Failing? You May Not Be Stupid Enough!

LMAO. I love this post!!!!!

Many people spend most of their time thinking of reasons why something will not work instead of testing and improving on things.

These are the same people who spend their day commenting on threads only to criticize other people.

I have seen some members even go back and look up the OP's profile and previous threads, just so they can criticize them.

And these are suppose to be the smart people? LMAO

Lucky for me...I'm too stupid to care what they think!

And I am just stupid enough to keep working why the smart guys are trying to be perfect!

Honest question - Where are these many?

IM has an abysmal success rate and if stupid people just get going and make it why is there such a low success rate? I don;t think it can be said they over think it as we meet people every day on this forum that for one reason or the other haven't thought things through.

Sometimes you just need to "stupidly" jump into something and take action.

I also loved this post!

Great thread! And I completely agree! I've noticed that when I was just starting out in IM, success came with relative ease. These days success seems a lot harder to achieve. And I do blame this on the fact that back in the day, I had only a fraction of the IM knowledge I have today.

Funny detail: my 1st ecommerce website was up and running within 2 weeks, my latest website was under development for 6+ months (that 1st website was already making money by that time). So yeah... exactly what's pointed out in the OP

Anyway, this thread wouldn't be complete without the following quote (replace "lazy" with "stupid"):

"I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it."
- Bill Gates

I have no time for being "smart"

Just do whatever it takes to be successful...

Responders to these questions do not, for the most part, think the people asking these questions are stupid, it is the question that is stupid. But maybe they should actually be labeled as "Lazy" questions from lazy people. And most of these lazy people will not go off and build a stupid website with a stupid theme and become successful.

al

Great post with some interesting answers Continued...!

I totally agree with the fact that we never achieve anything, all the time we are sitting there, analyzing and re-analyzing our work.

Whilst I would never describe myself as 'Smart', I did fall into the second part of your post. However, I would put this down to being 'stupid' enough to listen (and believe) the smart people that kept telling me... "first you need this, then you need that".

I've also learnt over time not to listen to the ego fueled comments that knock my confidence enough to start thinking "can this really be achieved?" Now I just go by the saying "I get paid for what I know, not for what I do."

BTW, nice quote Ralph83!

I don't think success depends on how smart or "stupid" you think someone is.

I don't necessarily like to label anyone as "stupid" but I do agree there are stupid questions.

I also have to trust my own judgment on if I am sensing "entitlement" from the poster.

It is true that some very smart people do have the tendency to overthink things - paralyzing them from moving along as quickly as they could.

I think one of the first lessons one needs to learn is how to become as self sufficient as possible. This means knowing/learning how to seek out as much information on something and when you get to that roadblock where you can't find the answer then is the time to ask.

Some people need a push I believe in learning how to ask a question. Depends on the question too.

Also, everyone has their own way of delivering answers. Different people respond differently to how things are delivered to them. Some do well with a polite answer and sometimes there are those who need a bit of a "kick" to "get it." I myself in the past have needed that kick - so I don't discredit it as one viable delivery system.

Mark,

Thank you for your thread. There's a lot of wisdom and experience in what you have said.

It's unfortunate, IMO, that you've categorized people as "stupid" and "smart" as in the examples cited above. I think a better way to describe marketers are those that understand and have experience in the marketing trenches vs. those that are new and/or don't have any knowledge of or personal experience in this industry. If people were really that stupid, they most likely would never succeed and probably wouldn't have come to the Internet seeking ways to make money.

I don't think it's really smart vs. stupid . . . it's mostly understanding which details are critical for profitable business and which are just distractions that waste time and money.

Steve

Mark,

I take no offense at your wording. I wish I was "stupid" enough to get something going!!

I, too, have more or less wondered the same thing. Why is it hard to get going when others can seemingly just throw something up there, and next thing you know, they're making plenty of money doing it?

Here's my own take a someone with a master's degree who has been learning internet marketing:

As a student, you are taught to think critically, analyze things, collect data before reaching conclusions, etc. The higher the degree you get, the harder it is to get out of this way of thinking.

While going through college we are taught to think long and hard about what to do into, because it's what we'll be doing the rest of our professional lives. And then we are taught to specialize within that field of choice. So in a lot of ways, I think it is hard to "commit" to a niche we cannot vow to give our all to. Again, it's just because we've been indoctrinated into that way of thinking, all through school.

Personally, I think having a more formal education is a real liability in this field, unless you are a doctor selling some diet or other health formula you came up with on Clickbank, and when that's the case, I am quite willing to bet they turn to someone else for their product creation/marketing efforts!!

I do not think myself as smart or stupid
I just feel that if I am successful, I was intelligent.
or something like that

Microsoft Windows started with the unpopular and low-key Windows 1.0 in 1985 then improved to 3.1, 95, 98, 2000, XP etc. and now Windows 10. Along the way Bill Gates became the richest man on earth. This simply implies that Bill Gates didn't blame anyone or anything why Windows 1.0 didn't click, instead he kept on improving the Window's OS until it became the most widely used OS in the planet!

Actually, going hog-wild with plug ins could qualify as "stupid".

i agree 100%. When we are too smart, we over analyze instead of dumbing things down to the basics. Basics are a foundation for success. people forget that before trying to create something big, it has to start off small.

Mark,

You definitely shared some insightful wisdom here and although it may have seemed derogatory or punitive in the sense most people are too smart to admit they over complicate the simplistic, I for one am, or have been "GUILTY" of being a smart ass on more accounts than I care to share.

Meaning, until I had someone I respected come in and kicked me in the behind and asked; "Why the hell are you not already doing this?....or writing that?" ...Triggered my ineptness, and just the mere suggestion made the challenge easy, as if I needed to feel stupid... in order to officially take affirmative action to defend my real intelligence.

Also, as a few here may already know, "I burned my ships"...and ever since the doors have been opening left and right, and between having recently released my first PLR package and having already made a sale... it really wasn't all that hard.

Yes, it took discipline, and some effort...but, it was easy, and that first sale coming in made me feel stupid for not doing something sooner! ...and I'll even admit, I was still trying to say it wasn't ready, it wasn't done, etc. - but it was done, it's up, and that first sale from my own self-published product just became a reality, a reality I have been running from for years... because I was too smart to see just how simple it can be!

In the last 45 days or so, I have had great success having committed myself to start acting on what I do know and stop pondering the unknown, and over-complicating the process...

My suggestion to anyone getting started out, who may be skeptical, stuck, or procrastinating from taking action is to just STOP and imagine the repercussions of doing nothing... for that punishment is far greater than any humility that may occur through taking action, trial, and error.

Be it better to lay your burdens aside, and just have faith in that which you are doing, even if it means; you have to sidestep your own foolish pride...I know I did, and it helped immensely.

So many people suggested I go get a job... rather than pursue the dream, and maybe they don't see what I see, or know what I already know about IMing... but, many of them projected FEAR... and suggested exactly what society has always suggested, surrender your dream, take the 'sure thing' for now... yeah, well... now becomes tomorrow, tomorrow becomes weeks, then before you know it, you're lost searching for where you went wrong all those years ago. A self-inflicted hell, I wouldn't wish upon anyone... (ok, maybe a few, but not many!)

I would never suggest people 'burn the ships" and just up and quit their job or do it the way I did....but, I can say this, make the most of your time, your knowledge, and your gifts, and abilities... or risk losing your real intelligence.

Lastly, as it happens... what saved my arse (aside the person) who put foot to my backside was I didn't let desperation offset my back-up plan, and as a result the fishing season has already earned me almost 5 figures and enables me to run my life, business, and schedule on my time.

This is NOT to brag, rather to encourage others to exact revenge on their buried intelligence, for as Mark is suggesting...many of you know enough to copy and paste, write an article, post some content, and make some sales... So, don't F..K around and Don't be a Pussy as Frank Kern says! (*It worked for me!)

We shouldn't take the terminology literally. It's really just an amusing IM take on Bertrand Russell's observation, "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

As others in the thread have suggested, Mark is cautioning that overthinking promotes inertia.

Nicely done.

You're leaving out a couple of little details, like swinging deals to have Windows loaded on virtually every non-Apple PC sold and getting people to spend a couple of hundred dollars on each new version in order to become, in effect, beta testers.

What it really implies is that, while Gates is no doubt a smart man, he's also an incredibly lucky one.

I get Mark's point, but if it were a simple matter of "stupid succeeds", Billy Carter would have been POTUS, not Jimmy.

Awesome post.

A common scenario I have seen in this forum here is when someone (usually new) asks a question. Does ____ work?

And you will get so many responses like "It's too saturated, solo ads are dead..." etc. Yet there are people making money in all these areas.

Whatever the details are, it's really all talk until you take action and see the results for yourself. There are too many variables to consider as no two scenarios are 100% the same.

What I have forced myself to do is just research enough to complete my next task and that is it.

When I first started I used to throw a lot of things against the wall to see what would stick. And amazingly, some of the things I tried made money!

Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that work best.

These "stupid" guys don't have fear to fail and they take action, here is the point.

People that try to find the perfect wordpress domain or the perfect template will take centuries to start something.

I remember joining a top forum before (SEO), as a newbie I expected to learn a lot from it, but upon reading posts and answers probably from the admin/moderator I was discouraged to join topics. It seems like the moderator is so full of himself, he is not approachable as well as the community that whenever someone ask a question, they couldn't help it but criticize the OP. I mean, come on! It is a community. It should be about helping each other out. But really there are some people that are just there to tell you how great they are, and how pitiful that you are not. I am no expert, I guess I'm one of those stupid wanna-be's but at least I'm not that dependent on others, I learn to be resourceful.

Yes. I think you are actually on to something here - it seems to be the people with a basic, superficial grasp of popular culture who 'get people' - if you are smart you tend to want to include serious consideration of the details - you want to be precise, informative and clever, most people just 'don't have time fo that!' most people want the quick and dirty version, they want it all and they want it now, now now!

So YES, just serve up shit, serve up jingle jangle rubbish and keep serving it up brother! Who are we to tell people what they should do, if they want to believe in the tooth fairy, well here she is!

Oh my GOD! This is SO me. I over think things and have to make them detailed and perfect. Thanks for your post.

RE: "we need to dumb things down a bit"

Ok, I'll try:

"click here"

is that any good?

There is a movie about Magicians/illusionist called Now You See Me and Now You See Me 2.

I would not even assume who is really smart or stupid from some of the posts I see. Most actually took alot of time to create that simple post because they know the traction and eyeballs that post may receive.

There is a concept called Forum Marketing and there is a hell of a lot of that going on and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that as long as it is give and take.

Give some value and maybe take some link clicked love with you.

Art

I understand exactly what you are saying and find some aspects funny because so many are called for asking a question but in so many cases I have seen questions asked that have never really been answered. People answer saying try doing a search instead of asking a question that has been asked so many times so once in a while I will do a search for that question and find no answers or no answers that really address the question.

When I was learning to deal craps, the person teaching us told me "this will be hard for you".

He explained the same theory Mark talks about. He said people who are more intelligent and/or more educated tend to think things through before doing them - tend to analyze and want to understand the relationship between "do this and that happens".

He said someone who will take instruction and do it without question learns the game easier. He doesn't need to see the "overview" or the relationship between bets and strategies....just tell him where to put the chips or how to send the dice...and he's fine. He can memorize the payouts and as long as he has "good hands' he can deal the game.

Two of us really struggled in the class - both of us analytical, curious, people who thought about things and examined methods/ideas. I finished the class and went on to deal the game - the other person never did pick it up. I worked and practiced much harder than the others in the class who did not ask "why" or "how" but just did what they were told.

It's a mindset - you can see it in questions on this forum. Some are "what's next" - while many are "what if this or that happens". I don't think you can change the way your mind approaches new tasks or ideas...but you can recognize a tendency to overthink and over-analyze and learn to manage it.

I always remember some advice I saw on this forum years ago:

You can talk and rethink and plan and learn...but in the end your success depends on how many buy buttons you have online....and how many people find and click them.


Remember prior to 2008 the forum search didn't work AT ALL for years?

so the key answer are what?

I guess we should spend more time promoting , marketing?

This is one of the more insightful posts I've seen on this forum.

There have been times when I thought to myself, "You can't set me up like that and expect me not to respond in a "snarky" manner.

Also, a lot of what I post is intended as humor, that goes right over most peoples heads.

I think intelligence plays a part but the biggest determining factor is the ability to focus.

"Focus like a laser beam" ~ Melvin Powers

Loved this post! Sometimes doing "stupid" things can make a huge difference!

Mark,
This is sooooo true!

I'm somewhere between ignoramus and know-it-all

Excellent post! I'd say that those who take action with what they go have done more than those who study a lot but never make a move. Analysis paralysis is real and, well, paralyzing.

LOL. That's awesome. It gives me an idea for a new WSO... "How I made $10,074.32 Without A Website, Without A List, And Without A Friggin' Clue!"

In regard to the bullying... it's funny. I was just reading something today where someone was complaining about being bullied on WF. I've had people make everything from subtly condescending remarks to viciously cutting ones. But truth be told, I think it's that way just about anywhere on the internet. Anywhere you go you're going to encounter people who are indignant about having to endure the inconvenience of having to dwell among us mere mortals. Oh well.

@Mark You nailed it! I don't know, should I laugh or should I cry...

- You are the man!

This all reminds me on the good o'l me back in the time. I was trying to make everything perfect before I launch a camping, then later I heard about the KISS method, that stabbed me in the eye, like you did now.
K.I.S.S States:

K - KEEP
I - IT
S - SIMPLE
S - STUPID !!

So if yo want to start seeing some results people, KISS!

Mark, RESPECT MAN!

LMAO

- Zeus

lol.. I love it.

I think so many people over think it.. myself included at times..

I've seen so many different people from different walks of life make it, even ones who some might consider "stupid"..

either way, that's one of the great things about this industry..

It's a great post! The thing I am most stupid about is trying to make everything perfect, which often leads to my efforts becoming way to complicated. I'm trying to get back to simple. It's less exhausting

jimmeettee

Mark,
Perception is a bitch and vanity is Al Pacino’s favorite sin.
My ex-girlfriend. Long time no see. She is divorced with a blue-eyed bag ten-year-old or something. She has a degree in English literature and German language. Unemployed. Back to her parents. I was like wtf is wrong with you. Get online. You would be a killer freelance writer. You could do some proofreading for me. Together we can do some translations. She was like, I work in the dance school. This is my life. I was â€" speechless. You know it, if you are ok, then I am happy for you.
You have seen my profile picture. I am beautiful, no matter what you think. However, when it comes to other things I can hold my ego horses. I am not smart, I want you to tell me that I am smart. My writing sucks, prove me wrong. I have seen so many smart idiots. They will never change. You are your own worst enemy, I cannot help you my friend.
I am desperately trying to lose some weight. Why? Because, when I am in a gym I see an athlete in the mirror not a fatty guy. Perception is a bitch.
The question of all questions that keeps me haunting to this day.
If you are smart, how come you are not rich? Not filthy rich, moderately rich, lol.
Cheers,
Nesha

What an inspiring, humorous post. Im really lost fir words now but i have to at least say you made a good point about how smart peopke operate. They spend so much time trying to perfect everything before initiating anything. A good rule of thumb for this madness is the 80/20 principle which is taking action 80 percent of the time and learning and perfecting 20 percent of the time.

Mark, it's a good thread.
Here is my story.
I am not a native speaker of English, but I have a passion to writing and public speaking )))
I wanted to start a blog in English, but I though, my English was not perfect.
I've been struggling for years. I used to read a lot, I used to watch a lot of educational videos on YouTube. And finally I started a blog, spend a lot of time customizing my WordPress theme. I used to hire proofreaders, and so on.
This was a smart way. Did I succeed? I didn't.

But a fee weeks ago I started a youtube channel (links in my description). No proofreaders, no scripts. And you know what? People watch, comment, subscribe.
This is the stupid way. But it works.

The conclusion: no one appreciates your preparations and perfectionism. People don't see them. What people see is what you are doing and what you have done.

You can be successful even if you are stupid and not perfect. Why? Because you are acting!

Well... I think that was officially the first time I've actually hit the 'upvote' button before...

The more I think back on my earliest successes in life, I was young dumb, bullheaded, and full of piss and vigor... and as adolescent behavior often displays; there was little to no fear of failure. I mean, aside from impressing some girl (the one snoring next to me, at that...lol), or going toe-to-toe with someone twice my size (again,snoring beside me!)... I was all but fearless.(*I was a bit baked back in the early daze too, so who knows; maybe that helped relax me more?)

Point is, when we are young we generally are not tainted by so much stress, pressure, responsibilities, and as such were far more care free, open minded, and willing to dive into shit head first...sometimes without any hesitation at all.

.Now, if you are fighting off the 'greys' (hairs...not aliens) like me, you may also be seeing life and time a bit differently... and be realizing those youthful bouts of saying; "F... IT, why not, how bad can it hurt?" ...don't exactly come as easily without risk or pain. Especially, if you have kids, a mortgage, bills, a business, wife or spouse, a pitbull, cats, or a serious addiction to frozen lattes...them sum bitches are expensive!

Heck, in all due seriousness my youngest will be 18 in like 12 days... and it plays on the mind, no doubt! - Here I still want to join the Zapata Racing team, just because the crazy stuff they do, create, and explore...reminds me of my inner-child.(What remains of it anyways, lol).

Lastly, if the worst case scenario is death, better be it you die trying... because existing without ever truly living is a far greater punishment, and as long as you have that mindset, it becomes obvious, dying is when you are remembered for what you left behind, make it count.

that's why I like the quote "if you hit boundaries of what you know, it is time to make some mistakes"
yup sometimes stupid things can make some changes when we have no idea what we should do next.

People are their own worst enemy.

Smart people like to overthink stuff.

Focus on KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid!)

That alone will go a long way towards helping you succeed.

Great post

It's the inverse of LAZY versus HARDWORKING

If you're lazy but clever, you can automate / streamling / finetune and get more Value out of every minute you spend on a project....

However, if you're lazy AND stupid, there might be a problem.

Why?

It's okay to be STUPID as long as you WORK HARD

Trying again and again and figuring out how things work is crucial for 'stupid' people to succeed

Sadly, trying again and again might prove to be too much for a lazy person

Lazy + clever enough = good

stupid + hard work = good

Stupid + lazy = Not so good

so true, idiots prosper and smart people envy them!

Although I think "intelligence" is a good thing, I agree that when it comes to Entrepreneurial Success it's not the most important factor.

For example:

Entrepreneur with Down's Syndrome becomes youngest business-owner in town

Marketing can only be learned by one thing...Doing!

Human beings learn by experience only.

Clever people wait for the 'perfect' day (that will never come).

Beyond an awesome post, OP!

The funny thing is, when I help people out, I tell them to just stick with the basics. People think that a simple blog with a few lead pages and a source of traffic "isn't good enough anymore!" Really? Then how can I still do it? How can the people I teach see results with the simple things?

It's called ACTION! Action will always overtake knowledge when it comes to success. Why? Because you can memorize every book in the world in online marketing, conversions, tracking, PPC, CPA, Affiliate Marketing, Digital product creation, lead generation, etc., but until you TAKE ACTION, you'll be the lowest man on the totem pole.

Learn the basics... Take action. Learn a little more... Take action. Learn how to improve what you have... TAKE ACTION! It's really that simple but people over complicate EVERYTHING!

Kudos to you for starting this thread!

Awesome post Mark!

These Stupid folks are doers, they don't overthink, they aren't afraid of making mistakes - they are DOERS... they judge their work on Actions, and not thoughts.

They do whatever it takes, they try everything - soon they start to know everything... Before you know it... they get lucky or they find a better Idea based on their actions and they eventually succeed

Meanwhile Smart folks tend to Overthink. Analyze everything, Can't afford to make a mistake, even if it's a small unoticable mistake... they will be successful, but it's usually takes more time.

I LOVE this post!!!

I am a newbie and proud!

I'm one of the stupid ones who quit my job without too much of a plan of how I'm going to make my first business succeed but I'm doing it with lots of research and determination. I made the decision that I'd take the leap and learn as I go, otherwise, I'd sit in my miserable corporate role for another 5 years having never learnt enough to make the move.

This forum is great for getting other people's experience, opinions and guidance and even though I'm relatively new I've already learnt so much from everyone.

Here's to making many more stupid decisions that bring us to a place of success and happiness.

For the record, since I decided to get stuipd, I've never been happier!!

Thanks for this awesome post

So true.

So many people suffer from paralysis analysis.

But I think the main difference here is drive. Many people are simply more driven and aren't afraid to fail. Other's have tons of available income from "real-life" businesses, so they have something to fall back on.

thanks for that post, they say sometimes our success is due less to ability than to zeal