Taking Action

© 2004, John Calder
http://www.TheEzine.net

The single most common cause of failure for Internet marketers, no matter how long they've been around, is inaction. It's that simple. Most fail because they never do anything. They buy ebooks, subscribe to ezines, join membership sites, post on all the forums, and buy all the new software. They study, think, research, dream, plan, and analyze, but never do.

We know they have the best of intentions, and certainly have the desire to improve their situation in some way. Whether they want to earn extra income from an online business, earn a full-time income from home, or have a shot at earning more money than they ever could from a job, their motivations are certainly true. That's what led them to take a look at Internet marketing as a way of fulfilling their goals in the first place. But why don't they follow through?

Professionals who study the mind have a couple of answers. Some will say this is all psychological mumbo-jumbo, but hear them out. One simple reason given is inertia. It's easier to do nothing instead of something. Even if we're highly motivated, it can be difficult to get started.

The other two most commonly offered reasons are related to fear. Oddly enough, they are opposites, but both have the same result on us. Fear of failure makes us uncomfortable to step out of our comfort zone, to try something new, because we might fail. And fear of success keeps us from trying too, because with success might come criticism and pressure to have to repeat, or worse, improve on that first success. And we might fail at that, which brings on the cycle again.

At the risk of sounding trite, they say you don't fail unless you quit. Try to overcome whatever is holding you back - don't quit before you even get started.