Do Your To-Do-List Targets Routinely Not Get Done? Here Is A Remedy
By: Klaus Lehne | Posted: 19th February 2008
It is a well known fact that the vast majority of those engaging in Internet marketing do not make an adequate income or even none at all. It is also known that a common denominator for all those failing marketers is, that they do not take action. That means, they study ebooks, video or audio instructions, attend seminars and listen to teleconference calls, but when it comes to applying what they learned, they remain in a state of indecision and inaction. They might diligently work out To-Do-Lists, but at the end of the day realize that most of the points were left undone. And from a certain point on they do not even write To-Do-Lists anymore.
Analyzing failure in Internet marketing - or in any subject - lack of taking action is of course an obvious explanation. But it also has to be stated that it is not a reason which would open a door to a resolution. For sure none of these “lazy” marketers would pay up to $100 or more for an Internet marketing ebook, software or some membership or would pay even thousands to attend an Internet marketing seminar just for entertainment and without the determination to apply the materials he learns.
Nevertheless the fact remains that more than 80% do not live up to their original determination and actually do not take action. So the question is, WHY?
Let's cast aside all these answers in the direction of misinformation in ebooks and on seminars or crappy software products. This is mainly something marketers try to exploit in advertising their own products as the only ones which are good enough that they could end the failing marketer's misery. Mostly that's not the case either and this would have to be expected as it's simply not true that there wouldn't be Internet marketing tutorials available which do contain all the necessary information for success.
The same could be said about everything there is to be known about goals setting. These data are so prevalent in the Internet marketing world that it is hardly imaginable that these 80% haven't at least heard of it.
In the interest of finding a workable remedy let's take a closer look on how information is passed on.
Someone knows a way to do something successfully. This is so far only an idea or concept in his own mind. But he is a nice guy and wants to let others know about it so they can have success, too. Therefore he has to transmit his concept into the mind of another person so it can be duplicated, understood and then applied. And, in the interest of success, it has to arrive exactly as it was sent out. If altered in any way it might not work anymore.
How does this transmission occur? As telepathy does not give reliable results in most cases the only way is to communicate it via WORDS and symbols - either in written or spoken form.
Words and symbols are codes which carry an agreed upon meaning (the definition). This is found in dictionaries. Passing on an idea can be done by communicating one or many words arranged together per certain rules (grammar).
If such a communication goes wrong and there are misunderstandings, one would most often find that the sender of the communication had a slightly or grossly different definition for one or more words than the receiver. Applied to the situation of Internet marketing instructions and provided the instructor used his terms in the standard and agreed upon meanings, misunderstandings would come about if the recipient of the instructions wouldn't know the EXACT definition of one or several words, whether he would be aware of this fact or not. He might have a vague idea or have it “quite correct” but often enough this is not adequate to result in a full understanding of a sometimes complex subject.
Misunderstood ideas do not stem from insurmountable complexity but from misunderstood words in the communication of this idea. If all words were completely understood, every concept or subject could be understood AND APPLIED - providing it has sufficient validity in the real world.
Unfortunately misunderstood words do not have a lack of understanding as their only consequence - even if this is bad enough. It is scientifically established that one of several other nasty manifestations is some sort of estrangement with the whole subject and a hesitation or unwillingness to get involved with it on the level of action.
Note that this doesn't happen on an awareness level! It's not: “I don't want to act because I don't understand this well enough.” The victim of this mechanism doesn't connect these two things as cause and effect. At the surface the manifestations are rather that the TV program seems irresistibly intriguing all of a sudden, new emails came in and they need their due attention, a leaking tap had to be fixed since long and now seems the right time to do it and many other forms of distraction. And when the day is over it was another day filled with some action but in all kind of direction and not on the items of the carefully worked out To-Do-List.
The following is a suggested step-by-step program which you can follow if you are suffering from these manifestations:
1. Note down a list of Internet marketing terms specifically important and relevant to the area of Internet marketing you are involved in or ever wanted to engage in.
2. Take the 1st term and ask yourself: “What is the definition of ______?” If you have any doubts or if you cannot give the definition instantaneously and without the slightest hesitation, look up the term in an Internet Marketing Dictionary. Be honest to yourself. “I know what it means but I cannot put it in words” is definitely not enough. Clear it up! Don't just read the dictionary definition and leave it at that. Use the term in it's correct meaning in sentences. Try to find examples for it. Work out how it would be applied. Make a sketch, anything which will make it yours.
3. Repeat 2. with all the other terms on the list.
4. Have you ever purchased an Internet marketing ebook, a video series or course with great hopes and then not studied it to end or never applied it? If so, take it up again. Skim through it and compile a list of IM terms from it. Once done handle it as in 2. and 3. Alternatively you can do a full restudy but make very sure that you do not pass a word or symbol which you do not fully understand. Clear up any you are not fully certain about. This does not only apply to IM terms. Should there be an non-IM word, you would have to clear it as well, in this case with a standard dictionary.
5. If at some point during the process you should have a very good feeling about the whole subject and feel ready to go into action, leave it at that. Don't overdo it. You can always come back to this program at a later point.
This is not passed along as a surefire way to handle all difficulties in Internet marketing. There might be other, individual reasons for inaction or lack of success. But if you have tried a lot already and the problem is still not handled, what do you have to lose?
One final remark if you plan to look for definition of misunderstood IM terms on the Internet. In this case I recommend you check the 3rd video on www.internetmarketing-dictionary.com lower down on the page first.
Klaus Lehne is the author of the The Internet Marketing Dictionary
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Tags: marketers, marketer, misinformation, failure, misery, seminars, software products, inaction, internet marketing seminar, indecision, common denominator