In the sidebar and the navigation bar of this site there used to be a button saying I’d give away free seo consultations to anybody who wants one. When I was doing those free sessions more often than not we’d talk about keyword selection, linkbuilding, monetization etc – but often we’d just end up discussing the person’s online goals and progress…which is fine with me because I’m a guy that likes to just get on the phone and talk with people. I get tired of the impersonal interactions facilitated by the comments sections of blogs.
Today there was an email in by inbox from a great guy who sincerely thinks he wants to make money online. When he emailed me about the consult his questions centered on his choice of keywords. He was targeting two main keywords with his blog – neither of which is ever going to bring him significant traffic. “I think I may have chosen the wrong keywords, but I do have a lot of passion about the subject,” his email said. My mind suddenly jumped to a single thought – how much time has he spent on this blog? Ten hours? Fifty hours? 100 hours?
For some reason his email really stuck in my brain and I sat and stared at it for several minutes, re-reading it and letting my mind wander back across the four and a half years that I’ve been talking with people about their internet income goals. During those years I can tell you I’ve talked on the phone with not less than 2,000 people about their desire to make money online. After 2,000 such conversations, do you believe that patterns start to emerge?
Patterns everywhere…patterns in how you started thinking about making money online; patterns in your life circumstances, patterns in what you hope to have happen during your first six to twelve months; patterns in what actually happens during those first six to twelve months, and patterns in how many of you quit on your goals within days or weeks of passionately embarking on your journey to financial independence. Yeah – patterns everywhere.
But there’s one pattern that I find more disturbing than all the others, and far more dangerous. It is the chronic, pervasive, absolute disregard for your most precious asset.
Time.
Bloggers – “make money onliners” – waste so much time that they could easily be compared to the millions of 12 year olds who play video games six to eight hours per day. Why do video game addicts do what they do?
Because it’s fun; it’s an escape from reality to get online with your buddies and kill aliens for hours at a time. While they’re playing video games they don’t have to think about anything that stresses them.
Are bloggers any different? Bloggers don’t have video game consoles – they have desktop PCs and laptops. And they don’t have video games; they have RSS feed readers. While the kids are shooting aliens, bloggers are gleefully bouncing from blog to blog, soaking up free information and leaving impassioned comments about make money online theory (with which they have no practical experience, but hey- they’ve read thousands of blog posts about it). And why do bloggers do this with their time?
Well, you claim it’s because you like to keep up on things and you like to know what everybody is saying. You also claim that you get a lot of really good tips from the blogs.
The reality is you read blogs because it’s a mental escape. It gets your mind off your job, your bills, your stress – your life. It does all the same things for you that xbox live does for 7th graders.
Why is this so dangerous? Because time is not only your most precious resource, it’s the one you can never get back. You can always make more money. This is why I’m always so confused when people are so terrified about losing a little money. For example – I sit as a curious observer and watch people struggle with the decision of whether to try out Unique Article Wizard as Court lays out its value in the clearest terms. I’ve even spoken to a few of you and this is what I hear over and over: “Well, I know Court says it’s valuable, but $67 is a LOT OF MONEY.”
Folks, in my quest to put together a steady online income the current tally of money lost by yours truly sits at about $12,000. And when I say lost – I mean wasted. Nothing to show for it but the experience and the embarrassment. A $67 experiment is not a costly experiment.
“But Mark,” you say, “if I tried every $67 product pitched by a guru I’d go through thousands of dollars and probably be no closer to my goals than before.”
Right you are. So what’s the real problem? Is the problem the abundance of $67 products?
No. The problem is your addiction to gurus…your addiction to your feed reader.
As I write this I wonder how many blogs are in your reader. 10? 20? 50? I think if you use a feed reader at all you’re wasting time. You know, the human brain is amazing in its ability to consume information. In college I took an accounting class where the instructor had put the entire course on DVD so the students could progress through the material at our own pace.
He even gave us software that allowed us to speed up the presentation. You could triple the speed of the presentation…a 30 minute lesson could be consumed in ten minutes. It was brilliant. The amazing thing is that I and my classmates retained as much or more of the information than if we’d watched it in real time. So yes, your brain can consume and process massive quantities of information. It just can’t do much with all that information once you’ve shoved it in there.
The problem lies in the fact that your brain can only focus on one concept at a time. So if you’re reading 25 blogs per day, and each blog gives you one incredible piece of advice, then your brain is trying to capture and use all 25 new concepts. It just can’t do it. Each great new tip is simply bumped aside by the next, and at the end of the day all you’re left with is the mental and emotional payoff that comes from consuming exciting information that relates to your goals. You have that little buzz you feel every time you’re caught up in your big plan, but in practical terms you are no closer to your dreams. In fact, you’re further away because the day has been lost.
On the other hand, if you’re lucky enough to find a single mentor whose experience and concepts you trust – grab hold of that mentor and shut everyone else out. Close your feed reader, unsubscribe from 99% of the newsletters landing in your inbox. Follow your mentor until she or he has nothing else to teach you.
A great lady named Adrienne recently invested in our Keyword Crash Course video coaching program. She probably doesn’t know what a big impact our short conversation had on me. She said something profound: “A few months ago I stopped reading any other blogs because what you and Court were teaching was giving me results. So I didn’t see any need to read anything else. I’m buying your program because I know you guys will teach me something useful.”
Adrienne had worked her way to a monthly passive income of about $700, and she was buying our program because she felt like she’d reached a plateau and her next goal was to get to the $2,000 per month level. I know she’ll get there because she makes great use of her time. She’s an implementer, not an information addict.
Here are a couple of IF…THEN statement for the day.
If you trust Court (and me I suppose) to give you information that will help you make money online, then I ask you; I challenge you; I dare you to stop reading other blogs for a few months. Once you’re making a solid, steady income you can go out and see what the world has to offer you in terms of new information. I promise you this – if you’ll break your information addiction today you will have your most productive stretch ever.
On the other hand, if you’re only a casual reader of this blog I would encourage to stop visiting for a while. If we’re not your guys, then all we’re doing is contributing to the problem. We want to be part of the solution. If another guide is giving you more practical information, stick to their stuff for the time being. If your path brings you back around our way, we’ll be happy to see you.
Just do whatever you have to do to make 2009 the year you finally free yourself from make money online fantasy land and actually break into the all too small club where the members don’t just talk about making money online, we actually do it.
Thanks for reading,
Mark
What true words of wisdom spoken in this post.
Although I’ve found my mentor for now and her action plan is teaching me a lot, I’ve printed all of the serious tutorials from this blog and will review them when as you’ve said I’ve made steady solid income over the next few months and my brain can incorporate more information after I’ve put my current knowledge bank in action.
Thanks for being part of the solution.
Thank you Sunshine. See you when you get back.
Wow, i just came to a realization!
Ok I work in the pool industry and when I worked in the retail stores giving advice to customers about getting rid of pool algae I would say this:
There is more than one way to get rid of pool algae but I am going to show you the one way that I know for sure works. If you stick with me I will get your pool clear. You may be tempted to get other opinions from other pool companies, but then you’ll mash them all together in your head and by the time you’re done, you pool will still be green.
Everyone has an opinion and their own way of doing things. Trying to mash all the good points together might make your head spin and leave you nowhere.
My realization is simple. Stick to one “Making Money” plan and to be completely honest yours makes the most sense. Also you took the time to talk to me on the phone and on my schedule. I trust you guys and thank you for your blog. Hopefully with your knowledge and my skills I can become almost as successful at this as you guys. Thanks Again and Again!
Your pool customer example is a perfect illustration of this whole dilemma Matt. Thanks for hanging around.
I never batted an eye at spending $167 on SEO Elite, and I won’t lose any oxygen when I’m ready to buy Unique Article Wizard, either. I’m probably well suited to be an entrepreneur, because I’m not risk-averse–I believe you have to spend money to make money. The guy who started FedEx invested $4 million of his own money and $91 million from investors and wasn’t profitable for his first four years in business. At one point he had to go to Vegas and win $27,000 playing blackjack just to make his payroll.
I figure a couple hundred bucks for tools to help me use my time more efficiently is a steal compared to that.
The Fedex story is amazing. I guess there are just people in this world who are willing to put all their fear aside for the sake of a big goal.
If anyone uses Fedex as the model of success is doomed. Making $27K in Vegas to make payroll is a one in a million shot. The only thing to take from it is lack of fear. If reckless abandon is the learning, then you are in trouble.
So True,
unsubscribed from wealthy affiliate,article underground, and will unsubscribe from PPC Coach in next couple of days.
Nice work, Dupatta. Limiting your information consumption will definitely contribute to your success.
I think another part of the puzzle is many of us are self taught in the MMO field. And the only way to learn is to read. We develop the habit of reading tons and tons of information to figure out just what we should be doing.
However there comes a point where we understand the basics well enough to stand on our own, yet we still a stuck in the habit of reading when we likely already know what many people are saying. It’s just fun to read, like mind candy.
We’ve gotta break that habit and stand on our own after a point.
Mind candy is exactly what it is. Just yesterday Court was telling me how two years ago he was glued to a couple of key blogs, and now he hasn’t visited any of them in months.
Wow Mark. Honestly, that was one of the best post I’ve ever read on the Internet. It’s also so freakin’ true it’s not funny. Once I stopped reading and got down to working, my profits shot up.
I knew what needed to be done but it was easier to surf around the ‘Net reading Webmaster Forums and Blogs.
Now, I only read two blogs (this is one of them) and frequent DP to buy tools and other things
I’m still amazed at how people will fart away cash on $5 cups of coffee or $100 per month for Cable/Satellite but won’t spend $67, $97 or $147 on a tool that will help them make money with their worthless blogs.
What’s the old saying? 10 percent of the people are doers and 90 percent are just standing by watching?
Thanks again for a wonderful, refreshing blog post.
Don
BTW, I wasn’t wasting time reading your post. I was having Pizza for Dinner…multi tasking!
Thanks for your comment Don. I guess we really shouldn’t be surprised that most of us think satellite TV is a “necessity” but we can’t make small investments in our own future.
I can so relate to this post. I’ve often wondered why it is that I feel so behind when I’m online. I concluded that it’s the thrill of the hunt for new information. Yes, it’s a distraction, one that (I think) makes me wiser by accumulating the information I find, but keeps me in a holding pattern for sure.
Time to break way from that addiction, not to stop learning, but to stop walking around in a circle, and get something done.
I’ll admit that I was way more productive when I was unaware of all the make money online blogs. I only read one newsletter and only participated in one forum.
I now find myself spending valuable time reading way too many blog posts, watching webinars and videos because it’s easier than writing content, link building, etc. But you tell yourself, well I’m not goofing off, I’m learning stuff here. It’s like drinking diet soda and fat free cookies when you’re on a diet and think you’re doing something good.
Max 1 hour/day reading about how to make money online(only from Keyword Academy, of course), because spending 8 hours/day Reading how to make money doesn’t put a direct deposit in my account at the end of the week.
Thanks for the reminder.
Hi Mark,
Because I trusted you (and by extension, Court) after our phone conversation, I did this immediately after getting home. I now limit my total (almost) online time to doing the work you’ve set out in the course. I’m almost ready for our first sit-down session and haven’t even, until now, watched the videos past the first month time line. You guys have given me a solid path from which I will not deviate until I am successful. Period.
Thanks again,
Buddy
I only read 3 blogs now and yours is one of them. The problem is the sheer info overload and my tiny brain just can’t take anymore! The other thing is that since I’ve stopped looking and reading my previous 17 blogs, I have been a lot more productive and have earned more money because I am not , as you quite rightly point out, avoiding doing the real work. Another great common sense post guys.
“It’s like drinking diet soda and fat free cookies when you’re on a diet and think you’re doing something good.” That (and the article) are probably the two best pieces of writing I have read today.
Just unsubscribed from every single feed I had in Google Reader. Why? Simple. Even though all of them had tons of great information and new tactics on how to make money online, the only thing they really did was take up my time that I should have used to make money online
This article (and another one I read yesterday) have really changed the way I value my time.
Thanks,
Rajaie
OK Mark. Strong argument. I’m done with the distractions. You sold me. BTW the title of this post jumped out at me from — you guessed it– my feed reader, and I think I was really ready to read this and act on it…
I’ll download the Keyword Crash Course, then I’m getting the Unique Article Wizard. Then onto my feedreader!
I agree with the posts and comments, so you are stuck with me, but I will say I can’t give up Grizz. He usually only posts 1-2 times a month, anyhow. I supposed it is because he spends the rest of his time building his business
I don’t read hardly anyone and I still read Grizz.
I would never ask you to give up Grizz. Everything he says is money, and like you say he only posts once a month.
Great insight, Mark. Really I only read this feed and one other about SEO. The rest are soap and mommy blogs.
Maybe I need to stop reading the soap stuff, but it’s the community that I love. So many soapmakers out there have contributed to my success, and now I feel the need to help others. All part of the give and take…
I have to say this series of articles has been awesome! Thanks for all you do.
I did what you’re talking about for over 10 years! I read and read and read and then when I read a bunch, I started posted on all the forums as though I was an expert and meanwhile, I was making NOTHING… seriously, nothing.
A little over a year ago, I found Courts page and read it. My interest built as I saw he was singular in his focus. It seemed easy enough. I started a Wordpress blog and tweaked it as Court said and I started to make money. I remember, after a few months, I finally went over $100 on Adsense and had a check coming, then I went over $100 again a few months later. I finally got to the point where I went over $100 every month.
As I worked on my site, I realized there were things I overlooked, so I implemented them. For example, I picked a great keyword that would be easy to rank with, but the traffic wasn’t there. Then the next keyword, I could rank on and the traffic was great, but the Adsense money wasn’t there. I kept improving with each venture.
I jumped on the chance to talk to Mark and we talked about my site. I told him my goals and he was VERY encouraging. He gave me some tips to improve the revenue from my sites and I did them.
Point is, I did SOMETHING… anything. Start a blog and try to get ranked front page for a keyword… any keyword. Then refine things. Keep moving forward. You won’t get rich in 6 months, but you will gain a ton of knowledge. 2 years later, it will seem SO easy and clear to you, you’ll wonder why EVERYONE isn’t doing this. Seriously… get started. You’ll find EVERYTHING you need to build an amazing 5 figure monthly income right here on Courts site. Delete the rest and take a fast from them. Use that time to write and optimize your site.
Ok… I have some writing to do. Thanks for a great post Mark.
out of the blogs i have found, you guys give the most practical advice. I do read other SEO sites for info about how the industry is going and what google is doing but in terms of practical make money online advice, you and Court do a great job.
(ps- I am now in Taiwan so we can set up our consultation. I am eagerly awaiting it. I have a lot of questions and am happy to finally have someone answer them!!!!!!!!)
Today I took the pledge too, I deleted all the blogs from my favorites that didn’t give me any link value or blogger relations. Instead of writing more posts blinds I took 10 hours today and just keyword mined. I have so many great new directions now where I feel like I’ll get somewhere.
Thanks for everything,
Bill
If I wasn’t a blogger, I would take this advice. But I just started blogging on a new blog and I have to update my content. As a new blogger, I would have to keep up with the blogosphere. What I don’t do is to comment on the blog post. If the blog post doesn’t worth commenting, I move on to the next post.
Wow, how true this is. Immediately after reading this post for the first time, I canceled most of my subscriptions (used to have over 300 feeds in Google reader – Now I only read this one, Grizzly’s and Josh Spaulding’s). I’ve also become quite good in ignoring all hype from so called gurus landing in my in box. And you know what? I’ve gotten a truckload of available time every day to work on my main project: making money.
I feel refreshed, I feel clean. Mark and Court are both right. No need to read another blog post from so called gurus. Most of us has the knowledge – we just need to put it into action. And if you are new to all of this, listen to what Court and Mark has to say. That’s really all you need
The best article I have ever read. I stopped reading other people’s blogs this morning, already see results!!!
It’s almost been a year since this article was posted, but I know for sure that I’ve kept coming back again and again to read the words of wisdom here. As a matter of fact, it was this article that forced me to unsubscribe to all the blogs in my feed reader and just manually come back to the ones that I really love (like TheKeywordAcademy.com!). Thanks for a great post Mark!
Wow, how true this is. Immediately after reading this post for the first time, I canceled most of my subscriptions.