Battle Lines Drawn in Offline War-Front

Background

Today officially marks my third month as a full-time offliner. So for the benefit of other new offliners, I wanted to reflect on my biggest observation to this point.

In the moments preceding your venture into offline marketing you will no doubt encounter so many stories about offliners, who've come before you and achieved meteoric success.

And while I haven't experienced that type of success first hand, I have certainly experienced enough to tell you that offline marketing can change your life.

Here's the Thing

But make no mistake about it...as glamorous a picture as you might have of offline marketing, before you get into the nitty gritty of it, offline marketing is like a battle field.

And just like a real war, you're tasked with accomplishing a specific objective and you're expected to do all that you can do to overcome whatever obstacle the enemy throws at you. Of course on a physical battlefield you really do encounter

1. people who are hell-bent on taking you out
2. fellow comrades in arms who fall by your side
3. enemy land mines and boobie traps

But think about it, when you are starting out as an offline warrior you will also encounter some heavy stuff. We're talking the real deal, things like:

1. spouses or family members who hurl words of discouragement your way
2. fellow offliners who are forced to end their offline careers
3. bright shiny objects and every other manner of distraction imaginable

And we haven't even gotten to the wishy-washy prospects, overly-demanding clients and outsourcers who drop the ball on you.

Key Takeaway

That being said, I suspect there is one major difference between the offline battlefield and the physical battlefield. In a real life war, you at least have the benefit of knowing who your enemy is or is not. However, in the identity of your enemy is not so obvious.

This makes him much more dangerous. Let me tell you a little bit more about him before revealing his identity. Your enemy is:

• A stalker dispatched to stalk your dreams and pluck them right out of your hands before you've made it
• A sniper put in position to use his markman's precision to zero in on your goals and systematically take them out one by one until you're left empty handed
• A fear monger sent to knock you off of your game by planting the seeds of fear and confusion into your heart so that you're gripped in the mires of analysis paralysis, second guessing and so forth

Who Is this Enemy?

Does this enemy sound familiar to you? The enemy I speak of is not "out there" the enemy is within and he lives within each of us. The key to defeating your enemy is to "just do it" that's right - go out and take massive action. Folks I can't say enough about the value of just going out and doing something.

But hopefully my little analogy helps me to make a very important point - that no matter what is going on "out there", as long as you keep the enemy within in check by putting one foot in front of the other and getting stuff done - ultimately, you WILL make it to the other side.

Good luck and God-speed; my fellow offline warrior!

Oh and by the way, before you ask....I've never been in the military or fought in a war or anything like that...just your ordinary everyday student of military history.