I hear people make excuses about why their marketing isn’t working every day. There’s lots of IF’s and BUT’s thrown around in those discussions.
“If only this,” or “but that.”
…that’s a great idea, if only I had more time.
…I wish I could close more deals, but my website isn’t a custom design like his.
Ultimately, it’s all an excuse. “If’s” do nothing more than create imaginary scenarios that get you nowhere. “But’s” are nothing more than assigning the blame to someone (or something) else.
Stop Making Excuses:
The next time you’re upset over why something isn’t working, ask yourself the following:
- Why isn’t this working? What am I doing wrong? Is it something that I can control, and change? Or is it something that’s outside of my control?
- (Now that I’ve identified the problem), what can I do to change it?
Then, take action.
Yes, it’s that simple.
No if’s, and’s or but’s… Just you working hard to identify the problem and find a solution.
[Photo Credit: Hugh MacLeod]
Great post my friend and so true, you have to strive to succeed.
Yep, and the only way to do that is to stop making excuses 🙂
I’ve found that you have to be patient too. I created an email newsletter and it took a while to get subscribers, but now I have regular sign-ups. I know that there’s a lot I could do to improve the number of sign-ups I’m getting, and I am actively working on that. But sometimes people are so stuck in the “I want it, and I want it RIGHT NOW” mindset that they go overboard and never leave it alone. And would you sign up for an email newsletter where the blog seems to be all over the place? (Random example.)
Thanks for the great post, I wish I had more time, I know my site isn’t a custom design (yet), but I know I can achieve without these. Now, I’m off to evaluate what’s wrong with my other blog promotion strategies 😉
I hear ya… And it’s always tough at first. Getting to 100 subscribers, then 1,000, et cetera. Fast is never fast enough, ya know.
But you work at it little by little. And like you said, evaluate what’s working, what’s not and keep testing until you get it right.
I see far too many people just make excuses. “Ah well, this isn’t working, whatever. I tried.” Only, they didn’t. They made an excuse and gave up. Why? Because they didn’t want to do the work.
As the saying goes, “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, everyday would be Christmas”.
People who succeed find solutions. Those who wallow in mediocrity find excuses.
Ha, I’ve never heard of that saying Amber but I like it 🙂
Ricardo, I found you through Rosemary Jayne. Great post. And I agree with you 100% – don’t make excuses. Getting going takes hard work, but it’s rewarding as well. To me, it’s all about making connections with people. What can I do to help you? should be the question we always are asking.