The "Other" Shiny Object Problem?

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Most folks knows about the Shiny Object Syndrome, but for those who don't: It's where you buy a marketing product, but before you fully put it to use another shiny product comes along and sounds great, so you buy it and abandon the one you were working on.

This is often followed by another shiny new product, then another, until you have gigabytes of marketing products on your hard drive and you've never really put any of them to full use.

It's also known as not giving yourself a chance to succeed.

Did you know there's a second Shiny Object Syndrome that isn't talked about near as often?

It's true, and I'm guilty of chasing that object now and then myself.

This is where your own new ideas distract you from finishing the ideas you've already started working on.

As I look over the My Products folder on my computer, I can see a good half dozen products I've started but haven't finished. I've even bought domains for some of them, one is over a year old.

Don't get me wrong, everything doesn't get put off. In that same folder are about 40 products, maybe more, that I have finished and sold. It's not like I get nothing done, and some of the unfinished products are big projects so I spread them out over time so I can create smaller products to sell in the meantime.

Still ... the unfinished products stare back at me, nagging me to finish them. It's kind of annoying sometimes.

I know, I know ... set aside a block of time each day, blah blah blah...

Fortunately for me I don't have to do that. If you're not yet established, you may not have that luxury.

Are you creating your own Shiny Objects that keep you from achieving your goals? It could be that, like me, you have more ideas than time to implement them all. Or maybe you distract yourself playing games, or spend too much time on forums, or any number of other things.

When you're established and have enough income streams set up to maintain your lifestyle you can be a little free flowing in your routine. If you're not there yet, you need self-discipline if you're going get there.

If you want to shift your IM career into fast forward, figure out how you can minimize your own self-sabotage and stop chasing shiny objects ... no matter who creates them.
#main internet marketing discussion forum #object #problem #shiny
  • Dennis,

    You're a sucker for shiny objects. Grab this one from me while availability lasts. It's repeat customers like you who keep me in business!




    *Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

    *No wait, order within the next 30 minutes and I'll include a second shiny object as a bonus--just pay separate shipping and handling.

    DISCLOSURE: This is an affiliate product and I may receive a commission for selling it.

    And hey, get that dog of yours a coat before winter . --Mike
    • [ 1 ] Thanks

  • Same here.

    But /ashamed of myself/ some of the domains I bought to support my ideas are YEARS old.
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    • When I buy a domain I add a blog post a few articles and let it sit until I need it. That way it grabs some PR while it sits.
  • Oh ya, my own brain has always been my shiniest object. I have had one idea trump another again and again to the point where a few weeks went by and I was no closer to a finished project than when I started.

    There are a few cures for this.

    Marijuana is one, but that has varying effects. This is only recommended for the experienced.

    Using a written schedule is another. This is what worked for me. I set a timeline and gave myself rewards for meeting milestones. Sometimes the reward was a simple lunch break, sometimes a beer.

    Once I started setting tine goals, I cured myself from my own head.
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    • I'll take two of the Marijuana cure please.
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  • Not to be confused with it's cousin: the Perfect Shiny Object syndrome.

    Spend all your time perfecting the product but never launching it.

    Who me? Never!
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  • Hi Dennis,

    That's a really good point. I know I have several unfinished projects on my hard drive. Heck, sometimes it's hard enough just finishing a
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    • In the beginning I think we all may go thru that darned shiny object syndrome. The thing is this, even if you went thru all of those shiny objects and got 1 gold nugget from it, and just applied that nugget to what you are already doing, then that shiny object did pay off to a certain degree even thought you didn't follow the whole method from that so called "shiny object".

      In the end, writing things down from day to day has helped me tremendously in realizing the focus that is necessary to win in internet marketing!

      Oh, you should probably unsubscribe from those list that are selling you something new everyday, or create a separate email address for all that kind of stuff.
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    • Great post, Dennis!
      I know EXACTLY what you mean, and have certainly suffered from both types of "shiny object syndrome" over the years.

      I think both of these can end up with some benefits, assuming we can STOP for a period of time and go back through our treasure trove of goodies! Amazing some of the stuff you can find in there!

      As for shiny object syndrome number 2, specifically, I've discovered that these false starts can actually be quite helpful when sitting down to tackle future projects. Aside from providing us with some helpful "practice" - organizing a project, laying the ground-work, writing etc - in my experience one can also end up with some really helpful templates etc that will come in handy down the road.

      Back in the spring I started to put together a video-based course. It never DID get completed, BUT it left me feeling much more comfortable with video creation, use of Amazon S3 etc - not to mention a huge folder of formatted images (nicely organized in an easy-to-find manner), and helpful templates for creating new videos. All of this has ended up helping out a great deal - not only with some more recent products, but even with one of my blogs (tracking down images has often been a very time consuming process, so it's nice having a big folder of images basically ready to go).

      Certainly not trying to be a shiny object advocate (or the Devil's advocate for that matter! lol) here - just wanted to remind people that all that accumulated STUFF can be wonderfully beneficial, if you just take the time to look back once in awhile!

      Another obvious example would be PLR stuff - I'm sure I'm not the only one with lots of that stuff on their hard drive! Get it organized, folks - loads of possibilities for putting it to good use!

      Anyway - thanks again Dennis!

      Definitely time to go take my own advice - haha

      Bentley
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  • We should start a "new shiny object" support group.

    If only people knew that the basics work day in and day out, they'd be so much further ahead. It's hard battling those idiot gurus though who insist on bombarding people with false hope daily.

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    • I've started working with the Getting Things Done (GTD) book, and the author David Allen, discusses how having unfinished projects, or even looking at them on your computer or in a pile somewhere is a big drag on productivity. I think this would apply to 'shiny objects' as it is usually purchased with the hope of using it someday.

      His solution is to either make it a working project or assign it to the someday/review periodically list. Either way, it does involve writing down the project and placing it in a task list or organizer. From my understanding, there doesn't need to be a due date attached, as long as its written down and accounted for. Once that is done, it gets cleared out of the psyche and frees up productivity.

      I'm actually in the middle of implementing his system and am pretty excited about it.

    • If we did that, we would have no time to finish the projects we are actually getting done.

      Another "shiny button" is not the solution...
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  • Um . . . I could be wrong, I suppose, but the way I read some of the posts it seems a few of you good people misunderstood my post. It's not about buying shiny objects, it's about the shiny objects we create . . . as in unfinished projects.

    Compared to home remodeling for an example, it would be like the guy that starts painting one room, but before he's finishes that job he starts laying carpet in another room, and before that is finished he starts putting up a fence in the back yard and ends up with several projects started at once -- all waiting to be finished.
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    • Yes, you could be wrong... If you thought that I misunderstood your point... :p
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    • So you've met my Dad?

      -Dani
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  • You know, Dennis, a year ago, when people told me that I should create my own products, I laughed, because, I wouldn't know where to keep getting ideas from. These days, the ideas are filling up my head that there isn't much place for anything else. Now, if only I could finish them when I started them (yeah, I'm another victim of the "other" shiny object syndrome.

    Guess I need to start prioritizing and finishing some stuff, those ideas aren't making me money when they are half-finished on my hard drive.

    Leslie
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  • I know what you mean Dennis. Your post resonated with me because of what happened to me late last night.

    So.......I'm just about to finish a major project when late last night (early morning?) I had one of those "aha" moments and began jotting down ideas for my next project. About 90 minutes later I had several pages and a flow chart sketched out on my large project white board.

    Well guess what?

    I erased my current project off the white board!!!! Thank goodness I take snap shots of what I jot down for this very reason. Hey, you never know when an unruly 4 year old nephew might enter in your home office and start "doodling". Anyways.....

    That's what I dig about this business, the opportunities and the ideas you can come up with are endless. It's a double-edged sword.

    RoD
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    • Hey Brother Dennis,

      I have to admit that I'm easily distracted by my brilliant ideas. I have multiple products on my hard drive in various stages of completion.

      If I could only stop these multimillion dollar ideas from coming so fast, then maybe I would have the time to get 3 or 4 of them finished.

      I even broke one of my rules last night. Rule #1. Create a site for every domain you have before buying new domains. Had another brilliant idea last night, and just had to purchase a couple domains. Now, I have over 150 domains that I have to create sites for.

      I'm impressed though Dennis that you only have a half dozen projects not finished.

      Maybe we should start a support group here.

      I'll start; Hi, my name's Brian and I'm easily distracted by my bright, shinny and brilliant ideas.

      Your response: Hi Brian
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  • My brilliance is my imagination, my downfall is loosing myself in that imagination and believing that to be reality. In other words transform what you think and what you imagine into tangible thoughts.
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  • Same problem here ... I create too many projects instead of focusing on one.
  • This concerns marketers too.

    We always want to try something new and shiny. But we all know that only hard work pays off.
  • I'm the same as you, Dennis. I have domains for ideas that haven't been finished, and I have folders on my hard drive called "to be finished".... so much so that whenever I tell my husband I have an idea, he just groans, and my friend has suggested I set up a business selling my shiny objects to others because I don't ever get around to them.

    Not a smoker, so marijuana is out, but does Merlot help?
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
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    The "Other" Shiny Object Problem?

    Most folks knows about the Shiny Object Syndrome, but for those who don't: It's where you buy a marketing product, but before you fully put it to use another shiny product comes along and sounds great, so you buy it and abandon the one you were working on. This is often followed by another shiny new product, then another, until you have gigabytes of marketing products on your hard drive and you've never really put any of them to full use.