10,000 posts - my lessons learned.

Hi Warriors,

Since I have hit another post milestone I wanted to give something back to the community.

Here are a few of the biggest lessons I've learned about IM since I joined the forum, hopefully they'll resonate with your own journey.

1 - ALWAYS have your own mind.

I know all the saying about "success leaves a trail" and "learn from others to save yourself time" etc. etc. but if there's one thing I've learned in this forum over the years it's that everyone is on their own journey and you have to be in control of yours.

By all means, learn from others and help yourself move forward, but please please please do not expect that other people are going to come up with your business plan for you, or that you can start a business online by reading a few WSOs and then thinking you can take your pick of successful business models.

The number 1 thing which will determine your success is YOU - not the business model you have.

You can make any system fail.

You can make any good system succeed.

No matter what others tell you - make your own decisions, test your own theories, believe your own results.

Marketing is pretty easy when you cut through all the BS and just create your own plan and then test everything you do and improve the stuff that doesn't work.


2 - Don't expect overnight success.

Sure it's possible but it's highly unlikely.

Lack of realistic expectations is the cause of many people giving up before they've ever given themselves a chance to succeed.

Any normal offline business starts out with the expectation that they won't be profitable for at least 18 months. If you think you can start from nothing and make a full time income in a few weeks - think again.

Don't beat yourself up about your results - if you're making any money then you're probably ahead of most people.


3 - IM is real. It's not all hype.

Over the time I've been a forum member in the WF I've physically met over 200 warriors in person and among them have been some amazing people that are out there paying their bills using IM.

It's not all hype and BS.

I understand why you may think that and we've probably all been bitten by buying a WSO thinking it sounded great and then realised we'd been lied to.

Don't let the trash, idiots and liars put you off - you can make it succeed. (see rule 2)


4 - Don't hung up on SEO

Yes Google changes its algorithms, but that doesn't mean you can't get your website visited by lots of people, you don't have to care about every algorithm change, and if anyone tells you there's a shortcut to getting good rankings - check if they're selling seo services (and don't buy).

The world of SEO in 2013 is no harder than anytime previously, as always the rules keep changing - but the game stays the same. Just take a look at what Google shows you when you search and keep that in mind when you build your site. If your search shows images - use images, if it returns videos - use videos, if it returns news - use press releases.

This stuff really isn't hard so don't let people confuse you, use your brain.

5 - Expect success.

You may have started your online business with no previous experience of business, of making great money or of success at anything else in life - but the reality is, if you take your time, learn your business and don't give up, success is just a matter of time.


6 - Don't be gullible.

You know when something is too good to be true.

Don't let your ambition for quick results short-circuit your brain and make you buy things you know won't work.

Shiny object syndrome is one of IMs biggest distractions.

Don't buy anything that you didn't already decide you needed for your business.


7 - Half done - ain't Done!

Failure to finish and launch is a common problem.

Rather than say the same thing, I'll point to you this video of fellow Warrior Marlon Sanders.

It was taken a few years ago (I think 2004) and I was behind the camera at the time and laughing the whole time and fellow warrior Martin Avis showed it at a recent workshop and it reminded me how great it is - his simple message is powerful.


Enjoy!
KISS Workshop Follow Up
(scroll down to the video when you get there)


Your friend in online success

Andy Henry