Fil-Am Vets Rondalla

Day 29: Distractions, Internet Gurus, Forums, etc.

How time flies when you’re having fun! Now that the first 4 weeks of my “26 Weeks to Freedom” project are finished, I’m suddenly aware that there are only 22 left and time is marching by rapidly.

And, having previously mentioned my tendency to feel overwhelmed by all of this, I was reminded earlier today of just how many possible directions there really are in which I can go, and how easy it is to keep getting distracted from focusing on one specific thing! An e-mail I received this morning from one of the excellent resources I’ve been using to learn about Internet Marketing prompted me to go off on a tangent that seemed to last all day. This source has created a new (and very good) program for their existing customers, like me….but then when I was engrossed in reading about the new program, they recommended another very good program from another very good source, which I then became engrossed in reading about…..and, well, you get the picture. Several hours later, I was wondering where the day had gone!

I suppose this is a nice problem to have, because I certainly do trust the quality and integrity of these sources and it’s exciting to think about all the possibilities. Nevertheless, it is a problem because the only way I am going to be successful at achieving this 6-month goal is to stay focused on what I have specifically decided to do! So I think I did get a valuable reminder today about the danger of allowing myself to get distracted. And to recognize that it’s my choice—I am free to choose to get distracted, and free to choose to stay focused. Its up to me.

Which leads me to one final thought for this post—-in one of the online discussion forums in which I participate, there is a current “thread” on the subject of Internet Marketing “gurus” who are apparently ripping people off. Or at least, that is the interpretation being given by those people who feel they have been ripped off! I have no doubt that there are, in fact, some unscrupulous people out there, but that is true of any business whether it’s online or offline (anyone remember the bankers’ and investment brokers’ meltdown of 2008?) Anyway, some of the forum participants seem very angry about the money they’ve spent for various Internet Marketing programs that supposedly were a ripoff and didn’t work. Which makes me wonder two things: first, did they (the purchasers) ever actually take action and DO something with these materials, and second, why are they pouring so much of their valuable time and energy into getting angry and complaining about it (and accusing almost every Internet Marketing teacher of being a crook)? I say, learn the lesson and move on—and the lesson may well be that if the purchasers had actually made a serious attempt to implement the programs, they might have worked! But it’s an unfortunate fact that the majority of people who buy these programs online (or attend seminars and buy products there) never do anything with them. Even if there is a money-back guarantee for a certain period of time—which there typically is—the buyers don’t even bother to take advantage of that, figuring that “someday” they’ll get around to using the product. Then when they never do, they turn around and blame the teacher—as if they’d been forced at gunpoint to make the purchase!

By the way, if you yourself have been a participant in any online forums, have you ever noticed how much time you can waste reading about (and responding to) so many issues that are really meaningless to you? Forums can be a valuable source of much-needed information and a great way to share your knowledge with others, but they can also be monumental time-wasters. (Just ask me how I know this……)

If you’re curious about how I’m doing on this 26- week “accountability”
project–including the full, unedited blog postings for each day as I go along (with videos, photos, comments, and other links)–please visit my Creating an Internet Business website. I’ll look forward to seeing you there!

March 18th, 2010

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