

    *****Fore sure, what you should do is choosing and taking the next step carefully NOT haphazardly.
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    Thanks
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