Someone Kick Me Please

37 replies
Why? Because I'm second-guessing myself.

I have a really good plan for a suite of products in a good niche in which I actually have a good deal of expertise but now that I have THE PLAN all laid out and everything fits, I'm stuck in a "what-if" loop that's doing nothing for my confidence or self esteem.

So someone, anyone - I don't really care who - click reply and type, "Just Do It." First person to do so gets $10 to their PayPal account. Er...just make sure you HAVE a PayPal account before you respond.

Tina
#confidence #kick #self-esteem
  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    "What if" you don't get stuck in and try it? You'll never know if it would have worked or not, will you?

    I'm very impulsive when it comes to websites and niches. I jump in the deep end, often with my eyes closed. Some work, some don't. Too much planning is setting yourself up to fail, in my opinion. Just get started and see where the road leads.

    (ps - I don't want your $10!)
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    • Profile picture of the author Tinkerbell
      Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

      "What if" you don't get stuck in and try it? You'll never know if it would have worked or not, will you?

      I'm very impulsive when it comes to websites and niches. I jump in the deep end, often with my eyes closed. Some work, some don't. Too much planning is setting yourself up to fail, in my opinion. Just get started and see where the road leads.

      (ps - I don't want your $10!)
      Rose, it's already "started," I'm just stuck in ohmigosh land about continuing. I don't think I've done too much planning, but I still agree the intensive planning could be responsible for my obsessing. Thank you for your post, and even if you don't want the $10, a promise is a promise, so if you will PM me your PayPal addy, you get a shiny new $10 transaction notification. :-)

      Thank you.
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      • Profile picture of the author tpw
        Originally Posted by Tinkerbell View Post

        Rose, it's already "started," I'm just stuck in ohmigosh land about continuing. I don't think I've done too much planning, but I still agree the intensive planning could be responsible for my obsessing.

        Thank you.

        Tina. I suspect what is holding you back is fear... Fear of success, or fear of failure... I have never really put my finger on which is more active in this process.

        As ghost writers, you and I have advantages and disadvantages:

        Our advantage is that we can create content, products, etc. for other people, and those people will be thrilled with our work, and they will make loads of money on our sweat labor.

        Our disadvantage is that when we let go of the up-front check for our work and decide to fly on our own wings, our confidence melts away. We beat ourselves up relentlessly about the products we create, the mechanics of what we have done, and whether someone else will truly appreciate what we have done.

        I have put out 26 products in the last two years, and only one product since September of last year!! I have in fact started another 7 products, but all of them remain unfinished on my hard drive, because I fear that they are not good enough... They are good, I know... But there is something missing -- like the last five pages!! LOL

        To be honest, I could be so much more productive, if only I did not let my fear of being perceived as "not good enough" to get in the way of me finishing the project.
        Signature
        Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
        Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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        • Profile picture of the author Bjarne Eldhuset
          • Information products almost always answer a set of questions that need to be answered for the reader to achieve a specific purpose.
          • What is the purpose your product should help the readers achieve?
          • Try to list the questions you ask in your product, and then decide if you think each question has been answered in a good way.
          • For each Q&A that is OK, you are done
          • For each Q&A that is not OK, fix the answer - or maybe you need to fix the question
          • If you are not satisfied when every question is answered OK, take a look at the list of questions to see if there maybe are some more questions you need to ask.
          • Another option is to let some of your audience read it for free in exchange of feedback.

          If your product gives good answers to the questions you promise to answer (on your sales page), then it is good enough.

          Another way to get products done is to outline the sales letter before you create the actual product. When your product lives up to the promise in the sales letter, it is good enough.

          Information products can be made much in the same way as a college/university assignment. Here is an actual example (borrowed from http://www.iimm.org/ed/pdf/ASSIGNMEN...SEM-1-2012.pdf

          Marketing Management
          Assignment 1:
          1. What are the benefits of marketing segmentation? (6 marks)
          2. Write short note on the following (3 marks each)
          a. Marketing Mix
          d. Niche Marketing
          Assignment 2:
          3. What are the roles of quality in the process of customer satisfaction (6
          marks)
          4. How do services differ from tangible products? (7 marks)
          Notice how there is a max limit to how much you should write about each topic?

          This method could easily be used for making an information product:
          1. Outline salespage - List all questions that should be answered
          2. Define what benefit there is to know the answer to each question
          3. Set a maximum page or word limit for answering each question
          4. Write the answers
          5. Double-check that you are satisfied with each answer
          6. Format product, finish up salespage, done!
          Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Ok ... Just Do It

    (but don't send me any money)
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  • Profile picture of the author OldLodgeSkins
    * landing my kicking finger on my kicking mouse button *

    Signature
    Do you use Facebook ? Then you can make money just by inviting people to a Facebook group ! It's called the Instant Income System. How cool is that?
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Gordon
    I can cut your investment in half with one word...

    Fiverr



    Just do it. If you fail, you will have succeeded in learning one way not to make money. That will make you an expert in one more thing which may pay dividends down the road.
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  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    Send it here, please. carol smith is fundraising for St Michael's Hospice (Hereford). Just type in £6 (I think that's about $10) and say you aren't a UK taxpayer. Thanks.

    I'm raising money for our local hospice in memory of a good friend.

    Oh yes - "just do it"
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  • Profile picture of the author Tinkerbell
    Carol, donation sent. Thank you.

    Thanks to all who have responded. I'm feeling a little better. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author cuzsis
    Happens to me too. You know what the end result usually is? I dither and dally trying to get up the courage to put my "plan" into action and when I finally manage it....I realize I wasted a ton of time and could've been doing something really cool and successful a lot sooner!

    When you go to the effort to plan things out carefully, dot your i's and cross your t's, you're not going to "fail". At least not the way we normally think of failure. You might have "set backs" and some "bumps", but these will merely be temporary in nature and you will get past them by applying the same thoughtfulness and effort you originally did to create your plan. And it generally takes a lot less time to fix these problems then you spend worrying about them on the front end!

    And now, for your reading pleasure, an encouraging story!

    This winter I received a dog sled for Christmas. It came in a package and needed assembly.

    Confession time: I can't put together IKEA furniture. I even messed up one of the most basic office chairs and bookcase (seriously a bookcase is about as simple as it gets!).

    I was a bit nervous about putting together a dog sled...but I really wanted to do it myself without help. So, I read the instructions (not that this had helped me with IKEA furniture, but you have to start somewhere.) Then I started mentally picturing how each part when together. I read a few facebook posts by other people who had put it together. I read a few facebook posts by people who worked on dogsleds in general.

    And then it sat. It sat for several months. I waited for a day where I'd have the entire day to do it so if I screwed up I would have time to fix it. But a busy family means that day will never come.

    Finally I said to myself , "Com'on it's almost spring! Let's look at those directions again and actually get it built!" Another glance through and they seemed a lot simpler. In fact, the entire thing looked like it could be put together in an afternoon when assembled correctly. (Yeah, but the odds of me doing that?) Well, then I'll just need more than one day! <---Mental attitude is 180 from previously here. Before I was all "How long do I need to fix a screw up?" Now I was all "How long do I need to succeed?" Two entirely different viewpoints!

    So I started working on it. Three hours later I was done and I had put everything together right the first time. If I hadn't psyched myself out to begin with when I first read the instructions I could've had it together months ago! (Fortunately we had a mild winter and I didn't miss any sledding as we had no snow.)

    So, as the old baseball axiom goes "You can't steal second with your foot on first." Make a good plan, one that allows for potential "bumps" in the road (that is, don't go out on a limb you can't recover from) and then JUST DO IT!

    /keep the $10. Treat yourself to some Starbucks for officially putting your plan into action all the way!
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  • Profile picture of the author Shane N
    (This is being posted after the $10 has been given away)



    If you don't take action, nothing will ever happen.

    You've got everything it takes, but now it's just YOURSELF holding you back?

    You're miles ahead of other people (in your niche and in your shoes) so don't
    let fear stand in the way.

    PM me and if I can help in any way I will, I am a successful product creator myself.

    Either way, I still encourage you to take action and pursue your endeavor full-force.

    Much success to you and let us all know when you've taken the leap!

    Best,
    Shane
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    • Profile picture of the author Tinkerbell
      Originally Posted by Shane Natan View Post

      You've got everything it takes, but now it's just YOURSELF holding you back?
      LOL. Yep! Only it seems kinda silly when you just spill the beans flat out like that. :-)

      Thanks for the vote of confidence, Shane. I appreciate it.

      Will definitely let everyone know when I've gone ahead and taken the plunge. If not for you guys, I might have tossed my plans in a drawer by this time tomorrow and who knows when or if I would ever have dug them back out?
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  • Profile picture of the author Tinkerbell
    Very fun story, cuzsis. I am so happy you took the time to consider everything carefully and let the idea ruminate for a bit before tackling your assembly because chances are this led to your 180 degree turnaround in thought process and the rise in your confidence level. AND, you put the sled together right your first time out. Congrats! :-)

    Hmm. Leads me to think maybe I should just step back and let things stew in my head for a bit, give everything a little time to clarify itself. Feels like great advice.

    The $10 has already been donated to a worthy cause, but I wanted to say thanks and that I appreciate your post. It is certainly encouraging and uplifting.
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    • Profile picture of the author cuzsis
      Originally Posted by Tinkerbell View Post

      Very fun story, cuzsis. I am so happy you took the time to consider everything carefully and let the idea ruminate for a bit before tackling your assembly because chances are this led to your 180 degree turnaround in thought process and the rise in your confidence level. AND, you put the sled together right your first time out. Congrats! :-)

      Hmm. Leads me to think maybe I should just step back and let things stew in my head for a bit, give everything a little time to clarify itself. Feels like great advice.

      The $10 has already been donated to a worthy cause, but I wanted to say thanks and that I appreciate your post. It is certainly encouraging and uplifting.
      A worthy cause is even better!

      Thanks for the kind words. Glad you liked the story and found it helpful!
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  • Profile picture of the author blend
    "Those Who Dare and Take Action Get a Reward"

    Or your be wondering...."What if"....
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  • Profile picture of the author dome
    all you need to have is "will power" once you ready to do. Stand up and start doing no matter what you get but all you get is EXPERIENCE
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    A Warrior always ready to L"earn"

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  • Profile picture of the author online only
    Just do the product. Let it be fully finished, make it clean and neat.

    Even if you "fail", a lesson will be learned. Next time you will be smarter etc... Heck, even if you fail, you can sell your ready-made product on flippa.
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  • Profile picture of the author WarrenPeterson
    Remember this phrase (I drill this into all my own clients), and repeat it often: Good enough, is good enough.


    You'll never make a perfect product, there will always be something to fix, adjust, make better, etc... So you make it good enough, make it so that you are produ of it, and it will be of real value to those who purchase it, and then you make it live. It takes far less energy to update an existing product than it does to create the product in the first place.


    Here is the way out of the what-if loop: How will your life be different next year, if you do not follow through with this? What if you never get this done? What if a decade goes by, and you are thinking, What if I had just finished what I started ten years ago?

    HTH!
    Signature
    Do you really want to build a real business?
    Then you need this: 21 Days To Business Success
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Tinkerbell View Post

      Hmm. Leads me to think maybe I should just step back and let things stew in my head for a bit, give everything a little time to clarify itself. Feels like great advice.
      As a battle-scarred veteran of the 'what-if' wars, I can tell you this IS good advice.

      The supercomputer holding our ears apart is an amazing machine if we set it properly and let it go.

      Now that you've programmed all the what-ifs, it's time to let the machine start grinding through its process and tell you which what-ifs are worth worrying about and how to plan for them, and which ones look silly in the light of day.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sandra Martinez
        You have your plan, but.. do you have a TODO list?

        When I feel resistance it is usually because I don´t have the steps clear and I don´t know if I can figure them out along the way.

        Why don´t you make a list with the first ten things you need to do at night, and first thing in the morning get the list before everything else?
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        • Profile picture of the author garyisonline
          Originally Posted by Sandra Martinez View Post

          You have your plan, but.. do you have a TODO list?

          When I feel resistance it is usually because I don´t have the steps clear and I don´t know if I can figure them out along the way.

          Why don´t you make a list with the first ten things you need to do at night, and first thing in the morning get the list before everything else?
          I agree with Sandra totally!

          When you are an analyzer you will most likely have your plan all together. And it's probably going to bounce around a LOT in your mind....alllllll night long. Because somehow more analyzing seems productive. But it's not. You've obviously got the plan down good enough.

          BUT...it may not always be fear that's holding you back. It may be a "now what!?"

          So it may be (and I've been there a LOT) that you need to take your plan and chop it up into sections...each section with completion goal dates.

          Then take those sections and chop them up into "gotta do's".

          If the gotta do seems too overwhelming...chop it up into smaller gotta do's. For example "Get the folder out of the drawer and lay it on my desk". Sounds crazy but it works...and qualifies for a check mark when done.

          Also, don't be shocked (or held back) by how many "gotta figure outs" pop up on you along the way. In fact...that is why we stay in analyzing mode...is to try to catch all of those elusive figure outs. They'll pop up in time...don't worry. Just turn those "gotta figure outs" into "gotta dos".

          If a "gotta figure out" pops up that belongs in a section further down the path, don't do it now...or worry about it...yet. Put it in its proper section and rest in knowing that it's handled and you'll get to it at its allotted time.

          If you do your sections and do's in chronological order you will always be able to look back at your series of completions (and clap)...as well have awesome confidence in looking forward - knowing that you aren't acting willy nilly, but are instead strategically completing your plan on a schedule!

          Go you!!
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  • Profile picture of the author butters
    Ask yourself this question, what if you don't? Will this be the oppertunity which you let pass by which could of been one of the best things you done? Are you willing to take that risk?

    Watch this video in this thread I recently posted: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...m-reality.html

    What if that guy just accepted what he is, where would he be if just accepted it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
    The only motivation quote you're ever going to need:

    "He who dares Rodders. He who dares..."



    Daniel
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Most people hate to 'just do it' because the moment you actually do something and put it into action is the same moment you will know whether it is going to work or not. That can be a scary prospect if you have worked on something for a long time. But what's even scarier is just sitting on an idea and never knowing.

    It's the same feeling you have when you walk in to have them check your lottery ticket. We buy lottery tickets not because we think we are really going to win but because for the few days before the lottery is drawn, it allows us to fantasize and dream about what we would do if we won. But you know as soon as you walk into the newsagent to have that ticket checked, all of a sudden the dreams and fantasies will be over.

    How many times have you kept a lottery ticket in the bottom of your draw for weeks or months on end? A lot of people do. Once again it's because it allows them to keep the dream and fantasy alive. There is always that slight chance they are sitting on a winning ticket and for them, not knowing is much more attractive than knowing the reality.
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  • Profile picture of the author Christian Ball
    Why don't you treat your "what-if loop" as just another stage of the development process for your suite of products? Turn it into a risk assessment and try to put a contingency in place for each of those "what-ifs" that you're worried might befall your project. If you do this, you might end up not only breaking free of your "what-if loop" but also feeling more confident about the success of your project than you originally did as a result of the extra planning you've done. Just a thought.
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  • Profile picture of the author sovee
    you would never what it really is unless you have the first step
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  • Profile picture of the author thedanbrown
    Originally Posted by Tinkerbell View Post

    Why? Because I'm second-guessing myself.

    I have a really good plan for a suite of products in a good niche in which I actually have a good deal of expertise but now that I have THE PLAN all laid out and everything fits, I'm stuck in a "what-if" loop that's doing nothing for my confidence or self esteem.

    So someone, anyone - I don't really care who - click reply and type, "Just Do It." First person to do so gets $10 to their PayPal account. Er...just make sure you HAVE a PayPal account before you respond.

    Tina
    Everyone goes throguh this! Who cares what happens... like you said you have a good plan and have found a profitable niche... why are you waiting? If you fail you'll learn from it and be much better the next time, if you don't fail you win! Either way you're progressing and learning by doing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tinkerbell
    See, now this is exactly what I need - an entire thread of people not only telling me to "just do it" but posting some very valid reasons why I should as well as some great "heads up" reasons why I may be kicking myself later if I don't.

    @tpw: Bill, I think it's more an "allergy" to work "for myself" than fear of either success or failure. :-)

    The material is good, so I'm not worried it won't be useful - as long as someone accesses and uses it. Not scared of success either, as near as I can tell, because even if it only succeeds in a small way, I will be happy. I will be helping others and making a little extra extra money, too.

    Yeah, probably my "this is for myself so it's okay to put it off" work allergies flaring up...and that may be your problem, too? Go write those last five pages, my good man! Just do it. And let the market tell you whether or not you're "good enough." :-)

    @WarrenPeterson: OMG, if another entire decade goes by and I don't get this done, we can all safely assume it ain't gonna happen at all. LOL. I do have a loose "timeline" set up, though.

    End of March, one part of the program will be done. End of April, a second piece. End of June, a third, end of September, a fourth, and finally, by the end of December 2013, I will have all the pieces completed and hopefully live on the 'net. That's the plan, anyway.

    @JohnMcCabe: Yes, definitely. My brain deserves a lot more credit for all the work I force it to do. I agree with you that, given information to dwell on and time to process, eventually my noodle will spit out the answers I need, want, have been looking for all along. Thank you. :-)

    @Sandra Martinez: Yes, I have a to-do list. I also have clients, and they do come first when it comes to priorities in my work time. They have paid me to deliver, so they get top dibs on my time. After client time, however, I am using my timeline and to do list to work through things - just lately (the past few days) the "amount of work" to be done started to feel overwhelming ...and I got stuck.

    @garyisonline: Gotta figure outs - already have a few of those on the list, to be honest. They don't feel like major hurdles right now, and I sure hope they don't come back to bite me in the derriere later, when I do get to them!

    Right now, I'm on schedule. But I could feel myself slipping into the "I don't wanna do this yet!" whiny mode, which is never a good thing when you're trying to move forward. So...I fired up my browser and came here for a swift kick in the pants. And it helped! :-)

    @butters: Thank you. If I don't do this, I'll get the same results anyone gets - no progress. I'll be getting nowhere, and I am not willing to accept that. Thanks to all of you, continuing to moving forward feels more right than slinking back or doing nothing.

    @Craig Desorcy: Exactly. My daughter recently laughed at me for telling her "what if" is evil. LOL. Considering we are writers, the "what if" question is one we utilize lots in our line of work, so you can imagine how hilarious she found my comment. :-)

    @Daniel Evans: I certainly dare.

    @WillR: Sometimes, we have a very good feeling something is going to work. In fact, we know it in our bones, but then, we are slow to put it out there and when we finally do, we end up getting lost in the sea of fast movers. Getting lost is what I am definitely trying to avoid.

    @Christian Ball: Excellent suggestion! Thank you.

    @sovee: Thank you. This is true. I've made the first steps. Looking forward, I see a long journey ahead. Like on The Emperor's New Groove, it sometimes seems I'm headed straight for the edge of a huge waterfall where, at the bottom of a massive drop, sharp rocks lay in eager wait to tear me to shreds. Some days, it's a little difficult to look at that and say, "Bring it on!"

    @thedanbrown: Yep, everyone does. And like everyone, I sometimes just need a reminder from someone outside my head that there are very good reasons to not wait. Thank you.
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by Tinkerbell View Post

      @tpw: Bill, I think it's more an "allergy" to work "for myself" than fear of either success or failure. :-)

      The material is good, so I'm not worried it won't be useful - as long as someone accesses and uses it. Not scared of success either, as near as I can tell, because even if it only succeeds in a small way, I will be happy. I will be helping others and making a little extra extra money, too.

      Yeah, probably my "this is for myself so it's okay to put it off" work allergies flaring up...and that may be your problem, too? Go write those last five pages, my good man! Just do it. And let the market tell you whether or not you're "good enough." :-)

      I started a new product last night about 6pm, slept three hours overnight, then finished it this morning by 6am.

      It is a 30-page PDF and will go on sale tonight.

      I have already run the product through reviewers, and the good news is that it was deemed to be very good.

      Your turn... :p
      Signature
      Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
      Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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  • Profile picture of the author mert
    Hey, Tina! I'd usually go with my gutts in that kinda situation. Go for that very thought inside you telling you what to do. Coz there's risk everywhere and only when you're able to dodge the fatal blow will you be able to continue.

    so, JUST DO IT!

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  • Profile picture of the author smodha
    You need to suppress that little voice in your head (ego) and keep moving forwards.

    Launch the product then work out the kinks in the road.
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    I Sell What People Want. The Money Is A Bonus..
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  • Profile picture of the author aerm85
    ActionTaker = Experience
    Experience + Learn about Errors = Succeed.
    Just Do IT!!!
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    Please do not use affiliate links in signatures

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  • Profile picture of the author Tinkerbell
    I seem to have run out of thanks - my thank you button disappeared. First time I've had that happen. Hmm. I'll just have to say it here. Thank you to everyone who has responded. I feel there's some really useful stuff being shared here, and I appreciate your taking the time to share it.

    @tpw: Very nice! I'm happy to hear you created a project deemed to be very good from start to finish overnight. PM or Skype me a link when it goes on sale so I can take a peek at it. Congratulations. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author ecoverartist
    Hi Tina,

    Look at it this way... 5, 10, 50 years from now... will you look back on this moment and be proud of yourself because of what you tried, or remorseful because of what could have been?
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