| Copyright © 2005 Willie Crawford | | | | successful people teach their students to study the |
| We've all heard the stories of people who gave up | | | | same material over and over again. That's why, 25 |
| on a dream when they were only one step away | | | | years ago, my karate instructor use to have me |
| from achieving it. We discovered that they were only | | | | spend 4 solid hours just practicing one thing. Do, or |
| one step away because someone else following their | | | | hear, the same thing often enough and it becomes a |
| path took that next step and succeeded wildly. | | | | part of you. |
| When you observe, or talk to many people in the | | | | However, making a piece of information or |
| online marketing arena, you see lots of people who're | | | | knowledge a part of you is not enough. Then you |
| only one step away from success. Not only that, but | | | | need to take the next step... the one most of the |
| many need to take the SAME next step. | | | | world seems afraid to take. You need to act upon |
| For some reason, people like to hire me as a | | | | that knowledge. |
| marketing consultant so that they can "discuss | | | | People don't do the things that they know that they |
| marketing theory." What these consultations soon | | | | should do because they're afraid of making mistakes. |
| reveal is that we've often studied the same material | | | | The fact is that you WILL make mistakes. Hopefully, |
| and have the same basic understanding of how | | | | you don't keep making the same mistake over and |
| things work. They understand the mechanics, the | | | | over again. Hopefully, you learn from the mistakes |
| psychology... even the how-to. Yet they're stuck! | | | | and then that ingrained knowledge helps you to |
| That next step that we often need to take is simply | | | | make major breakthroughs. |
| in the doing. Knowing is not doing. You can | | | | Every successful person that I've ever talked to |
| understand something as deeply as possible on an | | | | admits he's made many mistakes. My coach use to |
| intellectual level, but until you do something with that | | | | teach me that since you know you're going to make |
| knowledge, you're no better off than someone who | | | | mistakes, and then move past those, why not get |
| doesn't understand. | | | | them out of the way. He preached "fail fast" so that |
| One of my recent phone conversations centered | | | | you can then get to the success born out of the |
| around how all of the Internet marketing "gurus" | | | | lessons taught by failure. |
| teach the same thing in their courses... with only slight | | | | Major successes overshadow a string of minor |
| variations. The reason for this is that they've all | | | | failures! This is why major book publishers are willing |
| studied the same material. Certain principles of direct | | | | to publish 1000 books that rarely break even in order |
| marketing haven't changed in over 100 years! Certain | | | | to find one or two best sellers. The best sellers |
| things about human nature probably haven't changed | | | | make up for all of the failures many times over. It's |
| in thousands of years. They're immutable natural laws. | | | | generally the same with operating a business. So |
| There's a reason every great copywriter, or | | | | don't be afraid of mistakes. Seek to avoid them by |
| marketer, that I know has studied Claude Hopkins | | | | learning from the mistakes of others. However, don't |
| and Dr. Robert Cialdini. These authors understood | | | | let fear of making mistakes keep you from taking |
| certain things about human nature and were able to | | | | that critical next step. |
| explain them in an understandable way. If you study | | | | If you're like a major percentage of online business |
| their material long enough, and often enough, | | | | people I've studied, you really are just one step |
| something magical does happen. Their thinking | | | | away from success. That step is sometimes a big |
| becomes YOUR thinking. So, of course, all of your | | | | one, but it's a necessary one. Look closely at where |
| marketing gurus will tell you similar things. They've | | | | you are, and you should be able to see what that |
| studied the same material AND they mentor/coach | | | | next step is for you. Then take it. If you don't, you'll |
| each other :-) | | | | still be one step away from success tomorrow, and |
| I've just revealed to you one of the few success | | | | even a year from now. Now that you know... go |
| secrets I really know. That secret is that "repetition | | | | ahead and TAKE that next step. |
| is the mother of mastery." That's why really | | | | |