Question for the experienced marketers…

by 14 replies
17
What I want to know is... how do you find not only the FOCUS but the MOTIVATION and the DRIVE it takes to get up every day and work on your online business?

I've been struggling with shiny object syndrome for years now, and I've done myself a huge favor by completely avoiding the WSO forum. My main problem is I always seem to have a new and better "idea" every other week, and can't seem to focus on any of my current projects... it's just hard when you don't have a boss telling you what to do everyday. It's hard figuring it out... especially when you DON'T see any immediate results.

I get ideas for new websites all the time... and I love creating them, because I get that "instant gratification" feeling when they're online. But after the initial set up, I lose steam and get off track, distracted by another idea, or feel "lost" with the idea I have. Like I just don't know WHAT to do next, because nothing I do will give me that instant money or instant gratification. Anyone else feel this way? Anyone have any tips for me to overcome these feelings??

Thanks!
#mind warriors #experienced #marketers… #question
  • I think your forum signature says it all. You are all over the place.
    You seem like you are trying to be something to everybody,
    but being nothing to no one.

    Concentrate on one thing.

    I think its natural to have so many ideas, but you can't act on all of them.
    Get a notebook, and every time an idea comes, write it down, file it away.
    You can always go back and read the notebook.

    After you have had success with one idea, then you can
    go back to your notebook and pick
    another idea to be successful at.

    I think we all get that way from time to time.

    Think about making a plan to where you want to be.
    Then make a schedule of how you are gonna get there.
    Break that big plan down into bite size pieces that you can do daily.

    I think once you start seeing small successes every day when you complete something,
    you will naturally get more motivated. It's funny how when we complete one step or
    complete one small goal, we look forward to completing the next step or goal. The
    more we complete, the easier it becomes.

    Just my two cents worth anyways.
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Banned
      This.

      When you look through those books of interviews with successful people, one of the very, very few striking things that all of them seem to have in common, whatever their background, whatever their business, is that they were all people who (for whatever reasons) were both willing and able to "exclude other things".

      Concentrating on one thing really does involve "excluding other things".

      Achieving success is partly about one's ability to say "no".

      .
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • I've got a main idea "in the works" that a fellow warrior has been helping me a lot with actually...

    But I still can't help all the other ideas that I get and occasionally act on. (Usually smaller ideas, like the ones in my sig). And I DO have that notebook, a word doc actually, and it's got 15 ideas on it and I created it about a month ago

    My mind never stops... and like I said the hardest part is not knowing "what to do next" exactly.
    • [3] replies
    • Hi

      It's great to hear you have no problem coming up with new fresh ideas. That's the sign of you always looking to self improve and people like that will be successful. However with that said in order to be classed as successful you need to have a business model that's working and generating regular income. A sign of a good business is when you don't have to be putting in ridiculous amount of hours into generating interest in your brand and converting interest into sales, so a bit like being on autopilot.

      Now without knowing that much about you i feel that if you had that kind of business model and it was generating a substantial residual income then your issue with focus and motivation would be a thing of the past. Don't worry because your the majority and it's hard to break that habit. I personally faced the same issue when I first started all those months ago but with sheer determination and putting together a routine/method i managed to over come this AND SO CAN YOU.

      Firstly organise your week in advance. Set your daily targets but remember to keep them SMART. Remove any distractions I.e mobile phones, TV or Facebook. It's vital you take breaks from your work. I tend to work for 3 hours solid then take a break, maybe go for a walk, meet up with a friend etc.. You will find that your attention and focus is at 100%. Now you may find you be different and that's fine, you just need to customise it to meet your standards. Just remember the first sign of you losing focus and have urge of doing something else, then it's time for a break.

      For motivation then I would look to to create a killer vision board. I have recommended this many times on this forum and I personally use one because I know it works. If you don't know what one is then I suggest you look it up on my previous posts or on google but just to give you a quick idea of what it is and what it does....

      Killer Vision Board is where you put all the reasons you have for exploring and caving out a career in this industry. It could be your driven by generating my money, it could be you want to be home more and be your own boss or it can simply be both. Next to your reasons you want to add pictures of what incentives/luxuries this can bring I.e new car, don't have to wake up to alarm clock etc... Once you completed the board, you want to place it where you can see it and it's vital that you look at it each day because it's a great tool to motivate you to give 100%

      Now as for over flowing of ideas my suggestion is simple.... Why don't you have a notepad by you and write a very quick 5 minute overview and once you get a spare 15 minutes you can research into it with detail. By doing this your not affecting your primary business model and more importantly your giving your idea 100% attention which you need to do because when your mind is purely focused on one thing then that's when you produce the best work. Does that make sense?


      I really hope this helps you but please feel free to contact me if you need anymore advice.

      Good luck

      Owen
    • Get that fellow warrior to help you in staying focused on the project. Both of you can assist each other if needed.

      When you have a JOB your BOSS tells you what to do either daily or at least weekly. The BOSS may not micro manage you, but he has probably put you through some sort of training program to do the JOB. Then your BOSS expects you to get the job done.

      When you are your own BOSS, then you are the one that has to manage the daily to do list. You need to know what needs to be done when, then you need to expect your self to get that job done on time.

      You say you have a main idea in the works, great. Assuming you have done the research and that main idea is profitable, then now is the time to start prospecting and get a list of who your potential customers may be.

      So your focus every day should be prospecting for customers.

      As oWEN suggested, take breaks in between working on prospecting for a couple hours, then working on your project for a couple of hours.

      Break your work day up into smaller bites, then chew really good before you swallow, then you can take another bite. Before long you will have the whole day eaten.

      Anyways, You will get Focused, I'm sure of it.

    • You could give any of the ideas you have that you feel are a distraction to other people to run with. I'm sure there are lots of people who don't even have one idea or even a clue where to start.
  • One Problem, One solution. When creating a product follow this motto.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • KayOS has a great idea. You could sell your idea or designs.
  • Banned
    Although those things are nice, you don't need them. They're not (IMO) a "prerequisite" for success.

    All you have to do is:



    Even if you don't feel motivated or have any drive or focus. Just choose one thing and start working on it. And, stay with it until you reach your goal(s).

    Sometimes I don't feel like working at all, however I get on with it anyway and what I find is that some days I become more motivated as I go along. (Rather than being motivated to begin with.) As Copywriting Legend Gary Halbert Said:

    "Movement creates more momentum than meditation."

    HTH. : )
  • I can give you a long detailed answer into the science of motivation, but I'd rather have you read "Drive" by Daniel Pink.

    Instead, I'll give you a simple, pragmatic, practical answer.

    Paying the bills.

    Your level of action will generally adapt itself to the needs of the moment. If you need to earn $2500/month or you'll go homeless, you'll find ways to earn $2500. If you have someone to take care of, like a child, you'll find ways to earn money.

    The moment I moved on my own when I was 18 was the moment my motivation, action and income soared. It increased multiple times in a very, very short period.

    The obvious why?

    Dry cleaning costs money. Rent costs. Utility bills cost money. Internet costs money. Buying new clothes cost money. Food costs money.

    So I made money. It is that simple.

    This is the basic level.

    The second level is my own ambition. My desire to become better and better.

    To compare myself today with myself one month ago and to see an improvement, even if it is a small one.
  • I'm just a newbie but I have found the solution to this problem - at least for me.

    I spend 1 hr in the evening planning. I timetable my current project. Then I plan for future projects.

    I get a piece of A4 paper and write my current project in the centre. I write the future projects round the edges of the paper. Then I go through each potential 2nd project and decide which will be project 2. I determine which fits the best with my current project. I look at whether I can get some people in my current project to be interested in project 2 and whether I can reuse materials from project 1 in the next project. On the basis of that, I choose project 2 and write it in the middle of the paper with project 1 and draw an arrow between them. Next, I look for project 3. Which of the remaining projects will help or connect with projects 1 and 2 the most and vice versa? I choose one and write that in the middle with projects 1 and 2 and draw an arrow between the projects that will work together. I go through the list to the end. Eventually, I have a list of projects that are prioritised clearly. I try to create a timetable months ahead to complete these projects.

    Of course if one is particularly successful, the timelines will change because I will focus on my successful project. However, once I had a prioritised list and I knew why it was prioritised, I found I could work more effectively.
  • Well, you obviously are not happy with the fact that you can't focus on one thing, so you're probably lacking discipline. I would write out a game plan for your project, write out your goal, and place a deadline on that goal.

    Placing a deadline on your project should help to motivate you to focus, knowing that once that deadline is over you should've have finished the project. I would also, sit down and write down your "whys". Why do you want to focus on one project at a time and what will it do for your business and your life?
  • First off, I can totally relate.

    I'm very ADD. I'm an idea machine. I can come up with ideas but I don't have the support to follow every idea through.

    When it comes to publishing new books.. I created a system so that I can finish it really quickly without wasting time. However, my e-commerce websites are a nightmare sometimes and require a lot of manpower.

    I actually contacted my professor this week and told him I need three interns. So I'm hiring unpaid interns from my former school and mentoring them while getting some help maintaining blogs and social media for my websites.

    I also have a lot of motivational quotes in the areas that I work. I have a very positive workspace. I find that mornings where I wake up at 5 am, I accomplish a lot more than mornings where I wake up at 8:30.

    I also contact my boyfriend who is an IM and we text each other updates on our progress throughout the day. We try to keep each other accountable.

    Planning at night what you'll do the next morning is also really helpful. I find if my to do list only has three time consuming tasks on them I'm more likely to finish it than if I have a never ending list where scares me too much to start anything. If I don't make them really small tasks I get too stressed and end up doing nothing.

    You have to figure out how you work best and work yourself that way. It's about creating an atmosphere which promotes your productivity.
  • You need to learn how to be disciplined, and motivated and learn how to use your mind, and mind techniques to make it all possible.

    1. You need an outcome. What do you want to achieve? - Make it compelling
    2. You need to learn how to manipulate and use your state to your advantage - I have spent years studying this
    3. Time management and breaking down of tasks
    4. Commitment - You need to learn how to decide and follow through powerfully. I have created a great 3 step process for this

    and you have to use all these little things...and more...to be driven and disciplined. Once you condition drive and motivation it's easy no matter what you do.
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  • 17

    Question for the experienced marketers...

    What I want to know is... how do you find not only the FOCUS but the MOTIVATION and the DRIVE it takes to get up every day and work on your online business? I've been struggling with shiny object syndrome for years now, and I've done myself a huge favor by completely avoiding the WSO forum. My main problem is I always seem to have a new and better "idea" every other week, and can't seem to focus on any of my current projects... it's just hard when you don't have a boss telling you what to do everyday. It's hard figuring it out... especially when you DON'T see any immediate results.