I offer a lot of different products. Some of those products I create myself. Others have been created by people I know. All of them, I firmly believe, can bring real benefits to the people who use them.
If I wasn't 100 percent convinced that someone who is prepared to use the ideas contained in my books and products, and in the products that I recommend, couldn't achieve massive success, I wouldn't offer them for sale.
But I know that not everyone who buys these products is going to see that success. I can make the road ahead as easy as possible. I can explain where to go, how to drive and where to turn. I can explain exactly what I did to create one website after another that brings in a monthly five-figure income each time.
I can describe the principles that I employ when pasting in my advertising codes. I can talk about building communities on Twitter and other social media sites. And I can explain the importance of fostering trust and building a brand so that people know instantly who you are and what you can do for them.
But I can't create success for the people I'm trying to help. Nor do I want to. If someone isn't so driven to succeed that they're not prepared to put in the long hours, the worries and the investment necessary to create their own business, then I don't want to waste their time. They're never going to succeed and they should stick to their J.O.B.
Success doesn't come from reading books or watching videos, however instructional they may be. No one ever got rich by reading a book. But lots of people have got rich by taking action after they've read a book or attended a conference, and that's what the products that I offer provide: plans of action. They're strategies and tools that can change lives.
But they have to be used.
I've met plenty of people who know far more about the Internet than I'll ever know. They can tell you what "http" means, why there are back slashes and a million other useless pieces of information. But they're aren't making any money because they aren't doing anything with the information they have.
That's all it takes to be successful: knowledge and action. I can help to provide the knowledge. For the other part, you have to help yourself.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
November 4, 2009 09:33 AM
Very true. But it is sometimes difficult and very painful to act on my knowledge.
Johannes
PS: A copywriter knows that perfectely, because he would not get conversions without handling emotions.
November 4, 2009 09:51 AM
Take Action! Just Do It! Joel is SO right. All of the gurus will teach you to write a plan an immediately do something to get started. Get rolling. Get some MO-MENTUM.
Have you been dreaming of the next great idea? That killer website. The next iFart? Go right now and register a domain, write a short outline for your idea. Do something. Make it happen. Crush it!
November 4, 2009 10:14 AM
Joel! I resemble that remark!
I've been on the Internet since the early 90s, BBS before that, and have held some high-profile positions in the web area. But, I have never had the kind of personal victories that make people legendary. I have all the "knowledge" but have a tendency to think things to death.
Although I kind of knew what I had to do, it wasn't until recently my mind exploded as I released all the barriers of "what ifs" from my mind. I was held back by what-ifs. What if it didnt work? What if I got a bad review on Amazon? What if I couldn't get it finished? What if this , what if that.
Lately, and it has taken some time, I have learned to see things differently. Lately I see the possibilities instead of the problems. Now they are always lurking there, guiding me subconsciously so I don't completely hurt myself, but you have to not only think of the possibilities, you have to act.
Walt Disney is attributed as quoting "Think, Believe, Dream Dare." But I think the Dare is also synonymous with DO.
I consume knowledge about making money on the Internet constantly. Ive spent money on "rich jerks" and other $97-$200 ebooks, using clickbank usually to cut the price in half for referring myself, but still spending a LOT of money. But none of them told me anything knew.
Joel will attest that I emailed him several months ago saying "Joel, Im convinced the only people making money on the Internet are people selling eBooks about making money on the Internet."
I now realize that was a cop-out for "I want it easy!" But it's true, I have all the knowledge, but I nitpicked everything to death so much that I wasn't actually DOING anything.
At the risk of being called a fanboy, I will say that Joel's Elevate Seminar *will* make you do something. It isn't something that you buy and put on the shelf. Joel's team actually follows up and makes sure you get off your butt and do something. Whether its getting your web hosting set up, or working towards your front-end product, his team will get you in the habit of DOING - and fast.
Since I started DOING, I saw my adsense revenue jump from $6/day to several days of over $20-$30 recently. All because I lowered the barriers, stopped thinking, and started doing.
It's hard. And people will tell you all the bad things that will happen. But just get out there and DO. Take risks. Big risks = big rewards. And "failure" is merely a learning experience.
November 4, 2009 10:46 AM
WOW this is so true in every area of your life. Business, relationships, health and spiritually! Like the great marketing slogan "Just DO it!"
November 4, 2009 10:48 AM
I must admit that I used to be one of those people that consumed ebooks left and right about internet marketing, but they ended up sitting on my hard drive gathering dust. I've been studying internet marketing for almost ten years now, but it wasn't until five years ago that I finally got off my butt and started implementing what I learned.
Now I enjoy a passive income and I'm working from home. Love it!
November 4, 2009 10:48 AM
It is what you do and not what you know but there's also a big input from your mindset - which I guess is about how you frame the whole thing.
So we need to expect success and act to achieve it with the knowledge we gained from our study
November 4, 2009 10:57 AM
Your post reminds me of an ad I saw recently. I liked it so much I put it on my site. In it, Tiger Woods is standing on a golf course, a sand trap behind him and a water hazard before him. The green is way off in the distance. The water is several feet below him down an embankment filled with large boulders and coarse grass. Tiger is standing at the top of the embankment contemplating his golf ball below him, perched on a rock. The text of the ad says "It's what you do next that counts..."
It's not where you've been, it's not what has happened to you, it's not your past failings that matter. Just as Joel said, taking action is what counts.
The very day I posted that ad to my site and wrote about it, I suffered a disappointing set-back in my business. I looked at that ad, a copy of which also resides on my desktop, and said; I can either have a pity party or make the choice to keep going. I'm movin' forward!
Keep encouraging, Joel. We need to hear it.
November 4, 2009 11:04 AM
It is so true that 'actions speak louder than words'. I think that is primarily fear that holds people back. A lack of knowledge can easily be overcome with a little effort, for difficult tasks expert help can be found and with a lack of capital there are usually ways to find a loan or raise needed funds.
However with fear all stops! Fear of failure is a state of mind. Break that barrier and you will succeed.
November 4, 2009 11:33 AM
There is no "get rich fast". This is a true statement.
Why so many people don't take action?
I think reading a book and watching a video is easier than taking action. I mean that it is fast and easy.
In internet marketing you take action but money do not come the next day. And the worst thing is that you don't even know when you will earn some money or even if that will happen someday. Nobody can tell you that.
It is hard to wait for the feedback so long. Most people just give up!
November 4, 2009 11:43 AM
It's the great idea to improve your sales
November 4, 2009 12:14 PM
It´s great what you mention Joel, I´m just starting this wonderfull adventure named internet marketing, and I agree whit you, I have a big experience with physical business and I think It´s the same with virtual(talking about your post), you have to give your dedication and take action to be succesfull, sometimes costs lots of efforts but it worth it.
thank you
November 4, 2009 03:49 PM
As someone who has to consciously fight with "Analysis Paralysis," I have found that for me it is not enough to simply take action. I must continue to take action. It is action after action that builds the critical momentum that results in fruitful accomplishments. If I don't constantly squelch analysis paralysis with immediate action, then my momentum wanes and I return to stasis. It is not enough to seize the moment. We must seize every moment as it presents itself.
November 4, 2009 08:45 PM
I'm sure everyone that read this post can relate. Just taking action on something does not always result in success. But repeated action, and never giving up gives one a much greater possibility of achieving the greater success they seek.
November 5, 2009 06:16 AM
Joel, good post. That is true and worth paying attention too. This was me years ago where I basically knew so much on just about everything but it wasn't getting me anywhere at the time, UNTIL I started putting it to actual use and that's where everything changed, because I took ACTION and it's the way to go ;)
November 5, 2009 08:53 AM
Well written Joel.
I myself have been researching for months now, "the right strategy" and the truth is, many strategies will work. Many of the things you offer are powerful. But I must take action on what I learn. The ACTION starts NOW!
thanks for the reminder,
Rob
November 5, 2009 05:58 PM
Hi, Joel:
You again pointed out what makes the normal people and successful people. For me, I think I kind of like gone through the same process like what Troy Rutter mentioned above. I am an IC design engineer in profession and have been in this field for about 10 years. I am earning good salary and in comfort zone for quite some times. I am the kind of person that like to learn new stuffs. So, I have learned a lot of books and courses in personal development, investment, internet marketing and business related stuffs. So, I can claim myself that I know a lot of stuffs on paper. So, I am just learning... without taking action. Sometimes I was just inspired by those gurus and wanna do something and be someone. But, I always questioned by the other one of me which is always the risk adverse guy. So, after some struggling, I decided to do the most easiest thing first, which is start to trade stocks. I considered myself a value investor, so what I do is I search for good company stocks and once I find it, I invested them for long terms. So, now I have stocks in Malaysia market and US market. After that, I came across with some of my friends who do also wanna do some business, so we partnered and started an indoor soccer business here in Malaysia. But, to be honest, I think that was a failure. This is because we didn't have the correct mindset of doing business. We didn't really take care of the business spend time on it well. We do it part-time only. It was losing for the first 4 years in business. I think about one year ago when the financial meltdown was about to happen, I realized that I might lose my daytime job, I started to get panick. I got a family of 4 to feed. So, I decided to rejuvenate my business. So, I did a lot of promotions and advertisements for my business, both online and offline. And in between, I also got to know a lot of people in business, and my social network becomes broader. These are the people that I won't have a chance to meet and know if I am still stuck myself in the daytime job or still in "employer mindset". Once I program my mind to be a business man or entrepreneur, I found that my life changed and I attracted a lot of people to me. This is stunning and I really believe in law of attraction now. So, now my indoor soccer business is very profitable and it generates a lot of extra income to me. So, just by changing my mindset and really put some effort to it, the gain is so much. Then also, when the book, "The Secrets" came out and I read it, that really open up my mind and now I fully understand what I can achieve if I really start to do something. I know what it takes to be successful now, in business or in life. Then I came across with this internet marketing/business stuffs and I think this is the right business for me to start for long term. So, I started to sell my software online just about one month ago. I also planning to build a content website that I am passionate about. This is still ongoing. OK, I think I am talking too much here, I just wanna share to people here, because what I gone through for the past 1 year was just amazing to me. So, all this experiences taught me one thing, whatever you do, have a vision first, think long term, acquire the knowledge, have a plan, find ways to motivate yourself so that you are in the right mode and mindset in the process, focused and just do it. Think of yourself as the special one on the earth, ignore the naysayers. Do what most people wont' do. People will say you stubborn, but yes, you need to be stubborn to success. Do not fear of failures, it's just the learning experiences, persist on what you do, eventually you will get it. One thing I also realized is that when you do things nowadays, do it in a smart and most efficient way, leverage is the key in nowadays.
Good day,
Rick Ng from Penang, Malaysia.
November 6, 2009 11:56 AM
Hi Joel,
Thank you for sharing this excellent post.
I agree with you that many of the strategies that are available on the internet works and the user will have to take action on it.
Something will happen if action is taken. If the results is not as good as expected, it will be time to reevaluate on whether the strategy has been applied correctly.
I like your posting title:
"It's Not What You Know, It's What You Do" :)
Zack
November 20, 2009 02:36 PM
Stunning headline Joel. It's not the words written is that matters is the intent of the author of the articles. That was very similar with interpreting the law. It is the spirit that matters and not the words of the law.