5 Things In 5 Days

The past five days have been...interesting for me. I wanted to share what I've learned. These are in order of importance from least to most.

5. Have A Plan - Whether you're new to IM or not, you've gotta have a definite plan of action in order to succeed. I had started to flounder, and my earnings went STRAIGHT down the drain for the month of January. Lesson learned: if you see your earnings change, ask WHY immediately.

4. Close Everything - If you find yourself losing focus because of WF, other forums, email, Skype, etc...CLOSE THEM ALL while you're working. I was forced to do this the other day, and was amazed at how much actual work I accomplished! Lesson learned: if it's not necessary to the right now, you don't need it.

3. Get Back On That Pony & Ride - I'm very lucky to belong to a group of people who chat on Skype and this group includes several of the "big" names here on WF. (I still get star-struck sometimes but I won't let THEM know that. ) The other day I posed an idea, one I'd been working on and collecting info on for months, and it immediately got shot down as having been done before and not being very profitable. Instead of getting my hackles up, I understood that these people are much more experienced than I am, and I took their advice (I was really, really upset about it but that's just IM). Lesson learned: listen to those around you who are more experienced even if you don't like what you hear.

2. Chuck Your Pride Out The Window - During the above conversation on Skype, one of the people asked if I'd like a 10-minute coaching session to help give me some direction. Well, this guy is younger than me and I really don't know him from Adam (he's new to the group, but not to IM), my first reaction was to say "Save it for the newbies." I had to really think about that. Instead of turning him down, I swallowed my large ego and took him up on his offer. Turns out, in about a half an hour, he gave me not only direction and focus, but a complete freakin' business plan to follow. Lesson learned: your ego sucks sometimes and can get in the way of your success...know when to bitch slap it.

1. Live Like There's Noooooo Tomorrow - I was in the ER last week because I (and the ER docs) thought I had suffered an aneurysm. Turns out it was just a really violent migraine, but in those few moments when I had to question whether or not I was going to be around to watch my kids grow up and to grow old with my husband, I learned not to sweat the small stuff. And really, it's almost ALL small stuff. Lesson learned: relax, enjoy, slow down.

Hope this helps someone.