Do You Love It?

The old adage "do what you love.." is an apt one, any amount of reinventing still brings me back to the same set of attributes. Creativity, harmonic resonance of ideas, writing, attention to beauty,elegance, and long range vision all converge to contribute to whatever I am doing. Which attributes, in fact, would be my artist's representation of coaching. Business coaching is no different really. All of the above factors play significant roles, even if the client can't recognize them.

Why am I saying all of this? I am going back to doing what I do best and that is all of the above in a coaching format. I will be utilizing all that I have learned about internet marketing to promote that work and blogging here to offer coaching and additional support for my clients and friends.

Time Flies

Where did November go? I spent most of the month in learning mode, exploring a variety of opportunities available to internet marketers. The assortment is endless and there is quite a bit that is simply a rehashing of someone else's product. But now I think it is clear to me who I find viable and who is not my cup of java. Until I actually go through one or more of the processes I won't report on that quality of anyone's offerings. It wouldn't be fair to report from the outside.

So far, I have one site that is actually working and producing some results. In my repertoire are also several informational sites, a couple of blogs, and one site that is driving me crazy because it gets tons of traffic and no results. When I step back and look at my results after 3 months, I guess that is not terrible. But I always want it to be better.

The main issue I have found in this new business is isolation. It is extremely difficult to reach an actual person in this field. This makes me crazy. I find someone whose work I like, attempt to contact them and NOTHING. I've never seen a business that was this personally elusive. To me that means that something is not quite right. I challenge internet marketers to get visible! I dare you to be available to answer a question. If time is the issue, charge by the minute- I don't care- but I will never spend thousands of dollars on anyone's product that can't answer a question for me, or who has so many emails that you never know which one will get to the person.

Looking for a mentor with a sense of humour

Everything that I know needs to be done is done. Now I am traveling along in that vast wasteland referred to as "what I don't know, that I don't know"..sigh. It gets pretty challenging in this place because I have not found a mentor yet, and I am limited in my investment dollars for programs. All the internet research that has looked promising -either isn't- or is too expensive. The results are trickling in slowly..too slowly for my taste. I think I should be glad I have results at all, but that is not really what is going on. I want it to happen faster and I feel stuck.

In the past I have seen a pattern occur when I am attempting something new. When I am experiencing a lot of internal resistance -or external for that matter-that is a very good sign- even though it doesn't seem like it at the time. As a matter of fact I've learned to relate the level of resistance to the level of positive results I will end up having.

Many years ago I sold real estate. Every time I would write up a contract that I knew was solid, about two or three days before we closed it would fall apart. I started telling myself this was a good sign- and sure enough- it would be. I came to look at breakdowns or problems of this sort as proof positive that I was on the right track. It fell under the heading of mind management- but whatever- it worked.

That is how I push through difficult times like waiting for results. In terms of not knowing what to do next- I have a similar strategy. I look at who I'm being right now rather than what I am doing. Am I being a successful entrepreneur? Is there something I can shift slightly? Is there someone- even if I don't know them- that I can model my actions after? In this case the answer is yes. A couple of the aforementioned gurus are exactly the type of internet marketing person I would like to be. See? There is an action I can take, even when I have run out of things to do. I can shift my perspective to the domain of being- and I will find a whole new set of opportunities to embrace.

Like the wind, baby.

Regrouping

I thought it would be a good idea to regroup and say what I am currently writing about in this blog. I have been attempting to describe my process of becoming an internet marketer in real-time in order to offer some insight into the process of being an entrepreneur in a new field. Having been an entrepreneur and management consultant for a number of years I will be describing these events without foregoing my business experience. So it is my hope that I will be able to communicate it in such a way that it is useful to someone else just getting started.

The beginning of any business has some similarities and some experiences that can potentially frustrate a budding entrepreneur. The thought being that, if it is understood that this is a normal"operating stage" then the probability of failure at this particular point will diminish. It is an experiment in simultaneous learning and mentoring. "If I can do it, then you can do it". I'm not sure if it will help anyone- but at the minimum I will be able to tell the truth about the process and eliminate a little stress for myself .

I've read many times that the beginning can be the hardest part for someone starting a new business. That is not usually the case for me. In the beginning everything is challenging and new- just what I love. Personally, I can get tripped up when things get boring. Usually after the newness has worn off and I'm in the middle of a project. But I'm getting ahead of myself with regard to this Internet Marketing project, since I am still in the beginning. A variation on the theme is having no or few results. Now this is something that I can relate to. I am a very patient person, but after pressing out, and pressing out harder, and still seeing no results, I can get lost very easily. It is painful to have no results after so much work. This would be the ideal time for me to get a mentor to keep me on track.

Nobody Said It Would Be Easy

The last three weeks have been nose to the grindstone. I have completed a training program, a coaching program, intensive and ongoing self training, and still have only small results. There is no shortage of people attempting to advise me for substantial amounts of money, and a few that generously and freely send me new information on a regular basis. Being on this side of the equation as consumer, I can truthfully say, the next person who I work with will show me their wares upfront. People like Perry Marshall and Ken McCarthy (leaders in the field) have sent new training material daily- and it has substance. For someone new in this business,and I imagine for some that have experience as well, it is great training. When it comes time to buy- that is where I will be heading. It is too easy to spend a fortune as an internet marketer; everyone whose materials I've read says the same thing. And my own experience has shown that the amount spent on the product is not necessarily an indication of a promising outcome for the consumer.

Day three

Yesterdays challenge was more successful in igniting inertia -however much of an oxymoron that may be- than my social life. Gradually, I've been able to bring myself back, albeit with many distractions. Nevertheless, that is what happens sometimes when a worthy goal is looming on the horizon. The most important thing I can do right now is to keep going at whatever pace my unconscious mind will let me proceed. I've started to see that the goal is huge and I would benefit from breaking it down into some smaller elements. One of course will be to work on myself a bit. You know, the exterior and the interior. Although I've done significant work on the interior over the years, there is always more, some greater nuance, or sometimes back to square one. The point being that it is always an area of opportunity. My theory is that when you want to create something, and you aren't getting the result, that you should look for what is right in front of you as your first action step. Whatever your personal sense of integrity says is "out" that is where to begin. So, some of the things I plan on having be back "in" again are stillness in my core, gratitude for all things-just as they are, and playfulness. Just a few minor details..lol.

Day two

I didn't take the weekend into account when I made that daily log agreement, so today is day two. Now, in the past, I would have kept on writing through the weekend, because I basically know how to work better than almost anything else. However, a focus of the coaching I am getting is about being more successful and working less time. I have to say, having been a coach since the inception of coaching, and knowing the person who started the whole profession of coaching as well as numerous major players in the field- this coach is hands down the best coach I have ever worked with. He is speaking my language which is contextual in nature, and he gets what is really important, which is living life.. All that said- I took the weekend off and spent some time with my daughter.
The biggest challenge I face, other than investment dollars, is my total lack of involvement with anything social. For anyone that knows me from San Francisco- that is crazy. But since I moved to Florida, I have been putting out fires and scrambling to make a living. What's gone by the wayside is my actual life. I was reminded, in my coaching this morning, that any difficulties I may be having in my business are likely not a function of my business at all, but rather a reflection of something that was missing in my life.
The irony is that this is exactly what I teach in business ecology. And exactly what I would be telling my own client! Ah well, you know what they say about the shoemakers children...
So I have decided to reignite my life. That is today's agreement.