The "Action Myth" and how it might hurt you.

14 years ago

good points. It is easy to get scattered into too many directions.

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Steven Wagenheim 14 years ago

I agree with you 100%. I personally hate the "take action" cliche.

The bigger problem is that, like with anything else, this is one of those
buzz words that people simply repeat because they hear somebody else
say it.

But they don't really understand what "take action" really means, at least
not completely.

For example, somebody thinking about creating a product for the first time
who is hesitating, another person will say, "Just do it! Just create the
product!"

Problem is, did they do the necessary market research to determine if
there's even a demand for that product? Do they even know how to do
market research?

See, that's the problem. You can take all the action in the world. Barring
getting lucky, you're likely to fall flat on your face if you don't know what
you're doing.

I am speaking from experience.

I took action 14 hours a day for 5 months and made $28.

Why?

Because the action I took sucked...big time.

I abhor that cliche, maybe more than any cliche in Internet marketing.

But as long as the parrots keep hearing it and repeating it, it will continue
to do more harm than good to those who simply don't have a clue and
need one.
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mcmahanusa

14 years ago

That's a really good plan of action. Something that the new kids on the block as well as the old geezers, sorry, "experienced professionals" could take to heart.

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mlord10

14 years ago

I think action is good, but blind action is terrible. You need to start off working hard, and then after awhile take a step back, analyze things, and whatever is not working scale back.

This gives you the time and resources to scale up what is working! Internet marketing is all about tweaking your marketing efforts in order to achieve maximum results (who knows if anyone ever actually gets there).

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Colin Theriot

14 years ago

The reason so many people harp on "taking action" is because all of us have the ability to overcome laziness. It's a way to make a villain out of a common flaw that makes it seem like any of us can succeed at anything we like.

The fact is, a large portion of the people in the customer side of IM lack the brainpower to EVER succeed to a great degree online. It's just a fact.

But no one like to hear that. So when the people who can't and won't ever succeed get to talking among themselves, they like to say, oh, it's action. It's not that I don't get it, or can't communicate effectively enough to make sales, or can't do math well enough to manage PPC, etc. etc.

And from a copywriting and influence perspective, laziness is a great thing to bash on because it's so inherent in people, and it's so comforting to fall back on, it fights refunds. Oh, I shouldn't get my money back - I didn't succeed because I was lazy, it's my fault. (Note, it's often true that they didn't take action, but that doesn't mean that if they DID, they'd have any different result).

That being said, often the people who DO have the salt and the skills often find that what was holding them back was ONLY themselves, and not putting what they ALREADY KNOW into action. They get stuck in a loop of consumption, and instead of working on the basics, they chase the shortcuts.

Sometimes you spend more time circling the parking lot looking for a space than it would take to park in the FARTHEST spot and just WALK to the damn store.

But when THOSE people get together and talk, and they say "take action" it's actually TRUE. Because they already know, they're just scared.

You're right - it's NOT the generalized advice it's dished out as, but even when I coach people informally, a lot of times the real, best advice is "take action" - if they already KNOW what needs doing and the only "reasons" they give for not doing it are actually just "excuses" - then yeah.

Just do it.

If you're a dummy though, I can't help you....

Although I have an e-book you might want to check out, if you're not lazy and willing to work hard and finally achieve IM success.

j/k

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Steven Wagenheim

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Colin Theriot

The reason so many people harp on "taking action" is because all of us have the ability to overcome laziness. It's a way to make a villain out of a common flaw that makes it seem like any of us can succeed at anything we like.Although I have an e-book you might want to check out, if you're not lazy and willing to work hard and finally achieve IM success.
.
.
.
j/k

It's like you were reading my mind.

OT, well, sort of...a while ago, I got into a huge argument with other
people in this forum when I said that some people will never be successful
because they just don't have the smarts.

Don't ask...I was almost lynched.

I still stand by that. It takes skills to make it in this business, especially
communication skills. If you don't have them, you're sunk...

Unless...you have a ton of money to go hire people to just run your
business for you.

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armadin 14 years ago

Here is the thing "taking action" in the true sense of the expression has only but one meaning. Taking action is a market buzzword I agree, it has been used by the likes of Tony Robbins and a truckload of gurus that have substituted older adages with this new, seemingly more practical approaches to the problems of living.

Don't get me wrong, I do honestly believe in "taking action" but at the same time I have learnt that my action is a personal experience which holds all my other experiences in life.

What I absolutely catch all gurus doing is, they tell people take action but yet they fail to interpret what taking action trulle entails. No action can be repeated, meaning, each action has a form of individuality. My life is not your life and although we may share certain experiences which are similar, there is no way of telling that my specific plan of action, will bring about the same desired results for you.

These are the subtle structures of life and therefore, they are highly manipulated by those seeking to make some money from people that are either too lazy to take a deep dive in their own being (be it mind, soul or brain, whatever is the word you like to use) or just blindly believe that there is a magic formula for resolving their "very" specific problems.

I refuse to believe that there are individuals who are better equipped then me, to deal with my life. I do not deny that there are individuals who may have a better idea on certain aspects but at the end of the day, I cannot make them jump into my own skin or see the world through my own eyes, for if that were the case, then there would be a lot of gurus out of work.

As the Monty Python movie, "The Meaning Of Life" suggests, people like to take sides on all fronts of life yet they miss the most obvious point to living, which is to seek your own interpretation and to find meaning in your own existance. The fact that you are able to do so much (walk, talk, see, hear, etc.) clearly places you in a position to manipulate your own space and time and to create your own events. Otherwise you can keep following that stupid waiter back to his house and let him tell you how he justifies his way of living by his mother's words. (Meaning Of Life reference).

I do not mean to sound like one of those gurus, which is why I will not say that following advice is simple or correct. Perhaps following the waiter is the right thing to do and maybe I am stupid for suggesting that there are alternatives, it could be more logical to follow specific formulas that people have worked out (sort of like not trying to reinvent the wheel) but hey it's my life and I will do what ever i damn well please

Cheerio...
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Jeff Marshall

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Colin Theriot

The fact is, a large portion of the people in the customer side of IM lack the brainpower to EVER succeed to a great degree online. It's just a fact.

Is it, now? Quite a few bright points here, but assumptive, harsh and unfounded blurts like these somewhat mar your otherwise useful observations -- of course there's variance in aptitude from person to person, but let's not get carried away?

IM is not rocket science. Tell me honestly, are all the successful IM'ers you know people you would characterize as mental powerhouses? There are geniuses in our field like any other, but most are regular folks who kept at it, testing and scaling until they made it.

Nevertheless, the 'take action' catchphrase is near burnout and is, indeed, far too often substituted for solid answers.

Originally Posted by Colin Theriot

Sometimes you spend more time circling the parking lot looking for a space than it would take to park in the FARTHEST spot and just WALK to the damn store.

This is a great analogy.

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Colin Theriot

14 years ago

Originally Posted by quietcash

Is it, now? Quite a few bright points here, but assumptive, harsh and unfounded blurts like these somewhat mar your otherwise useful observations -- of course there's variance in aptitude from person to person, but let's not get carried away?

To paraphrase George Carlin, think of how stupid the average person is. By definition half the people are EVEN STUPIDER than that.

Originally Posted by quietcash

IM is not rocket science. Tell me honestly, are all the successful IM'ers you know people you would characterize as mental powerhouses? There are geniuses in our field like any other, but most are regular folks who kept at it, testing and scaling until they made it.

Brainpower as I meant it doesn't mean "genius" it just means aptitude. Would it make you less upset if I said "most people involved in IM don't have the aptitude, persistence, or analytical ability to keep at it, test and scale until they make it?

The promise of fast and easy riches undoubtedly draws people into IM that have no business here. The way I see it, if you want to REALLY succeed at IM, you need the EXACT SAME skills and mind you would need to run a REAL WORLD business.

If you couldn't do that, you won't make a livable income from IM. Regardless of IQ - it's still got to do with brainpower.

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Jeff Marshall

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Colin Theriot

Would it make you less upset if I said "most people involved in IM don't have the aptitude, persistence, or analytical ability to keep at it, test and scale until they make it?

That's a fair statement. I think it's also fair to point out that what people lack today, they can often acquire tomorrow. In other words, it's possible to improve one's aptitude and analytical ability if one is persistent enough.

Additionally, I'm of the belief that it's not so much the cognitive resources we begin with, but the conditioning and training of those resources that separate how well we each perform.

Originally Posted by Colin Theriot

The promise of fast and easy riches undoubtedly draws people into IM that have no business here. The way I see it, if you want to REALLY succeed at IM, you need the EXACT SAME skills and mind you would need to run a REAL WORLD business.

I think we agree that there is a baseline of capacity required to run this or any other business (IM is also 'real world,' btw), but we may be disagreeing on how low that baseline can be.

Within this industry and many others, it is not a rare thing to find folks of average (even questionable) intelligence who've managed to build businesses and make a great living--sometimes an absolute killing.

I've seen this enough times to understand how presumptuous it is to make judgments about who has any business in IM and who does not.

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bgmacaw

14 years ago

Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action

OODA loop - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Power, Seduction and War | OODA and You

STSC CrossTalk - "OO-OO-OO!" The Sound of a Broken OODA Loop - Apr*2007

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James Clark

14 years ago

Well I must say this, it's a good question. Sometimes people in this business repeat what they've heard others say. Believe me, it doesn't mean a thing. If you can learn to communicate you can handle this business.

Years ago, I use to work on the 88th floor of the World Trade Center, trading commodities. At the end of the day, everyone would go downstairs to the Market Bar and talk about how much money they made or lost that day. Everyone was well dress and on their best behavior.

When I'm working online, I try to visualize that scene, especially in those Social Web Sites like FaceBook. Start a conversation with people but leave a path to your web site or blog. In the real world you would leave your business card. But, in this business don't sell just Teach, Teach the business will come.

Good luck and keep writing

Jimmy.

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Colin Theriot

14 years ago

Originally Posted by quietcash

That's a fair statement. I think it's also fair to point out that what people lack today, they can often acquire tomorrow. In other words, it's possible to improve one's aptitude and analytical ability if one is persistent enough.

Well, what you think of as the people who can improve enough to do it, I'm already lumping those in with the capable, not the incapable. I'm talking about the people who will NEVER be able to do it. And that's fine - we can't all be astronauts. Someone's got to cook the food and haul stuff around.

Originally Posted by quietcash

Additionally, I'm of the belief that it's not so much the cognitive resources we begin with, but the conditioning and training of those resources that separate how well we each perform.

If that's all you have, then all you can ever do is execute someone else's plan. You can succeed by doing that, I suppose, if that plan is such that it doesn't require you to use any creative thought.

However most "easy" businesses make it seem easy by glossing over how much creativity and personal innovation you have to put into it.

For example, article marketing "sounds" easy. But you've got to get really good at writing to pull it off. By which point, there are a lot more profitable things you can do beyond pure article marketing. Which if you're smart enough TO ever figure it out, you probably will before you hit that point.

If you're good enough at marketing to make article marketing work at all, much less be "easy", you're probably only using it as a small part of a bigger plan, because that's how the people who CAN do this THINK.

It's not about how smart you are or how much you can learn, or even how dedicated or ambitious your imagination is. If you don't have a problem solver's mind or a flair for high level abstract assembly by the time you hit adulthood, it's literally impossible to teach it to you.

Originally Posted by quietcash

I think we agree that there is a baseline of capacity required to run this or any other business (IM is also 'real world,' btw), but we may be disagreeing on how low that baseline can be.

Yeah, I think you're right.

Originally Posted by quietcash

Within this industry and many others, it is not a rare thing to find folks of average (even questionable) intelligence who've managed to build businesses and make a great living--sometimes an absolute killing.

There are lots of idiots who have made a killing by having the necessary work done by others. I argue that in itself is a capability, and again, puts them inside my group of people who can do this.

Like I said, I don't mean strictly intelligence, or even learned stuff. Born charisma is still a factor that most people don't have, and can't learn or fake convincingly. So just because a persuasive dummy made good, doesn't mean a boring dummy can.

Originally Posted by quietcash

I've seen this enough times to understand how presumptuous it is to make judgments about who has any business in IM and who does not.

I'm not pointing fingers, and I'm not judging. I don't even think it's necessarily possible to tell - and to some degree, the individual can DECIDE to overcome natural handicaps against the likelihood of succeeding.

But that still doesn't change the fact that many who are here and struggling, however much they mean it, doesn't mean they will ever be able to.

There's a really interesting series running in the New York Times right now from Errol Morris about how incapable people are, by definition, incapable of realizing how incapable they are.

It's because the same brain mechanisms that allow the abilities of abstract reasoning and analysis that can be applied to a problem are the exact ones you need in order to self-evaluate your own capabilities and limitations.

It's good stuff. You'd dig it the most.

ANOSOGNOSICS DILEMMA - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com

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havplenty

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Colin Theriot

The fact is, a large portion of the people in the customer side of IM lack the brainpower to EVER succeed to a great degree online. It's just a fact.

Is it really a fact? I ask that because I remember when people used to harp on about Mike Filsaime lacking intellectual horsepower and questioning how on earth he was able to succeed. I think he is epitomizes what it truly means to take action (in a smart and measured way of course)! We mustn't forget that Mike Filsaime started out as a customer too (he was buying Kern's early junk).

Sure there was a lot of information, and lots to learn PPC included but where he lacked the skills, he bought it. Filsaime was a car salesman, yet he was confidently marketing software to the masses.

I am in IM to make money. I can't make money unless I take action. Sure, it's a cliche, but there is a very practical and potentially profitable application to that cliche.

Hav

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Colin Theriot

14 years ago

Originally Posted by havplenty

Is it really a fact? I ask that because I remember when people used to harp on about Mike Filsaime lacking intellectual horsepower and questioning how on earth he was able to succeed. I think he is epitomizes what it truly means to take action (in a smart and measured way of course)! We mustn't forget that Mike Filsaime started out as a customer too (he was buying Kern's early junk).

Sure there was a lot of information, and lots to learn PPC included but where he lacked the skills, he bought it. Filsaime was a car salesman, yet he was confidently marketing software to the masses.

I am in IM to make money. I can't make money unless I take action. Sure, it's a cliche, but there is a very practical and potentially profitable application to that cliche.

Hav

You do realize that Mike Filsaime is one of the guys that proves my point that not everyone can do it, right? Otherwise, there would be more than one Mike Filsaime. Most people in IM even at the TOP, don't earn as much as he does. Even if YOU thought he wasn't smart, he obviously is.

But as I said later, brainpower doesn't just mean "smart" - Filsaime obviously has something in the wiring BESIDES just taking action because the guy has jumped into and CREATED some entirely new businesses and profit models in his career. That's not just due to "taking action".

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havplenty

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Colin Theriot

You do realize that Mike Filsaime is one of the guys that proves my point that not everyone can do it, right? Otherwise, there would be more than one Mike Filsaime. Most people in IM even at the TOP, don't earn as much as he does. Even if YOU thought he wasn't smart, he obviously is.

But as I said later, brainpower doesn't just mean "smart" - Filsaime obviously has something in the wiring BESIDES just taking action because the guy has jumped into and CREATED some entirely new businesses and profit models in his career. That's not just due to "taking action".

Well of course Filsaime is 'smart', but there is a qualitative nuance to his 'smartness'. You see the people who questioned his intellectual abilities were doing so from the classical 'IQ' school of thought. I realized he was 'smart' because he demonstrated that he grasped the fine art of knowing when and how to take 'intelligent' action (like realizing that if he wanted to create a piece of software, he'd need to hire someone with programming skills).

Now if my understanding of your position on this correct, you are suggesting that the majority of people in IM will never figure out (due to poor 'wiring') that they can't do it all, and will forever be stuck in the bowels of mediocrity.

Let's take you for instance. it's quite obvious from what you write and how you write that you are very intelligent and articluate. The question is, will you be able to make that intellectual leap in your thinking and translate those things into copywriting stardom. It will come down to the type of action you take.

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GCostanza

14 years ago

Great post and very important for anyone just getting started or with limited success.

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ryanbiddulph

14 years ago

Thorough and on the money advice.

It's OK to hustle provided that you aren't running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Accurate thinking is necessary to find out what's working and what isn't. Reassess and move forward.

Ryan Biddulph

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gjabiz

14 years ago

For you city slickers:

YouTube - the headless chicken

As a kid working on my uncles' farms, this was a common occurence, but the first time I saw it, I swore the headless chicken was chasing me.

Recently, I was interviewed and told the guy, the Warrior forum reminded me of this headlesss chicken phenomenon.

NOW, to get on point. I'm mostly a one thought guy, a one trick pony if you will...and that is

PLANNING.

The OP is right on target about people spending time running around like a chicken with his head cut off, just flippin and floppin in the grass going nowhere.

ACTION without a plan is almost always futile. ACTION without planned ADJUSTMENT is a dead end street.

When the OP took a step back and looked at his efficiency and QUIT DOING the non productive activity, his profits soared.

I simply contend that a person who BEGINS with a plan and a purpose, who has THOUGHT these things out BEFORE they "grab two beers and jump" into IM, will save oodles of time and mountains of money and get to PROFITablilty much much sooner.

The problem I see, is there is too little information on HOW to go about planning and choosing the right kind of activity which SUITS YOU.

A system, no matter how good it is, no matter how much money it has made for someone else, could cost you time and money simply because the activities of the system are NOT suited to your personality, lifestyle and most importantly your goals.

It, in my opinion, begins and ENDS with your PLAN of ACTION.

Organized planning, with flexibility for adjustments joined with continuous and PRODUCTIVE activity is what takes us to our goals.

I still don't get why so many people are like the OP, who literally wasted so much precious time to find out what works.

Thank you for your post and your experience, it may help others to get a handle on their FOCUS first and persuade them to set goals and write out a PLAN of ACTION.

OR, they, could just "grab two beers and jump", it seems to be the Operational Mode for so many frustrated IMer's these days.

gjabiz

Originally Posted by ryanbiddulph

Thorough and on the money advice.

It's OK to hustle provided that you aren't running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Accurate thinking is necessary to find out what's working and what isn't. Reassess and move forward.

Ryan Biddulph

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rmolina88

14 years ago

This sounds like me completely. I've only been doing IM for close to 3 months and haven't earned a dime off it. Now I have a better plan of action that I'm going to implement once I get paid at the end of the month.

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Anna Johnson

14 years ago

Wow - great posts in this thread. What I would add is that there IS value in taking action - even the wrong action - simply because you often don't know what is the right action to take without some trial and error. The mistake is to keep on persisting when what you're doing just isn't working.

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George Wright

14 years ago

Hi,

I really hate to be the odd man out here. However the long OP and all the comments that follow can be boiled down to 2 words

TAKE ACTION

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NicheMayhem 14 years ago

The only source of knowledge is experience.
~Albert Einstein

One of the greatest moments in anybody's developing experience is when he no longer tries to hide from himself but determines to get acquainted with himself as he really is.
~Norman Peale

One thing about the school of experience is that it will repeat the lesson if you flunk the first time.
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Expect to only slowly progress and you will find yourself rapidly learning.
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Kevin Riley 14 years ago

Originally Posted by George Wright

Hi,

I really hate to be the odd man out here. However the long OP and all the comments that follow can be boiled down to 2 words

TAKE ACTION

I'd add one word to that.

TAKE FOCUSED ACTION
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Shannon Herod

14 years ago

I agree with everyone in this post pretty much 100%.

That's why I tell all of my students it is not good enough to take action. You need to take focused action.

Taking action in the wrong direction is simply going to lead you further from your destination.

The story I like to use is this...

If someone tells you to getting from point A to point B is as simple as getting in your car and driving you'd never believe them.

The first question you ask is what direction do I need to drive in. If it was me, I would say do I go north or south. My wife however, would ask do I need to take a left or take a right?

Because if I need to go north and I get in my car and head south, guess what... I just got further away from the objective I was trying to obtain.

So, you need to first map out a plan of action, and then take massive focused action moving towards your goals.

Then, you need to take a pit stop and analyze everything is going. You might be in the right direction but just a few blocks off. You need to then adjust your action and move on from there.

Shannon Herod

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Mike Antoni

14 years ago

I've worked with hundreds, if not thousands of people trying to "make it" with an online business. It started as my job working for a demi-guru until I became a partner. And I can say one of the phrases we used for conversion was "take action".

One of my favorite quotes I came up with during that time is this one:

Life rewards those who take action, not those who take notes.

Colin is right, it's a buzzword that helps with conversion. But there is a lot of truth to it. Most of the people I helped understood the basics. They knew about squeeze pages, opt-ins, sales letters, autoresponders, etc.

But they didn't take action on any of it because they were waiting until they "really" got it. And I believe that not taking action is worse than taking action, especially with an online business where start up costs are minimal. But the key is as has been said, "take focused action".

It's funny that this thread is going on cause I just wrote a post about this where I want people to ask themselves 3 questions before they decide if an internet business is right for them.

Here's part of question 1:

1) Why do I want an online business?

Is it because you heard it was an easy way to get rich? It’s not. Is it because you thought you can do it in your spare time. You can. Is it because you don’t want to work at all? Well, that’s not gonna happen.

If you want to see the whole post it's here:
Want Your Own Online Business? Answer These 3 Questions First | Mike Antoni's Blog

Great thread here.

Oh and Anna - your post is "spot on".

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Stuart Stirling

14 years ago

Good article.. lately I have been trying to toss the 90% of
the time-wasting stuff I do (did) online and just do the 10% that
actually gets me results.

The result.. I get the same "return" from 10% of the time!!

One big thing I'm changing is to actually sit down at the PC AFTER I
have decided what I'm going to do for that period.

Sitting in front of your monitor racking you brain thinking.. "what to do??"
is a killer to productivity.. it's really a waste of time you could be doing
something more enjoyable.

Stuart Stirling

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USGTMauthor

14 years ago

One of the things I realized and wrote about is feedback. You need to take the feedback life is giving you to hone your actions to be the most impactful. So if something is not working stop and if something is working redouble your efforts towards it. The reason action is cited so frequently is because most people need the kick iin the pants, but an object in motion stays in motion so once you get going then you can apply the feedback lesson. Great thread

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Jacqueline Smith

14 years ago

Wow....what a thread.....very thought provoking!

It's made me realize I've been VERY busy but perhaps not very productive. It's really made me STOP and look at what I'm doing.

Colin's analogy about the parking lot is priceless.

Thank you all for the "smack on the forehead" that I obviously needed!

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Colin Theriot

14 years ago

Originally Posted by havplenty

Now if my understanding of your position on this correct, you are suggesting that the majority of people in IM will never figure out (due to poor 'wiring') that they can't do it all, and will forever be stuck in the bowels of mediocrity.

Not only will they never figure it out, they're incapable of even perceiving that they're incapable of figuring it out. No matter how much effort they put in, any success will be due to luck. When they fail, it'll be the method, or the guru, or their laziness - but NEVER the fact they were inherently incapable of doing it.

People have this problem only when it comes to mental capabilities. I don't think I could run a marathon or win a swim competition tomorrow. No matter how hard I try or keep at it. Even if I practiced CONSTANTLY, I will never be a good long-distance runner due to genetics.

Most people can gauge their physical limitations because they're visible. But somehow totally incapable people can look at the work of uniquely talented individuals and say "Meh, I could do that." And yet... they don't. They'll make up all manner of excuses, but the truth is that they can't.

Originally Posted by havplenty

Let's take you for instance. it's quite obvious from what you write and how you write that you are very intelligent and articluate. The question is, will you be able to make that intellectual leap in your thinking and translate those things into copywriting stardom. It will come down to the type of action you take.

I do pretty good. Better than a lot. But I haven't got where I am because I type a lot. I got where I am because my brain works the way it does. I've honed it through practice and study, but I can't "teach" someone to do what I do.

I can tell em how I think of it, but if they can't grasp that pattern, if they don't have the hooks in their own minds to attach it to, they'll never be able to come close to doing what I do.

Just the same as no matter how much I stretch, I'll never be 6'2".

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havplenty

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Colin Theriot

I do pretty good. Better than a lot. But I haven't got where I am because I type a lot. I got where I am because my brain works the way it does. I've honed it through practice and study, but I can't "teach" someone to do what I do.

Well I admire your skill mate and I enjoyed our little exchange on this thread.
I think the distinction between action taking and capability has been firmly established. I think also that everyone who chimed in on this thread has contributed to that clarity in some way.

All the best to you,

Hav

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sodette1

14 years ago

Take action.

You must take action.

Focused action is best, but guess what? "Nothing happens until something moves."

Even wrong actions give you clues about how to correct and get back on course. Pay attention to your failures - you'll learn so much from them. "Fail forward faster" I say.

Here's what crawls in my underwear and chafes me - much more than "Take Action" does.

"Believe. Visualize. Manifest."

More harm has come from those three words than ever came from "Take Action."

Try this one: "Be. DO. Have." And leave off the "DO" - what'ya got? Nothin' - a whole lot of nothin'.

... or how 'bout the whole industry of money-milkers built off of this commonly sold cliche':

"Get the Millionaires Mindset"

... wanna pick a fight? Okay... try this one:

"You can simply ATTRACT wealth - use the "SECRET" - Law of Attraction, blah, blah"

Talk about non-measurable, non-objective, non-definable, unprovable... for the most part - Tripe (look it up if you don't know - take action).

Success is not rocket-science - unless you are an astro-physicist that is.

Online success is part luck, part belief in yourself, part action, part timing - and usually an awful lot of trial and error, investment in educating yourself, and effort (otherwise known as? You guessed it! "Taking Action.").

Effort... as in, NOT the "Four Hour Work Week" - (my butt).

Take action... IS Part of the equation, it's just not ALL of it.

And yes, just like some amateur talking about Quantum Physics who has never read a book about the science behind it or studied the arguments against it or tested it herself... who has no idea who wrote the Master Key or who has never even watched such classics as "What the Bleep... Down the Rabbit Hole" for comparative analysis...

But tells the world she understands it so well that she can write a whole book about it and teach it to others? Uhm... yeah, right.

Just like the backyard Bible banger proseletyzing others to join his faith, having never read the book himself front to back or even looked at any other faith in an objective comparison to determine and verify and challenge and test...

Just like the guru's who got successful but really have no clue how it all happened or how to duplicate it or how to help others achieve their success...

Just like anyone spouting anything that they know nothing about - accept that "Everyone else says it!"

"Take Action" has been abused, misused, misapplied and irresponsibly tossed about by amateurs... sure.

At least souls aren't at stake or savings aren't risked - well, most of the time.

A little nudge in the direction of action never hurt anyone that I know of.. what about you?

Think about it -

Try creating anything without taking action.
Try accomplishing anything without taking action.
Try making a difference without taking action.
Try helping others or providing value without taking action.
Try making money without taking action.
Try improving yourself or your life without taking action.

And I think you'll agree - you "ain't" gonna get too far.

Good thing failure leaves clues and helps you know what doesn't work so you can...

Take more action and try again.

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24 by 7

14 years ago

You have got good points, I agree with most.

I have experienced that to anyone who is whether new or old at marketing, they all takes a little time to take action.

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Charles Harper

14 years ago

I thought that's what taking action was...what you described.

Originally Posted by mr2monster

As I'm cruising around the forum today, I've been reading a lot of threads where a lot of responses are simply a variation of "Take action".

It got me thinking, though...

To a new person just getting started, what does "take action" mean?

I mean sure, to someone that's giving the advice it probably means a certain set of things... but by simply saying "take action" you're not conveying that point very well to someone that maybe doesn't know what kind of action to take.

A Case Study...ish:
Not more than about 2 years ago, I was piss poor broke. Losing my house to foreclosure.... and taking all kinds of action.

And I truly was taking massive amounts of action, spending on average about 10-12 hours a day online doing various things that I believed to be productive.. The problem was....

I was taking the WRONG KIND of action, seeing almost zero results, and the entire time, I never knew any better. I chalked it up to "eventually it will kick in"... I was just spinning my wheels focusing on the things that weren't working.

So, what changed?

I took a step back... stopped spinning my wheels with things that didn't have MEASURABLE results... and started focusing on the stuff that was working.

I threw out about 90% of my "action items" and only kept around 10%. I then spent the same amount of time just working on just THOSE and I started to see some movement. Then guess what....

I did the same thing a few weeks later.

Once I found some things that were working for me I started digging into the "WHY are they working" aspect. And then, I applied that theory to other, new ideas to see if i could get some results there.

Then... I optimized again.... (also, please note that I'm not just talking about site optimization, I'm talking about process optimization, like... what you do in real life.)

====================

To simplify, here are a couple fundamental take-aways from this:

1. If you're doing something over and over, and you're not seeing anything come from it.... STOP DOING IT. Or maybe just stop doing it that way.

It might be that the method is obsolete, it might be that you're just not good at it, it may be a variety of other reasons... Either way, stop wasting your time and focus on something you can make work.

I believe it was Einstein that said: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".

Think about that.

2. Take an hour or two (at least) every month to step back and analyze what you did that month. Then, analyze what actually WORKED for you. Then, simply Do MORE OF WHAT WORKED and cut all the other crap out.

This business is a never ending cycle of experimentation and optimization. Things you did yesterday, might not work anymore, and things you do tomorrow might stop working in a week. The winners continually optimize their businesses so that they stop focusing on the things that DON'T work.. and focus on the few that do.

As an example, here's something I did with my ezine articles that has directly increased my income. I spent 10 minutes OPTIMIZING what I already had rather than spending 3 hours adding to the crap that was working sub-par.
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...t-no-work.html

That is just ONE example of focusing on things that work. I KNEW that I was getting traffic from those articles. It was measurable. I KNEW that if i could improve the CTR of the author resource box, that I could get MORE traffic from those articles. And I did. THAT is the kind of action you should be taking.

Also please note. Yes, you MUST take action to succeed. That's just the way it is.... But be smart about it. Figure out what works for your specific business model and start there. Unfortunately I can't just give you a cut and paste method because there isn't one..

Part of being in business is being able to roll with the punches and be creative enough to troubleshoot and create new solutions. And I'm not just talking about solutions in the form of products, I'm taking about solutions for yourself and your business.

Maybe take a second and stop scouring forums for that perfect little nugget, and take a look at some measurable data from your own business (no matter how small) and use that data to generate your OWN idea on how to expand and scale your business.

I think we as warriors sometimes get caught up in reading about other people's businesses so much that we forget about the gigantic quantities of data that we have at our disposal just from our own businesses.

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Will Edwards

14 years ago

Great post and also a great example you provided in the other post about your resource box improvements. I also agree with what you said about the 'take action' mantra that is bandied about here and elsewhere. It is correct in that effects do not occur without sufficient cause, but you do need to figure out what action you should be taking first or else you end up in the situation you described.

Will

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Joe Mobley 14 years ago

I can appreciate the point that "Take Action" has become a linguistic placeholder (thank you Michael Shermer) of sorts.

But... the worst "take action" scenario has got to be 100's of times better than the approach of "The Secret" and other new-age doctrines that insist that all you have to do is sit around and chant something like "money cometh!"

(You can not imagine the unbelievable restraint exercised in not calling out individuals, that perpetuate that crap.)

Don't even get me started.

Joe
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Juris

14 years ago

"Bad decision or wrong decision is better than no decision, because if the decision leads to action, it is easier to correct the course of someone or something already in motion than it is to get someone or something into motion from inertia" -Dan Kennedy

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John Romaine

14 years ago

Action means nothing without results.

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Shaun OReilly 14 years ago

It's about taking the right actions.

Not all actions are created equal.

Focus on the fundamental actions that get results.

For example, ALL highly successful Internet Marketers
have a list so your list of actions had better include
list building activities. If not, start taking the actions
necessary to build your list today.

Apply the Pareto Principle to find the vital few and
eliminate the trivial many.

That said, doing something is better that overthinking
stuff and doing nothing.

Optimally though, focus relentless action doing what
works again and again.

Dedicated to your success,

Shaun
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TristanPerry

14 years ago

100% right, very good point.

The phrase "take action now" can be VERY misleading and be a big waste of time and money.

Naturally if there's someone who just reads loads and is scared to take action, the phrase can be a good one.

But quite simply, action for action's sake is usually a BAD thing.

If you are heading in the right direction, then taking action will see you move towards your goals.

But simply taking action without knowing where you are heading can be like throwing a dart with a blindfold on.

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Gene Pimentel

14 years ago

Taking action will not guarantee your success. But NOT taking action will guarantee your failure.

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jlucado 14 years ago

One can take all kinds of action...

But the only ones that matter in this business is to

STUDY---LEARN---IMPLEMENT

All else is a means toward this end!
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ambitichx

14 years ago

Taking action is critical, purchasing a course and following it to the letter has always been my suggestion

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Nick Godwin

14 years ago

Great post,

I remember when I was first starting out and much like you, I was taking action, but not getting anywhere.

To a 'newbie' (and I use this term in the nicest possible way), taking action doesn't really mean anything without guidance as to what kind of action to take and targets to show you if you're 1 - taking enough action and 2 - getting the level of response you should be.

I spent my first couple of months basically doing a little bit of everything and keeping myself very busy getting nowhere.

As you mentioned, it wasn't until i 'optimised' my business that i started moving forward.

By optimise, i mean:

1 - Chose some marketing methods that were right for me given my a) time available, b) budget available and c) urgency of results.

Since my answer to those questions was a) not much, b) practically none and c) yesterday, I started with a course focusing on direct response and relationship building (classifieds, banners and social media) and worked consistently on brand building (video, articles, press releases).

Soon enough, I found that I was getting a consistent response from my direct response advertising, which then funded further forays into the world of paid marketing - which naturally creates a bigger and faster response.

2 - Take action everyday - and by this I mean, EVERY DAY. If you're expecting a huge income to come flying to you without consistent work on your business, you are going to lose out in the end.

Create your plan and action it - day in and day out (I really can't stress that enough), at least until you have some consistent lead flow and sales coming in to your business.

3 - Never give up. Once you have a strategy, stick with it. The internet marketing graves are filled with people that tried one strategy for a little bit, didn't see the success they wanted and then dropped it to try something new.

Naturally, if something isn't working well (or as well as something else), then you should focus on the result-producing activities.

But just make sure, any new area that you implement is tried and tested as thoroughly as possible before deciding to change (or abandon) your campaign.

Sooner or later, you will find the result you're looking for, if you persevere and stick with it!

Good luck!

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ileneg

14 years ago

Of course it is the "right" kind of action that counts. And it's about choices...and it's semantics.

Person A is REALLY busy one day reading the WF. The next day, they read and learn some more.

Person B is also REALLY busy one day reading the WF BUT they read threads that are only about list building. The next day they implement 10 addtional ways to increase building their lists.

Are you more like person A? Action.
or
Are you more like person B? Focused Action.

Begin w/a plan. Define your end result(s).

Do your actions lead you towards your end result? Or away from your end result?

ileneg

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Katharin

14 years ago

Originally Posted by mr2monster

As I'm cruising around the forum today, I've been reading a lot of threads where a lot of responses are simply a variation of "Take action".

Very good and thought-provoking post. You're right... and maybe it should be something like "take FOCUSED action"... or "take the proper action *after* making sure you have a plan that can succeed." Taking action when it's the WRONG action, of course, can be devastating.

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peterbeckenham

14 years ago

Thanks for this post. Your "action steps" are not just simple they are also very powerful and a great reminder for those times when things go wrong...and they always will. No business model is perfect and you need to be able to analyze where you are, where you came from and the plan of action for the NEXT DAY...one step at a time.

Your analysis system of article marketing was very useful...thanks a million

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imMindset

14 years ago

Great post. I definitely agree that simply taking action is not going to give you optimal results. Sometimes reframing our perspectives and getting a birds eye view of the landscape is required, so that we can take action that will maximize our results.

I particularly like your example of optimizing your EZA. I also used to take "massive action", and realized I wasn't really getting the results I wanted. So instead of just focusing on creating more sites and getting more traffic to them (which doesn't necessarily equate to massive profits), I decided to go back and optimize my current sites by optimizing the adsense positions/colors and affiliate offers because that's an example of something that's been working for me. Sure it took a lot of time and to go back and optimize everything, but it really paid off.

Of course there are many other things that can be mentioned about this topic which is required for greater success (i.e - strategic planning & research, acquiring the right type of knowledge, leverage, mental acuity etc.) but the basic idea that blind action doesn't necessarily lead to great results, is definitely something to "think" about.

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The "Action Myth" and how it might hurt you.

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