The Fate of the Fence-Sitter

Great post Dan!
Yes, I've certainly fit that category.
And I definitely have products that I've never even opened up.
Feels like Groundhog day over and over...there's always something else you need to know, find, or add.
But, you don't learn to swim in a book - you have to jump in the water (take action!). And with that taking action - even when you don't get the results you're after, comes experience and with experience, that all important confidence that gets you off the bench and into the game!

One thing that really helped me was getting clear on "who" I wanted to "serve".
(Note the wording) I didn't say - what useless crap can I sell to some poor fool to make a couple bucks - that would have kept me buying courses and in learning mode forever.
Partly for lack of clarity, and often times real interest in a niche when picked based solely on keywords, or a perceived pot of gold in a niche that I otherwise would not have interest in.
Also on another level the utter sleaziness of it.

The second thing that really got me out of book mode was to hone in on what type of 'work style' I have and what I need to do, the environment that I need to have to be successful.
I was fortunate enough to work with a coach recently and it opened my eyes to things that should have been obvious to me that were really getting in my way.
If there is one takeaway that is helpful from this is to question what you were doing, and what kind of environment you were in when you were the most successful professionally?
For me, I ran warehouses for 20 years, always moving - with a ton of variety and many people that I was accountable to and that relied on me.
Transition that to now, sitting by myself in front of a laptop -
Of course I felt stuck, and in some kind of weird radio silence type of void...just couldn't figure it out.
Knowing this has helped me to easily go towards the types of business online and otherwise that give me the hustle, movement, accountability, and people interaction that I need.
Once this snapped in I only bought, and spent time on info and tools to reach my objectives with my target market.
Now this type of stuff is obviously different for everyone because we are all unique.
For people like me, we are best to build authority and community.
So adsense sites, CPA type of stuff not really things I will pursue.
I also make sure I stand up to work quite often...just feels more natural and not like I'm trying to force myself to stay put.
Wow, that was long winded...hope it helps somebody out there.
~Natalie

Hey Natalie, thanks for your post!

I agree completely with what you said and it seems like you're on the right track now.

Internet Marketing is all about knowing your customers, not thinking what can I sell them.

Thanks for your insight and I hope it leads more people on here to take action so they can start achieving their real goals.

Good post Dan.

I think one legitimate problem is all of the tempting WSO's that come out every week. It is easy to fall into the trap of buying and not trying to do what is being taught in these. I read once that in regards to Internet marketing you need to "get off the sidelines and get in the game". Fence sitters have not figured that out yet.

I completely agree with everyone here .... but one important thing we forget is that its not all about only taking action ... most of us take action only one time and things does not work the way they wanted .... and they gave up ....

For me more important thing is consistancy, hang in there and make this failure a lesson for the future ....

Whether it is a WSO or a legitimate home business opportunity, too many people get into something and expect to make money right away even while taking the necessary actions. It takes a lot of patience and persistent action to do really well.

Plus, a lot of people are just not willing to do what ever it takes to succeed. They want a quick fix or to get rich quick. They can not deal with failure and so they quit at the first sign. Those who take action and persist and learn from their mistakes, do make it eventually.

The truth is you have to really concentrate and dig inside every ounce of your being. Not fun, not easy, and, you may look funny to normal people. You're not looking to be normal are you? Normal dont get you a leisure lifestyle. Unorthodox does.. Be somewhere where there is no noise no distractions. Do it until you get it. I dont care if it is 40 days 40 nights. Do just one thing, master it, then do the next.

Even at a snails pace you can finish a race

Ya i think the most important take away from all this is learn one thing, start doing it, and keep doing it consistently. Don't let tiny obstacles crush you and send you back to the wso section... Everyone fails, that's just the truth of the matter, but by continuing to take action consistently you WILL eventually succeed, and it WILL be worth it!

Oh my gosh Natalie, you hit the nail on the head! Wow.....the part where you said "can you imagine not showing up because something went wrong yesterday?-that hit home to me. I have struggled just like the rest of most of the folks on the WF to zero in on one thing. It is too easy when you don't have a lot of skin in the game to just walk away from a method or newly purchased WSO. I try to look at what I need or want to earn per hour and use that as my opportunity cost of NOT taking action. So, if I want to make $100 an hour working 4 hours a day, then I just threw away $400 when I bought that new WSO, read it, filed it away on my hard drive and went on to the next one. Truth is, I know darn well that I have enough information right now to take action and make that money. But, human nature is to find a way to avoid pain. So, instead of working ONE SINGLE PLAN UNTIL SUCCESSFUL, we keep finding a diversion by fluttering around like a humming bird tasting each and every tempting brightly colored WSO. (I apologize to all of the humming bird lovers).

Great post. Those who take action are the ones who make money. At the end of the day, all that matters is results. How much money have you made. How many lives have you changed or affected for the better. Excellent post. Most people don't take action and that is why they continue to fail online.

Rule 1: Don't buy anything unless you have an existing problem it can solve, and you know exactly how this solution will fit into your business. Hint--"Hey this looks neat" does not fit.

Rule 2: You will not grow your business until you become known for something. As the guy or gal who takes care of _______. Whatever it happens to be. But it has to be specific.

This is why hopping from thing to thing gets you nowhere. One day you're this thing; the next week you're that. No consistency = no reputation. People need to remember you as the ______ person. The one they turn to for information in that department.

Good post, going cold turkey on the WSO's and taking action is certainly a key to success.

The fact is WSO's the good and the bad are like a drug, you read the sales copy and get excited and you tell yourself this is the one that is going to make me money, especially if it's got good sales copy! You get a massive high from all the chemicals whizzing around your body and you buy the product.

Once you've purchased you see that it wasn't quiet as easy as you imagined and you're feeling a bit deflated, you halfheartedly read the content and decide to put this one on the back boiler until you've got some more experience.

The next day you see another interesting WSO - what does that ol' brain of yours tell you? it remembers the last time you saw one of these WSO's and it remembers how good you felt, so it releases all those chemicals out again and the circle turns.....you've got to break the circle!

Woooo! You too? Thanks for coming clean. One of my assignments from Bill, is to de-clutter my hard drive of all the "Daisies and Popcorn"products that couldn't fail to bring me riches...I love every unopened and unused gadget. Maybe in the back of my mind, I believed If I'd kept them long enough, they'd increase in value. Like precious metals Or diamonds...gone too far. Thanks for the excellent post

Thanks for this wonderful post. I was once there reading and learning without ever taking the right action. Have a plan and be hell bent to see it through to the end.

Great post. I agree that results only come when action are taken. It is more practical to stick to one proven system and just constantly take the right action.

ooooowwwwwww -- fence sitting. Not good. You can get some really mean splinters in your derriere.

Great post Dan!

I'd also like to add that doing isn't learning, either. I know so many people who do the steps and don't learn from what they just did. Where they went wrong, what they could do slightly different to get better results, etc.

Nothing at all wrong with failing or doing things wrong - but learn from it and do things better.

It's important to pick a proven business model and be 100% focused on that process and nothing else.

You then have to invest considerable time and money into the mix and not get upset when you don't see instant results.

Sitting on the fence is a problem I used to have a year or so ago, as I'm not a gambler by nature so I found it very uncomfortable to risk any significant amount of capital in order to test things out.

This held me back for far too long.