Success, Unplugged

32 | Posted In Life & Mindset by David

I was over on the Warrior Forum the other day. Really popular site for internet marketing… and one that I hardly ever visit. But, I went over there and poked around for an hour or so (it was actually on my to-do list that day. :) ).

I was AMAZED by the amount of “shiny objects” over there. TONS of people both offering and seeking whatever will make them money. Just one big “bizop” support group, really.

Now, don’t get me wrong…. the Warrior Forum is a valuable forum and there is a TON of great information over there. That said, it is WAY too easy to get distracted and leave just more overwhelmed and confused than when you went in there.

It got me thinking….

THIS is what most bloggers are dealing with ALL THE TIME.

Overwhelm

Not only that, when you dabble in the world of internet marketing (as I do), it is all too easy to get led astray. Look at these big “time sucks”:

  • Forums (like the Warrior Forum)
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google +
  • Other Blogs

All of these, in this world of internet marketing, are just PACKED with bizops, strategies, tactics, and “oh, this is cool”‘s. Youtube videos, links, events, etc. All of it takes your mental energy and scatters it.

And another thing…

In this world of internet marketing, it is ALL too easy to fall prey to self-invalidation. Perhaps you’re struggling with self-confidence (I see SO many bloggers struggling with this).

You’re confident in other areas of life, but in this one, you feel small. What fuels this? Well, it sure isn’t helping that you’re constantly looking at all that stuff above, getting overwhelmed in the process, but assuming they all have it figured out. And, if THEY have it figured out and you don’t, what’s wrong with you? Or so you think.

Time To Unplug

First of all, there’s nothing wrong with you. You just need to re-think a few of your assumptions and then SIMPLIFY.

See, it is likely that you assume that you NEED all that information to stay atop of what’s happening. Guess what…

You don’t.

I get a chuckle every time somebody asks me about “the latest traffic strategies” or something like that. The “latest”? As if it has changed? No, the basics of traffic are the same as they’ve always been. But, the fact you asked tells me you’re operating with this assumption that things are changing so fast, that you’re barely hanging on, and that you need to pay attention the whole time.

So, its time to unplug.

Start off by giving yourself a certain period of time (perhaps a few days, or a week) when you purposely DON’T read other blogs, don’t tune into Twitter, don’t go to Facebook, etc. Instead, you just work on your business, your blog – whatever is important to you. Maybe write your first ebook or a product. You might be AMAZED at the increase in efficiency simply by removing the distraction and the source of what makes you self-invalidate (comparison with others).

While you’re at it, disconnect from the news. Today’s news media is a cancer on our minds. F**k it.

After this disconnection period is over, slowly reintroduce some of these things to your life, but with heavy evaluation on what it adds.

Likely, you’re going to realize that NOTHING has changed and nobody missed you. :) You’re just getting more done and you feel more mental clarity.

As you add these things back, you need time constraints. And, if you find it adds little to nothing to your business, drop it.

Honestly, you don’t know how close I am to dropping off of Twitter. I’m already not as active there as I used to be. (Might need to re-evaluate making Twitter such a big deal at the top of this blog. ;) ) A lot of people have been asking themselves this question recently with Google Plus. Do we REALLY need another social network? For many, Google+ is just another distraction point. It has taken our attention and spread it even more thin.

So, unplug and re-evaluate.

I know it might be a little like shooting myself in the foot to recommend not reading blogs for a week, but seriously, I’m all about helping you guys succeed and if you need to tune me out as part of that exercise, you go right ahead. :)

But first…

If you’re one whose biggest contraints in this business are coming from the inside – things like overwhelm, lack of time, lack of confidence – then you might want to pay attention to the next product I’ll be launching. See, I’m going to be doing something very different with the next one. This is going to be my answer to what I see as the absolute #1 contraint in this entire niche of blogging. It has nothing to do with blogging at all. It has to do with TIME and MINDSET.

The course will be succinct and to-the-point, and will not be a big honker price tag (that would defeat the point). I don’t know the exact timeframe for this yet, but this product has been waiting in the wings for too long now and it is about time to get it out there. So, if you’re interested in being on the announcement list for this, head on over to this link and simply opt-in.

Lastly…. I really encourage you to try out that disconnection exercise above. Even if just for a day or two. You’d be amazed at the effects of the information we let enter our heads. :)

Talk soon.

 

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  • http://www.downthewriterspath.com Vikk Simmons

    On target there, David. You may remember how overwhelmed I became back when I joined Blogmaster Club. I’d been on your site and then would visit so many other places that I quickly became overwhelmed–and I’d been blogging since 2003. For me it’s always the technical stuff, the background make-it-work stuff and the good old shiny objects. They are everywhere. I have learned, much to your constant encouragement and refocusing suggestions to look way from the shine and stay focused on the job at hand. I am getting there. Thanks for the reminder. (Warriors, they do have shiny glow about them.)

  • http://website-in-a-weekend.net/ Dave Doolin

    I took 4 days off of email a couple of weeks ago.  When I logged back in, I had about 450 emails to get through. Took me about 2 hours.  I figure I saved something like 6-8 hours over keeping an inbox feed running during the day.

  • David Coleman

    David,

    Right on—couldn’t agree more! The Warrior Forum can be a VERY dangerous place, LOL. It’s been a big struggle for me personally to slowly back away from that place and put my focus where it needs to be. The Warrior Forum does a good job of making you feel like you NEVER have enough information, and once that happens it’s easy to fall prey.

    David Coleman

  • http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul

    I took 4 days off last week from blogging and social media completely to focus on one project, and I have to say it felt good and I got more done in those 4 days then in a normal month.

    Sometimes you have to pull away and relax, or pull away and focus on things that have the biggest priority.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Yep. One of the things I’m trying to do these days is focus on my profit-generation and marketing in the morning – before I check anything social/email related.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Yep. I’ve never had anything blow up because of not checking email every day.

    And those who have things set up in such a way where things would blow up for not checking email… need to rethink how they have things set up.

  • http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul

    I do opposite.  Do social media early “thank U Hootsuite” then check email then move to more important things.

    Has worked well.. but nothing beats taking the whole day off to do one thing.

  • Simon Allard

    Hey David, thanks for this very timely post. 

    I have recently altered the structure to how I work and live to incorporate a “Free Week” each month. The aim of this is that I completely disengage from work for a full week so I can spend more quality and quantity time with my family, take care of my health and well being, and generally allow my body and mind to rejuvenate ready for greater levels of focused attention on my business when I return.I decided upon this method only a couple of weeks ago and next Monday is to be my first “Free Week”. I acknowledge that it may be challenging to stay away from work for that amount of time but     I see my business a “vehicle” for getting me the life that I want… my business is NOT my life!  I teach my clients this so I figure I best practice what I preach :)  And, as the saying goes, “We’re a long time dead”. Best enjoy life while we’ve got it, right?Thanks David for the extra motivation!Many blessingsSimonhttp://simonallard.com/

  • http://www.nichewebvideo.com Russell James

    Yes David could not agree more, if I spent as much time working on a product or actually working on my sites, as I do chasing new ideas or watching what somebody else is doing, I would be a great deal more productive and…… surprise surprise…! profitable 

  • http://www.handymancraftywoman.com Handy Man, Crafty Woman

    Yeah, when I saw about Google+ and started getting invites to that (AND LinkedIn), I just want to run and hide from my computer.  Having a hard enough time keeping up with my blog, facebook and twitter as it is.  I’ve been taking weekends off from blogging/social media and it’s been GREAT! I worked on another project I wanted to start for ages, and it felt great.

  • http://www.mazzastick.com Justin

    Hey David,
    The last month I have really been limiting my time spent on the computer. I like the idea of just focusing on my blog content and product creation and letting the rest go for the week.

    Overwhelm is a big problem for many as you said. It’s back to basics for me.

  • http://www.findallanswers.com Jane | Find All Answers

    I usually go on an information fast a couple of days a week when I am totally not turning into any sources but just producing. On the other days too, I allocate specific times to browse through my Google reader, interact in social media and so on. As long as we know and practice our limits we should be fine :) Great reminder Dave.

  • Luca Lazzari

    Thanks for this post, David.
    As an absolute beginner, I spent MONTHS on the web just to find out the most valuable information sources (you’re one of them…). Then I spent MONTHS to understand what I needed to get started. I know I’m a little sloooooooow. So, yes, it’s overwhelming.
    Currently I force myself to use no more than an hour a day on these tasks: 20 minutes for mails and newsletters, 20 minutes reading bloggers’ posts (like this), 20 minutes browsing freely on forums and other places.
    And I DON’T buy anything anymore, if I don’t need it exactly to do some precise task. I do so because, for example, in the recent past I bought one of your products, I think it was some three parts seminar on list building, then I never attended to the seminars, completely wasting my money (not your fault, obviously)!
    Thank you for your commitment and for all the useful information.

  • http://www.facebook.com/kingsley.audu Kingsley Aloiye Audu

    Hi Dave, very insightful article> And yes it is easy to get distracted from concentrating on building your business. Also thanks for your video guides! You are appreciated by a lot of us newbies. Stay blessed.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Thanks. :-)

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    You know, you can log into “Master Your List” anytime to watch those recordings. Your money isn’t wasted. :-)

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Well, it’ll be hard to do those things without being on the computer. ;-)

    But, you can just turn off your internet. Helps.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Yeah, I hardly ever touch social over the weekend. Of course, that doesn’t give me any more time. I have kids. ;-)

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    So, going to do something about it? ;-)

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    I like your approach. :-)

  • http://www.nichewebvideo.com Russell James

    Ha Ha yes thanks David, two new videos posted, two articles written, Action Spread sheet started, 15 email list unsubscribed from, and NO email first thing in the morning.

  • Luca Lazzari

    Now I have no excuses!
    Thank you, David

  • http://qrrage.com/ Qr Rage

    It’s funny, the “old school” way of doing business works just as well online as it does off.  for some reason people think that the marketing is different, it’s not.  All those so called guru’s are using old school business methods to sell their crap.  Most of it is pure junk…

    Folks have stopped listening to their gut and started listening to a bunch of jaboni’s (like on WF for ex) that want to sell you more and more crap.

    Very few bloggers like DR who tells it like it is.

  • http://www.internationalpatentservice.com/index.html Trademark Application

    Blogging is not quiet powerful now a days, isn’t it?

  • andy grimm

    Your absolutly right about warriorforum. But! Warriorfurm is the best place to find buyers for “online biz products”. In fact it is possible there to get a list with 1000 subscribers for any “make money” product in 24 hours! The fastest way to start in your niche :-) And many Gurus just started there but never tell about :-)  

    I see nothing wrong in taking advantage of the “overhelmed” warrior community as long as you offer a product with fair value. 

    The truth about making money online is simply – With the same afford needed for a 6 figure blog one can make 10 times more money in the “make money” niche. 

  • http://cfagbata.com Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr.

    Sopt on Dave. I have to dock over to drop this comment, I am hooked via RSS but reading this meant I had to say a BIG thank you. You are one pro. blogger who cares about your readers.

    Keep it up man! I am going to try out your suggestion.

    Thanks

  • http://cfagbata.com Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr.

    Sopt on Dave. I have to dock over to drop this comment, I am hooked via RSS but reading this meant I had to say a BIG thank you. You are one pro. blogger who cares about your readers.

    Keep it up man! I am going to try out your suggestion.

    Thanks

  • Adam W. Warner

    Great advice and something I’ve just done recently, unplugged that is. Admittedly this was by a bit by force as I just had four wisdom teeth removed:) It’s been a nice couple day break from the normal flurry of Internet distractions.

    I’m a web developer by trade and also run a resource site for small businesses using WordPress. As I was investigating digital product creation and marketing, I spent hours and hours on the Warrior forums. It started as research but it didn’t take long before I got sucked into the buyer mode….

    ….that’s not such a bad thing as there are many useful products being launched there, but it wasn’t my focus when I started and my own tasks started to fall behind. I had to make a conscious decision to focus on creating MY original content and your post here is another reminder of that, thanks:)

  • http://sometimesithink-krissy.blogspot.com krissy knox

    Using social media and social networking takes up an inordinate amount of my time.  I am trying to set up my business, and while tweeting, etc., I am also using the internet to find information that I can use to help further my career.  I feel at times, that I need to know just about everything I need to do online, and regarding business, before I can get started.  This is a very overwhelming and even paralyzing situation.  I need to do less social media and just get on w things… :)  

  • http://www.mactonweb.com web design bangalore

    Some excellent points. I agree with you really informative 

  • http://www.healthylifestylesblog.co.uk Larry

    Really good post. The truth is that the most timportan think to any blog is building it’s content. Yet so many bloggers spend more of their time doing all of those activities you mention in a hope of getting traffic. I’ve done exactly the same, but just like you advise, and like you said it made very little difference to my traffic. You make a very valid point this free time could then be utilised to crete a brilliant product that you could possiibly sell on your blog.

  • http://www.healthylifestylesblog.co.uk Larry

    Really good post. The truth is that the most timportan think to any blog is building it’s content. Yet so many bloggers spend more of their time doing all of those activities you mention in a hope of getting traffic. I’ve done exactly the same, but just like you advise, and like you said it made very little difference to my traffic. You make a very valid point this free time could then be utilised to crete a brilliant product that you could possiibly sell on your blog.